The rest of the island is devoted to agriculture, fishing and the usual cottage industries that sustain such activities. It gets most of it's wealth by trading food for the items brought into the city by traders. While the climate is warm and the proximity to the sea keeps the temperatures stable, the soil of the island is apparently quite poor. This does limit the degree to which the population can expand, unless they were willing to start importing large amounts of food. As a result of this, fish is one of the islands staples. Until the arrival of the bronze there were almost daily fights between the fishermen and the nearby sahuagin tribes. These fights have begun to slowly resume. No-one has figured out why yet, but popular rumour has it that the sahuagin somehow managed to kill or drive off the bronze.

Demographically, the island is mostly human, with, at a very rough guess, around eleven thousand inhabitants. Passing ships provide most of the racial variety, though few non-human individuals stay. Approximately one in five of the islanders are slaves. Most of them are human, but several species are favourites for enslavement - especially those with great strength or other notable abilities. Around half of the islanders live on the southernmost fifth of the island, mainly in small farmsteads and villages.

The closest thing to a government on Theleska is the trading guilds. The most powerful of these are run by Alcaeus Nikon and Karpos Aristede. Nikon is infamous for his brutality in combat and often enforces his rule through fear, though he does ensure his subordinates receive frequent rewards for their loyalty. Despite this, he is reasonably capable at playing politics. Aristede tends to prefer a more subtle approach, manipulating, bribing or leaking false information to his opponents - though he doesn't hesitate to use violence when it will benefit him.

While both are technically the masters of merchant guilds, both hold absolute power over their respective organisations, supposedly having murdered their way to the top. It's widely known that if they didn't begin as friends, they were at least friendly rivals who have since turned on each over out of greed. There may be more to it than that, but if so, the details are not widely known.

So far, the peace has been maintained by the fact that the numerous organisations who grudgingly follow them stand to lose more than they would gain from open conflict between the two groups. One side will occasionally raid the others ships, but such occurrences have been fairly rare recently, with none reported in the last year.

So far, your trading company has been mostly left alone by them. A few discreet enquiries were made into the nature of their business, which were informed that you were running an entirely legitimate trade route between the island and the city of Temur. Being primarily pirates, they haven't shown much interest since learning this, but that could easily change if you start making significant amounts of money.

Beyond the island of Theleska, the Temurian city states continue to bicker among each other. The most significant event of the past year was a near war between two of the northern cities. Neither were willing to engage in a major battle, but several skirmishes were fought. Until recently, the north had been loosely allied, fearing King Nuvix might turn his army in their direction. Lately it has, however, become clear he will be busy trying to keep the south subdued for quite some time. As a result, the north is sliding back towards the usual pattern of decennial wars. Further to the north is the Kormarian Republic; the largest of the northern city states. Theoretically an oligarchy of extremely wealthy wizards, it is the officials appointed by the wizards that actually run things; the wizards themselves are generally far to busy engaging in magical research to bother with such details.

There are several other city states further north and within the sea that gives the sundered mountains their name, but Kormar is the largest. Its large number of wizards produce a significant amount of enchanted equipment, which is then exported to the other city states or further afield. The republic's leader is an unknown mage (the mages who technically lead the nation remain anonymous, supposedly so they can better see the effects of their policies as regular citizens when not in session), known to be capable of sixth circle spells at the minimum.

The lack of endless internecine warfare and sectarian violence has left the region significantly wealthier than Temur. Currently, they are occupied with keeping the barbarian and orcish tribes to the west subdued. This has provided a steady stream of slaves, many of which have found their way to the markets of Theleska (and are your primary source for much of this information).

Can you give a quick re-cap on the protagonist? Name, notable abilities, general m.o.?

To the south, there is a small, insular nation called Hromisk. Being cut off from the rest of the continent by the green infested forest to the north, insect infested jungle to the south and rough hills followed by empty plains to the west, most of their trade travels by sea. Their ships are a common sight in the harbour. They supposedly have the largest fleet of any one nation in this part of the world. Unlike most of the nations in the region humanoid slavery is outlawed, with only non-humanoids being accepted as slaves.

---

Be aware that this information is only what your agents have been able to pick up and may not be entirely accurate.

---

The bronze you killed has since been dismembered and the his bodyparts placed in storage. You tried tasting a small portion of his flesh, but found it to be unpleasantly watery and full of salt - likely a result of his elemental nature. The bodyparts harvested could probably fetch up to ten thousand gold pieces, though you've held off on selling anything so far. The items you took from his lair suggest he may have originally come from the far south west, around an area believed to be called the fallen star isles.

There is also a potential buyer for the equipment you took from the ambushed adventurers. It's a little less than you had hoped for, but you should be able to get five thousand gold for the mace and a two thousand for the staff.

The loans you made to the fishermen have earned your company some good will. While most seem to realise the intent is to buy popularity, they don't particularly care as long as it gets them back on their feet.

Korinthkras should be stopping by to visit in a few days. You have yet to establish a way of contacting each other at long range, but if one of you fails to turn up, then at least you know to go looking.

You have:
- 20,000gp in currency and gems
- 28,000gp in items
- Up to 10,000gp in dragon parts
- An elf village of 153 elves (11 are children)
- A cult with 16 members (all elves)
- A small lair containing 160 kobolds
- A trading company with around 90 employees
- 50 spies and traders (there's little practical difference) on the mainland
- 50 lizardmen slaves.

You are a juvenile red dragon, what do you do?

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>>22791142

Your name is Tethyrcanix, you have just established your first lair after killing the bronze who lived near the island. You have recently returned from aiding your sister, Korinthkras, in killing a silver that lived near her favoured spot for a lair.

You are capable of first circle sorcerer spells and second circle wizard spells. So far you have been personally raiding trade caravans in the areas surrounding the Temurian capital, but have started to branch out, with your human agents establishing legitimate trading enterprises. One group of operatives are good friends with the lord of a smallish town named Coloth, after you helped him gain power there (he doesn't know you're a dragon).

>>22791177
Sell off the staff and mace. Acquire elven lore. Look into subverting some of the outlying villages.

>>22791287
Mostly this. On the elven lore topic, this means spending time with our cultists, so we should seek to train them up. Unlike other followers, they won't be dying of old age in the near future.

Is there anything you want to focus on with your cultists?

On the very short term, I want to find an elven kingdom with which I could establish contact.
We told the elves we would let them learn about their fellows' culture. I mostly want to hire a few "free" elves to teach ours how to be more useful.
Experienced duskblades, (arcane) archers and rangers would be nice, but talented craftsmen are good too.
Of course, those people shouldn't be too scrupulous. I think we're not worse than most kings, but I suppose some elves would be offended at the very idea of a red dragon ruling over elves.

I also want to see if our search for a human bard wielded any result.

>>22791416
Speech-making, memorization, that sort of thing. This first gang will have leadership roles as the network expands.

>>22791054

AH yeah motherfuker! I was waiting for this. Also OP the proud homosexual men that serve in the navy came by to sent their best wishes and godspeed.

>>22791244
Just want to note, I'm of the opinion we should kill off the Sahuagin. While underwater minions would be useful, these Sahuagin have already showed no interest in serving us. They fulfilled their purpose and now they're attacking boats and fishermen, which risks destabilizing the economy and city on the island. Which would be more useful to us as a long term fence, source of information and income if we can manage to gain control of it.

>>22791376
Yeah, they will probably be easier to train than the band of Kobolds we're starting to encourage.

>>22791500
THIS. We have no use for stupid, unreasonable creatures that bring us no economic progress. We should try to formulate a way to get rid of them ASAP.

>>22791502
With Kobolds, if one wants good results, it is necessary to improve their bloodstock - if you catch my drift?

If we're bringing the elves into contact with their old culture, I think we should start with traditional art and try to get them involved in crafting. It carries minimal danger to us and in the future we might be able to use it for trading.

>>22791549
Also a good idea. How's our mage friend been doing with training the elves in magic? Or has he returned to the college?

>>22791500
OK. The question is how?

On a longer term (so within a few weeks) I think we should organize a coup to take over the island.

Nothing subtle. Gather sellswords with some money and a middleman, impress them into following our orders, go to town behind them and intimidate the leaders, disarm/hire their men, and immediately start reorganizing the town to stabilize our power.

I made a proposal last thread. I think it was okay, but now I want to involve our kobolds more, for safety. Do we need to import weapons, or are they ready to face human soldiers...

(I won't force the slavery issue, though I still think abolition is appropriate and beneficial.)

>>22791593
Weeks? I don't know. If we want good kobold soldiers, that will take three-four years.

>>22791500
>we should kill off the Sahuagin.
That's gonna pretty hard. They can just flee before us and get back when our Waterbreathing spell runs out.

I don't think we can chase themaway. But I think we can force them to reach an agreement with the humans.

We should get the pirates or someone else to kill the sahuagin for us, and then take their relic.

>>22791500
I'm not sure if we should just slaughter them as our first option.

I think it would be worth to try and form some kind of working relationship with them.

Maybe we could convince them to avoid our ships/ships we have an interest in and target ships of rivals/potential enemies.

Maybe set up some sort of protection racket thing.
>"Hey, those trade guilds are shit. They can't even protect their own boats from attacks and raids. I'm signing on with that new trading company, they're doing something right, those fishy bastards haven't been giving them so much trouble."

On the other hand. If they won't play ball..... Yeah, just slaughter them.

Firm proposal: we have Enlarge and Reduce, so siring a clutch of half-dragon kobolds is totally practical. They don't take long to reach maturity, so this is a practical and prudent way to increase our power.

>>22791645
What makes you say that ?
When we first got them, they were facing a human milicia, and last thread we used one of them in our fight against a dragon...

>>22791653
That sounds (lol) reasonable.

Or we could find them a better place to live in?

If we get them to move to somewhere else, we could use them to disrupt oppositions.

Wait, that's it. We need to find a way to turn the place independent from fishing for food, so we can use it as a leverage to 'hire' the sahuagin.

>>22791701
See >>22791697

They may not be bad now, but we can make the next batch much stronger.

>>22791578
That's the problem, isn't it. They're underwater, and while we have spells and such that allow us to work within that element, we'd be at a disadvantage.

We have semi-aquatic troops in our lizardmen, but we need to look into something that would give us an obvious advantage. Electric and Sonic magic work particularly well, as well as force.

Finding their primary settlement and wiping it from existance. They are also hated with a passion by aquatic elves, but that's a risky business to work with in itself, beyond finding them. Perhaps a wall of force network to push away the surrounding water and expose the Sahuagin settlement to fire from above?

>>22791697
I agree with that. Actually, I want to make all kinds of half-dragons, not only kobolds.

>>22791697
I don't think we've reached full maturity yet So that's a no go for a while.

>>22791653

Naval security? Sounds awesome. Could give enough profit to settle the dispute between the islanders and the sahuagin.

>>22791750
Maybe we'll get lucky and our heroic warrior will be a chick. Then she'll get the honor of being banged by a dragon.

>>22791732
Certainly. We won't ever stop improving them.

But I think that if we can give a weapon and some armor to 80 of them, it's enough to make a difference in a coup attempt.

>>22791697

Why not half-elves too? They can blend in easier.

>>22791750
/tg/ - Titanic Gonads

>>22791787
Elves take longer to become useful. With kobolds, early & often is the rule.

>The rest of the island is devoted to agriculture, fishing and the usual cottage industries that sustain such activities. It gets most of it's wealth by trading food for the items brought into the city by traders. While the climate is warm and the proximity to the sea keeps the temperatures stable, the soil of the island is apparently quite poor. This does limit the degree to which the population can expand,

I recommend out trading company/public persona buy up some tracts of land and establish ourselves as legitimate land lords. This will expand our current power base and give up plenty of options for further development and expansion.

If we develop and improve our lands into something that generates a decent profit we could get a nice steady income through taxes.

>>22791745
Why going out of our way to defend the human ships when we don't yet control the island ?

I think we should deal with the sahuagins after dealing with humans. That will give them one reason to accept their new leader.

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Is there weak draconic beasts on this continent ?

I'd like to find a few to gift as animal companions to our rangers and druid.

>>22791751
Juvenile is the equivalent of teen-aged. While we're not an adult dragon capable of attracting a mate of our own species, we can probably still do the deed with lesser creatures.

Need a ruling on this from OP.

>>22791750
I agree with this pimp dragon course of action, as well. As we bring in new races under our wing, experiment what happens with breeding. We might get some nice surprises. We're not so stupid and deluded in pride that we'd pass on the chance of half-dragon soldiers, unlike our sister (who probably won't be hitting goblins in a million years).

>>22791826
>>22791813
>>22791787
>>22791750

Guys, slow down. We haven't even reached sexual maturity yet so this won't even be an option for another time-skip or two.

Dragon-born minions maybe something to think about in the future but it's not on the table yet.

>>22791875
If not, there's always the homebrew option.

(That is not my solution to everything!)

I really like the idea of creating a merchant baron persona for ourselves to serve as head of our trading company.

>>22791830
Or we could start ruling the island and get taxes fromm all the inhabitants.

>>22791889
We're already past young, right? Draconomicon says that's when Dragons become able to mate.

>>22791923
That's settled. First order of business: request a selection of kobold maidens.

>>22791889
Juvenile is roughly equivalent to early teens in humans. You will need to shapeshift into the relevant creature to be able to crossbreed with it (or even find it attractive enough to consider doing so).

>>22791907
Yes we have. A dragon becomes sexually capable after the Young age category. Wyrmling -> Very Young -> Young -> Juvenile -> Young Adult.

seed will be strong.

>>22791944
Damn. What's the closest shapeshifting spell in our reach?

>>22791923
That's wrong. We become sexually active when we become a young adult.

>>22791944
I don't want to be an ass about this, but we will never get Shapeshift based on the standard Red Dragon progression. Is there any leniency for reptilian creatures of the same size category?

>>22791944
Can polymorph work?

>>22791985
Sorry, we can shapeshift from the age of Wyrm. Can't even polymorph until we're Old.

>>22791985
You can get alternative form when you reach young adult. There's a feat somewhere that allows true dragons to gain it when they get cl5 in their innate sorcery, you're on cl3 as a juvenile.

>>22791918
>Or we could start ruling the island and get taxes fromm all the inhabitants.

Well, yeah. That's the goal I was aiming for with that.
In that post I was mostly focusing on the /how/ we were going to do that.

Just walking in, killing a bunch of guys and saying "We're in charge now. Pay us taxes and do as you're told." doesn't exactly scream 'well thought out plan' to me.

This would cause all kinds of back-lash and give us a whole list of problems to deal with.

You know we could sink a few ships from the other trading companies. Make a little profit, hurt the competition a little without planing our hand.

I'm just going to post this.

>>22792036

This. It would only paint us as usurpers and draw in all sort of dragonslayers that would think we've reached outside our grasp.

Let's do it through manipulation and politics instead. It plays to our benefit that the guildmasters seem like someone people would not be too unhappy of being removed from power.

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Please read the following.

OK. Looking over, I think the immediate plan is:

Get better arms & armor for kobolds.
Seek out elven kingdom for specialists (esp craftsmen).

Anything else in the right-now category?

>>22792111
Looking into the more remote villages.

>>22792101
Which one is that? It's different to the one I read.

>the soil of the island is apparently quite poor

We could fix that. This is an island, there must be some sea bird colonies around somewhere.
Bird shit is like super-fertilizer.

Loan out the use of our Druid, maybe hire in some experts that can teach the island peasants about proper irrigation and crop rotation.

This could work...
>Buy land.
>Improve poor lands so they prosper.
>Use trade company to export goods.
>Further develop our lands into a proper little city-state.
>Grow rich on taxes and trade.

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>>22791091
Is there a mercenary guild on this island ? And are the armed men (half of them would be enough) in the service of the various local powers faithful for some other reason than money ?
I want to hire them without telling them the reason, is it possible ?

My plan : let them know that some guy set up a recruitment office in a house on the outskirts of town (buy it and do so beforehand) and is offering more than their current employer.
Have an elf (or the human bard) give them money and contracts and send them out of town close to the forest.
There they'll be told who their new boss is, that fleeing is a bad idea, and we'll join them with the kobolds.
We'll march back into town at night (the kobolds stay out to guard the main roads, we want to avoid combat), silently, send messages to group leaders to come or send representatives to meet us in the morning and discuss terms. Send men to keep those important people from fleeing, and other to glue posters on the wall announcing that a dragon is now ruling over the town and that no harm will come to those who do not fight or flee.

>>22792161
3rd edition Draconomicon.

>>22792187
I like this. Very intelligent and unconventional. Our competitors will never see it coming.

>>22792209
Oh, I read 4e.

>>22792209
Interesting. The 2e version has Dragons mature at Juvenile, remarking that they achieve sexual maturity only slightly later than humans.

The things that change between editions!

>>22792187
You know what else is decent fertiliser? The ash left after a forest fire.

Whose forest can we burn down, and how easily can we transport the ash back to our island?

>>22792187
sounds good. We'll need to address the trading guilds eventually, though.

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There is little point in drawing the matter out, so you agree to sell the mace and staff to the interested party. It had been dragging on for long enough, with the concern that parties sympathetic to your would-be slayers might find and investigate them being the only reason you still had them. Still, the precautions you took should be sufficient to throw off any one trying to trace them.

With that settled, you turn your attention to your slowly growing cult. You consider flying down to speak with them, but decide to summon their... well, leader isn't quite the word, fanatic in chief would be a better description. Anyllan was among to first to start professing you to be some sort of messiah and has been known to become physically violent with those who suggest otherwise. You have told her to tone it down, an instruction she, of course, obeys without question. The other elves for the most part simply ignore the cult's activities.

It takes nearly half a day for her to reach your lair, most likely having run the whole way. She eventually clambers into your small hoardroom and kowtows before you. Unlike most, her reverence is quite genuine.

"Great One, your faithful slave awaits your command," she says without rising. She has been using that particular sentence to greet you ever since she decided you were worth worshipping. So far, you've seen no reason to have her change it.

"Tell me, what my faithful have been doing to ensure the truth of your people's purpose in this life is made known to them?" It's a fancy way of saying 'how have recruitment efforts been going', but the phrasing seems to help reinforce her attitude.

"Great One, your faithful have focused their efforts on educating the youngest among us in your words. As ordered we no longer chastise them for criticising you, instead providing encouragement when they act in accordance with your teachings." She seems a little uncomfortable as she mentions criticism.

"Despite attempts by the blind," her word for those elves who don't yet follow you, "most have come to view you as the centre of all things, the being from which all good flows. I believe they see the truth of your nature when they are grown." She has yet to rise as she speaks.

Her report is almost certainly coloured by her fanaticism, though she would never willingly lie to her god. From what you've been able to gather from the children themselves, they see you as the supreme being in the universe the same way the sun is the brightest thing in the sky; it isn't something they think about, it just is. While this could turn into worship, it will likely take further work. So far, you aren't quite sure how to go about it.

Anyllan shifts slightly as you consider her words. She's obviously uncomfortable reporting anything less than resounding success.

"It is as I anticipated," you lie, "Those who have yet to comprehend my glory will unwittingly pull down those around them. You may rise."

Anyllan sits up, still kneeling before you, though now looking respectfully at the floor in front of your hoard.

"For now, continue on the tales of how I saved your people from the poisonous hate. Focus on how much they owe to my appearance and how grateful they should be for my protection." That's a point, ritual tends to be a big part of humanoid religion, maybe you should introduce it to your elves.

"Of course Great One, it will be as you command."

"I would expect nothing less from my most faithful of slaves." it's difficult to tell through her veil, but you think you see a glimmer of pride as you tell her this. "You may leave."

She kowtows once more and heads back down to the village.

>>22792246
>>22792254
I referenced it because it's the book that OP has and is using.
I also like 3.5's fluff the best anyway.

>>22792036
>Just walking in, killing a bunch of guys and saying "We're in charge now. Pay us taxes and do as you're told." doesn't exactly scream 'well thought out plan' to me.
>This would cause all kinds of back-lash and give us a whole list of problems to deal with.
It works in africa, why not here ?

I think it's a simple plan, but not necessarily a badly thought one.
Mostly because going slowly while hiding our true nature will only make the current powers of the island fight us, backlashing every advance and maybe find out we're a dragon which will ruin the subtle work. While making it clear from the start that fighting back is hopeless will avoid a lot of conflict.

>>22792318
>works in africa
Africa is the perfect example of what we SHOULDN'T emulate.

People are all in favour of taking over the island, but there's still some debate on how to go about it. Some want to slowly subvert the island, others just want to openly smash opposition.

There any agreement on which way to go?

>>22792353
I vote slowly subvert the island. And in no particularly obvious way. The riches comes to those who are patient and careful.

>>22792353
We're not strong enough to hold the island against all-comers. Subversion.

>>22792353
Subversion. Starting out with >>22792187
Bind the lower classes to our cause, and these "trading guilds" will fall like a house of cards!

>>22792353
Slow subversion. Its IC
>>22792318
I agree that we shouldn't emulate Africa. I'm not averse to taking over overtly in the end, I just want to have a few of the lesser powers around already on our side when we make our move.

>>22792353

Go to slowly subvert the island, buy business get people in our debt, get the land by legal means, become a pillar of the community get rip of the sahuagin and take credit and employ great part of the population one way or another.

Subversion it is. How do you plan on going about it?

>>22792454
Humans, like most lesser creatures, are slaves to their stomachs. We must build our cult among their farmers and fishermen.

>>22792454
Begin researching >>22792187. Bring the outlying villiges into our sphere of influence first.
>>22792489
Agreed.

>>22792375

Especially if we do it in such manner that removing us out of equation would seem like a really bad idea, and not because we would've eaten them like a well done steak.

>>22792260
>We'll need to address the trading guilds eventually, though.

I have an idea. It largely depends on how willing the fishmen are to play ball but it could be adjusted to work without them if need be.

>Train our Lizard-men to act as guards and escort troops.
>Place them on our trade ships and hire them out to clients.
>Strike a deal with fishmen. "Don't fuck with the ships carrying my Lizard-men and you don't get a visit from a pissed off Red Dragon."
>Maybe stage a few attacks for our Lizard-men to fend off.
>Clients flock to us.
>Other guilds are reduced in power and wealth.
> Eventually one of them will get pissed off and make a move against us.
>They just gave us a legitimate excuse to push their shit in and take over.
>We are not conquer and usurper. We are legitimate business man.
>We're in charge now. You pay us taxes and do what we say.

We avoid back-lash from the take over and if we go with the 'land development' plan to bring prosperity to the island, people will be happy to fall in line when we're in charge.

>>22792454
These:
>>22792489
>>22792502

>>22792517
My main concern is that this is quite overt and could be used to lure us into an ambush.

>>22792353
slow subversion. And I like that guy's idea of buying and fertilizing land.

Oh jesus look at how evil we are, improving the islanders' quality of life!

>>22792353
Smashing the opposition isn't the way. I think we can make them understand that opposing us directly is pointless.

But I certainly don't want to wait for years before ruling this island. I want to quickly build our power so that we can move more freely on the continent. That's where subtle work is really needed. We can take this island by force and save our ressources and time for Coloth. If it takes more than three months it's too long.

>>22792340
Why not ? Africa has three problems. The first is that the long-term dictators don't know how to make their countries progress. The second is that in many countries, there's always another general or colonel to lead a new coup. The third is diseases, geography, foreign interests, etc.

But we know what to do with the island, and there's no other dragon on it to do the same thing we did.

>>22792546
Plus the fish men are pretty independent as I recall. Did we ever try to make them into proper vassals?

>>22792536
We shall conquer the world... with gastronomy!

/r/ing drawfagging of red dragon with chef hat and farming tools

>>22792269
>>22792277
It is becoming clear our cult must take on a different form. Religious gittery is failing. We clearly need to turn it towards a cult of personality. Most are not going to accept us as a divinity, that would be ridiculous! But we can make them respect us, if not outright admire. We are clearly distancing ourselves too much from our servants for any social measures to work.

I believe leading daily meditations was one idea brought up, one for our kobolds, mainly, but the elves may be interested, too. Another may be open talks with concerned servants, ease back a little on the haughtiness. A little stress from going against our prideful nature is definitely worth a more stable powerbase and a better idea of what needs to be done. I-it's not like we really care about these serfs of ours, mind you. P-pothoc!

>>22792353
>>22792454
Subversion, for the time being. A coup would be too risky at this point, though it is not a terrible idea for the future. Start buying up landholdings, investing, improving. Break the land. Educate the serfs as a modestly priced service, so that they may bring in more crop, make finer goods, and then make more money, which means more taxes for us without complaint from them. We must do our damnedest to make this island a shining jewel for our future imperial hoard. >>22792517 has some of the right ideas, too.

>>22792564
If we simply conquer the island, then we will have to devote resources to keeping it in check. In addition, we risk calling attention to ourselves.

Subverting it, especially by winning loyal supporters among the lower classes, is more subtle and will make the place easier to rule in the mid-term.

>>22792564
I dissagree. It's going to take years to secure our holdings anyway, so why not make the effort to take a bit more time to conqueror the place so we can later control them more easily. Especially since we want a functional government.

>>22792561
We're basically Monsanto.

Next slayers are gonna be Druids & Rangers.

You aren't personally aware of ways to increase the fertility of soil (beyond 'make a druid do it'), though it might be possible to encounter someone who has heard of such a method. Spreading your cult to the local villages is something that will take time, is there anything you want to do in the near future (like go though your sister's visit) or shall I timeskip a few months?

If not, roll 2d20 (low).

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>>22792585

demon girl is the next best thing

>>22792564
Africa has three problems that makes sure it cant get its shit together and ever be a threat to countries outside Africa, which in turn makes sure nobody else cares enough to do much about it.

>>22792517
We shouldn't involve our trading comapny directly in our plan to take over.

Because it deals with a lot of people on the continent, and that I don't want them to learn that the owner is a red dragon once we reveal ourself on the island.

>They just gave us a legitimate excuse to push their shit in and take over.
>We are not conquer and usurper. We are legitimate business man.
No, we are a red dragon. Humans don't care that humans were technically the attacker in a conflict against a dragon.
Also, they'll quickly understand the whole scheme.

>>22792601
>It is becoming clear our cult must take on a different form. Religious gittery is failing.

Perhaps we need to take a more subtle line? We aren't impressive enough to be a deity, but we are a plausible intermediary to the gods.

>>22792626

We could try to mate with the soil.

>>22792626
I'm OK to skip forward. 3 more votes and we roll, unless someone says "No!"

Rolled 1, 3 = 4

>>22792626
Progress!

TIAMAT DON'T FAIL US NOW

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>>22792731
praise the dark lady!

>>22792546
I don't intend to act openly. (reveal our self as a Dragon)
I just wan't to bully the fishmen into staying out of our way.
Use Lizard-man guards to protect ships and 'ward off' fishmen. (We can't really explain we're a MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON that bullied them to stay away.)

It won't happen over night. Months if not years. But, eventually we're going to start rivalling then over shadowing the guilds.

They /will/ make a move on us at some point. We just need to make preparations so when it happens we can fuck them over and take charge.

If we play nice and let them attack us first we avoid all kinds of back-lash that would follow us attacking unprovoked.

While we're at it, are you going to reveal yourself at all, or just work though intermediaries?

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>>22792710

>>22792607
>If we simply conquer the island, then we will have to devote resources to keeping it in check.
Sure. But the humans we will rule then will give us the ressources to do that, and more.
It is much less constraining than concealing ourself for years.
>especially by winning loyal supporters among the lower classes
The problem with that is that sooner or later they'll learn that we're a red dragon that has been decieving them, they'll understand our motive, and we'll lose most of those "loyal" supporters.
It'sll be much easier to let them know from the beginning that we're a dragon intent on ruling the island, and to convince them that it's not so bad afterwards.
And if we want a lot of supporters overnight, we can free the slaves.

>>22792626
Don't bother spreading our cult in its current form. It would only terrify them, and terror can make one act quite stupid. Stupid in such ways as to try and call up heroes on us. Go through the visit, showing the fruits of our labors.

>>22792691
Unless we start multiclassing Cleric, that would be silly to claim. Hell, as far as I'm aware, we don't even know much of our own dieties. We will make the world turn on our mortal, if superior, axis- and our servants shall be the spokes of the wheel. Emphasis upon unity, cooperation, and the benefits of putting effort into willing servitude.

>>22792731
GOD DAMN.

>>22792783

I vote for staing in shadows for now.

>>22792783
It's too early to reveal ourselves, keep the intermediaries up until we have a solid hold on the island.

>>22792786

Name one problem that can't be solved with dragon sex!

>>22792783
Heavens, not yet. We will reveal ourselves when it is most opportune. Now is definitely not the time.

>>22792783
We will rule openly, but we won't move openly until checkmate.

>>22792731
I VOTE THIS RO... OPINION!

>>22792710
see
>>22792101

>>22792780
>If we play nice and let them attack us first we avoid all kinds of back-lash that would follow us attacking unprovoked.
See >>22792666.

>>22792797
OK, we need more opinions on the cult.

1. What form? Us the God, Us the Badass Dragon, or Us the Hand of the Gods?

2. Should the Cult be spread into the lower class humans? If so, we should be subtle but give at least a hint to what we're about. If we ever want to come out of the shadows, it had better not be a big shock to our nominal followers.

I propose that we have our agents do a largely secular racket as the "Red Dragon Society". They don't need to mention a particular dragon, let people think it's just a name. If our agents find someone promising, they can be dealt into more of the mystery.

>>22792878
I think we should keep the cult business with the elves. They're the mystical bunch, and I don't really think the humans will buy it. The elves' situation is completely different from theirs. There are many other ways to buy a human's loyalty, anyways.

Who does actually know who we are? Our kobolds, obviously, and our elves. Sahuagin have been dealing with us. Who else?

>>22792878
Us The Badass Dragon. We, as a red dragon, are one of the most prime examples of power amongst the mortal realms, and unlike our kin, are not a stupid, pride-maddened, randomly destructive monster. And though we are not divine, we shall ascend to great power, and even divinity. And our servants shall follow with us.

If it spreads, it should be subtle, yes. A philosophy of power and drive, one for lower and upper classes alike, revolving around improving one's position and the positions of others in an orderly, regimented fashion, with a bit of mystical gittery resembling esotericism. A sort of Red Dragon Society is exactly what I had in mind. If we can, we should make sure this cult overwrites the pants on head retarded one our current priest espouses, too.

>>22792870
That part's sort of out of our hands. We want our company to prosper and grow. If we grow strong enough to challenge their dominance they're going to make a move on us.

It's going to happen. We can either make preparations so that it works out to our advantage, or do nothing an wait to get fucked over.

If you want we could insulate our land holdings and trading company from each other.

Create a separate persona for our new land lord.

Land lord rules the island while the company takes over the local trade industry.

>>22792870

That is only an issue if they learn that our trade company is in fact front for a dragon. We can have the firm take over position of present trade guilds without revealing ourselves, although that will probably be quite taxing on our agents.

Should personal intervention become necessary, we can use alternate form, or just pick our encounters so that we leave no witnesses.

>>22792955
>a bit of mystical gittery resembling esotericism

We can probably teach humanoids a bit of arcane magic, at least at some point. Substance goes further than mumbo-jumbo.

>>22792878
Us, the shadow emperor
is what i want

>>22792985
Err. How is the cult going to work around that? Do you have in mind something like >>22792955?

>>22792955
I was more thinking a cult that espouses hard work and perseverance. One that believes the prime has a "natural order" which we sit at the apex of. Serve and revere the dragon and be rewarded and all that rot. As time goes by and we become an ever more permanent fixture in society and more and more people have only known themselves under us the cult will take on more mystical and religious qualities. After all, that's basically what happens IRL.

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>>22792731

I vote for this!

>>22792783
Work through intermediaries.
If we reveal ourself before we're in control of the whole place, a lot of people would flee and other would try to get outside help against us.

Since we're delaying the coup, I think we should avoid going against the main trading guilds. We would lose too much time in pointless conflict (commercial then armed) with them, and I don't think it'll justify anything in the eyes of the locals.
Put our efforts on recruiting new agents in the human population, and let them know of our plans so that they won't freak out when we'll take over openly.
I see three options, that we can put into practice at the same time.
Select among the lesser powers of the city an intelligent, ambitious man that could ally with us against the main powers, and ultimately take care of the daily affairs of the island for us. Someone who would take care of buying land and improving the life of people, and who would gather like-minded humans and armed men to serve us.
Buy more human and lizardfolk slaves (don't do that through our trading company), settle them in a new village.
Create a secret society, something like the freemasons, where people who want to change the political order of the island can gather, hear our ideas, and request our help.

>>22793018

Well, the cultists do not need to be aware that we are their emperor, nor do our subjects need to know they are ruled by a dragon.

>>22792955
I like this, as long as we don't just out and reveal ourselves. Our Kobolds and the Fanatic Elves should have no problem accepting it either.

According to capcha, Tonpolu is now penniless. So we should avoid raiding there for awhile.

>>22792977
We need two trade companies. One covertly owned by us and one Overt. we can subvert one of the established players before making our move and then run them as our merchant guild, while our original company remains our shadow arm.

>>22793018
I always thought of the cult as a tool to use where we need fanatical followers. Like assassinating, quenching rebellion, rooting out corruption and private bodyguard.

>>22792971
I think we should let the company do its own thing, give us some money, while we gather support through other means and prepare more for a honest coup.

OK. So the way forward is roughly >>22792955. We still need anyone who becomes influential in the Red Dragon Society to "go meet the Dragon". We should spread misinformation about who that actually is - "Come on, if it was a real Red Dragon, do you think they'd call it the Red Dragon Society? Their top man is a blind genius whose powers of analysis rival prophecy..." (etc)

eventually we will rule openly, but we should not reveal who we are until we are already in control.

>>22793093

I agree with this Anon.

Let it be like a somewhat separate entity from us, so that if we're fucked at some point it can go on and stay strong while we work our way back up.

If it gets fucked then we won't necessarily be incriminated or revealed as the real mind behind it, not at first at least.

>>22792955
I vote we begin to steer our cult in this direction.

As for spreading... Once our Elf village gets set up and they begin trading and interacting with the humans, this could be allowed to happen naturally through integration.

>"Hey, those Elf Druids the new Lord sent to help the land are great. My children will never go hungry again. You hear about their God? One of 'en mentioned it the other day. Think I'll ask 'em about it."

>>22792985
Nah, open rule is the way to go.

>>22792955
With us at the top naturally. Serve the dragon and be rewarded and such. the religious aspects will happen all on its own eventually.

I'd like to make our cult evolve into something more like a philosophical school, or a political party. Something that could get the support of more independent-minded individuals like Hatherlan.

I tried to write some precepts...
1. The natural world is made to be experienced and enjoyed according to one's physical means. Dragons, being of the highest physical form, deserve naturally to enjoy this world accordingly. Serving dragons dedicated to this is serving nature. Inferior beings still have an inferior right to enjoy this world.
2. The society of intelligent beings is made for empowering the community behind a single leader, to support individual and collective achievements, honor them according to their genius and greatness, and relieve individuals of natural limits - like hunger, by organizing production, or fear of death, by developping philosophy.
3. The government of society is the duty of the best of us - those separate from the rest by their achievements, their ability to challenge established order and lead others to it despite their fears and apathy. Violence is necessary, but calls for compensations to achieve perpetual rejuvenation - in any case it needs not be systematic. I am the best of us.

And the last, only for insiders :

4. As all, regardless of race, can lie with a dragon to create siblings, so the creations and achievements of the various people living in fraternity under Our leadership will bear our mark, and will become better, stronger than what could be done separated.

>>22793218
>make our cult evolve into something more like a philosophical school, or a political party

Kind of what I was thinking.

Bring in the Red Dragon-based Objectivism, or something like the Hellknights from Pathfinder.

>>22793218
Let's see if it floats before we sail it.

>>22793059
>>22793136
We can use one of the preexisting companies. Meet the leader, convince him to work for us.

>>22793218
Add in a line about how the lesser should naturally serve the greater, and be empowered and rewarded by doing so.

>>22792626
So KEJ, about that time skip?

>>22792783
Intermediaries.

>>22793240
>Bring in the Red Dragon-based Objectivism
I was thinking more like fascism, but more awesome.
I want our empire to be nicknamed the Rule of Cool.
>>22793257
We need to build the ship before seeing if it floats.
We can't have a cult without doctrine.

>>22793309
We got our roll already, so he must be making the post.

...With that 1, I seriously think the bird shit gag is going to end up working.

>>22793328
You can have a secret society without a philosophy. Man may not live by bread alone, but he can't live without it.

We will reveal ourselves eventually. But we are not soing it during the infiltration bit.

By the way, how are the kobolds sorcerers and the elven wizards progressing ?
I want to start tutoring the first.

>>22793136
>>22793093
>>22792971

It looks like a few of us are in agreement.

Create a separate public persona for our new land lord. Keep our interests insulated from each other so if one of them gets fucked the other can keep going.

The land lord will, of course, support a few local businesses and the company will bring trade and wealth to the island. They'll still be able to help and support each other but not in any way that suggests they are connected.

I will be honest aside, from the kobolds I am not exactly a fan of cult-like minions. I rarer adopt orphans take them from property and raise them as a father like figure.

>>22793382
Bad spelling aside, I agree. After all, with the elves being who they are, keeping secrecy is going to be effectively impossible anyway. Unless everyone has a good explanation as to how they got to the island. And trust the elves, including the children, to lie effectively. And explain where they got all of those scars.

>>22793383
We're far from experienced enough in magic to start teaching. We're CL3 yet we don't even know 3rd level spells.

>>22793419
I don't think that's how it works.

>>22793378
>You can have a secret society without a philosophy.
No, it don't think so. The philosophy is the reason people join.
If all they do is gather, share a drink and make a bit of small talk and then go take care of their own affairs, it's not a secret society.
They have to make plans, set up a goal, and discuss ideas that bring them together : a doctrine, an ideology, or a philosophy, whatever you call it.

>>22793401
not really, half of those anons just don't want to implicate our merchant operation/spy ring as related to us. Plus there is the whole elves issue.

>>22793419
One doesn't need to know highschool-level maths to teach additions and multiplications.

>>22793431
Yeah, for sorcery it CLx2 for spell level. It's CLx2-1 for prepared spell-casters

>>22793328

Most important thing is to have clear, simple to understand rule of law. We don't want a free-for-all. An empire needs legal backbone, otherwise it will need to rely on muscle and suppression. And muscle is better used on expanding the empire than keeping it from falling into disarray. Of course keeping order also takes strength, but not as much as crushing rebellions, not to mention notion of security makes simple folk much less likely to rebel.

The emperor is the warrant of that order. Going against the emperor is inviting anarchy and ruin.

>>22793401
>Create a separate public persona for our new land lord.
If there's any interesting candidate, I'd rather use someone who already has some power.

>>22793401
No seperate persona. We tried that in the last quest and it was a complete pain in the ass. We could never go out and properly burn things

>>22793513

Someone who already has some power is more likely to turn against us though.

Someone who inherited an elevated status might be a decent puppet, I suppose, if we poses as someone who "has only recently decided to try his hand in trade and politics"

>>22793444
Poor Konrad and the Union Shoe didn't have a philosophy as such, and attracted thousands of peasants in early-modern Germany. You're right to say that a secret society needs aims - but we could launch on nothing more profound than the advancement of the membership.

>>22793401
Openly rule when the time comes. If only because otherwise we will have to kill our sister when she laughs at us. Plus there is the whole "Elf" issue

>>22793416
Yeah, we can delay it for a while but it's not going to stay secret forever.

I strongly recommend we create a new persona and play up the whole 'Good King Red' thing.
Create a prosperous land full of happy, well fed people that will happily serve us even if we are a Dragon.

I also vote for insulating the trade company from our other stuff. Even if this shit does blow up in our face, we have a good power-base to fall back on and we can learn from our mistakes and start again.

>>22793573
>Someone who already has some power is more likely to turn against us though.
No, by interesting candidate, I mean (among other things) someone who can understand his own interest, so not ready to piss off a dragon.

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Several of the former peasants you originally pressed into your service have experience in improving soil quality, mostly through the use of manure. One in particular claims bird excrement was particularly effective for aiding crop growth. You have no idea how true this is, but it can't hurt to try (at least, it can't hurt anyone who matters; the birds are quite aggressive). Fortunately, as many villages rely on fishing, there are often large numbers of seabirds gathered around any given settlement. There are enough birds present that a large colony has formed on the north coast of the island.

Several agents not closely associated with your company are sent to the northeast village. The locals think they're mad for paying to have birdshit shipped over to the town, but as it's them that are getting paid, they don't argue. For only a few hundred gold your agents gain several dozen acres to experiment on. It will take a full year to really see how effective the fertiliser is, but results two months in are promising. The final improvement in yield that is likely to result is unclear.

---

Your sister's visits passes without any major events. She has enslaved the goblin tribe an made her displeasure at their previous leader's betrayal painfully clear. She now has them working to gather information on the small towns that litter the eastern side of the hills.

>>22793569
>We could never go out and properly burn things

Good. Then people don't think, "OH SHIT DRAGON! LET'S ALL TEAM UP IN ORDER TO TAKE DOWN THIS FOE!" and kill us.

With your cult being poorly suited to favourable interaction among humanoids who could be considered normal, your agents are sent in once more. Their instructions are simple enough: seize control of the northeast village non-violently. The many ties they establish with local community previously makes it far easier to steadily take a leadership position than it would have been otherwise (though they still believe your agents to be eccentric at best). With plenty of money to throw around and a handful of semi experienced mercenaries to back them up, no-one is willing to argue and the local mayor cedes power to your representative.

The village has around two hundred and fifty inhabitants. They make a small surplus of food which they trade for essentials in the main town. Most of the food sold to the city are cereals, vegetables and livestock, as the fishermen from the town can easily provide enough fish. Every day, a few of the locals sail a small boat down the coast and into the town to sell their wares and pick up requested items.

If the band of eccentric 'rich' men taking over one of the villages has even been noticed, no one is paying much attention. Most of the guilds keep their forces in the town to protect their interests. The villages need to trade with the town to get many basic materials, so food keeps coming. The villages represent so little wealth compared to the trade routes or favourite raiding spots that no-one has bothered to secure them. Everyone is much more concerned about potential violence between the two 'princes' and ongoing sahuagin attacks damaging trade.

After three months, it's clear that the fertiliser is working beatifully. There's no way to be certain yet, but it looks like it might be enough to double the yield per acre of your farmland. You didn't bother listening to the specifics, but your resident farmers are very happy. The villagers themselves were easily persuaded to keep quite as they stand to make quite a bit of money from this discovery. Your command of the village is also secure, with your proxies having gone from 'mad but rich' to 'wise men who'll make us rich too'. Needless to say, they are quite popular rulers and have made it clear they are only working on behalf of you. There is quite a bit of curiosity as to who 'you' are, but most agree you're some rich merchant who's up to something.

You have one village under your control. How do you want to continue?

>>22793604

Ambition can make people do stupid things. All I'm saying is we could find some shut-in excentric noble and make him our proxy.

>>22793626
OK. That is an excellent start, but it needs time to take root. We should probe the troubles with the princes. Perhaps one of them is unusually wise and intelligent (i.e. interested in a deal with us).

>>22793598
>I strongly recommend we create a new persona and play up the whole 'Good King Red' thing.
I disagree. It will fail when secrecy stops.
We should convince people that it is good to serve us after they learn we're a dragon, or they'll feel fooled.
So we should spend a few months gathering solid supporters that will learn and keep our secret, then we stage a coup with their help, and then we take care of filling the land with happy, well-fed people.

Maybe we should set a schedule.

Cool. Think I caught up on the thread.

>>22793218
Philosophy's kind of cool, but on the other hand, why specify it if we don't have to?


I'd like to reveal ourselves, kind of like espoused in the last thread. http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/22680270/#p22688476

If people are bent on halfdragon minions (which are pretty alright,) screwing some elves (particularly ones to be raised by our loyal cultists,) would be on the list, so that they'll be useful sooner. Lizardmen too, if we want fast brute-force help.

>>22793626
Continue subverting other villages. Build up power outside of the trade guilds notice, keep tabs on them but don't try anything overt.

>>22793670
Pretty much, except a formal schedule is presumptuous. We should work carefully based on the natural opportunities, rather than forcing events.

>>22793626
Find the third or fourth most powerful merchant prince. Make him an offer he can't refuse. Serve us and become our regent when we take over the town or die basically. Promise a major increase in profits and such.

>>22793677
Alas, our elf harem has to wait for a few more years (next age category).

>>22793670
Seconded. Now we just need a plan.
>>22793677
please note we can't do that until age 50.

>>22793686
Not yet! If we have a real base of power in the outer villages then he'll be more likely to listen.

Continue to subvert the villages it is.

Roll a d20 (low).

Rolled 4

>>22793736
dark lady bless my roll!

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>>22793748
I-I think Tiamat may be on to us or something

>>22793748
I was just about to roll.

>>22793626
See >>22793686 >>22793656.
Search for some mildly powerful man (or woman) to ally with.
Try to make sure that it's a talented person, then arrange for its kidnapping, and make our offer. In case of a refusal, kill it and try another.

>>22793685
I think forcing events is good. That's what rulers do.

>>22793626
Oh right, while we're spending months on this, spare a bit of time on >>22791421.

>>22793670
>We should convince people that it is good to serve us after they learn we're a dragon

A small handful of agents that know who we really are is one thing. The general public is another.

If we openly reveal ourself as a Dragon BEFORE we gain creditability and support as a good ruler we'll be up to our horns in fucking murderhobos!

>"Hey, I'm a Dragon."
>PANIC!
>Murderhobos. Murderhobos everywhere!

>"Hey, I'm a good and capable ruler that had brought wealth and prosperity to the land."
>"We love you for it Lord."
>"Oh, I'm also a Dragon."
>"Woah! Erm... Well, you're still the best thing that ever happened to these lands. Still happy to serve Lord."

>>22793778
Sure, roll a d20 for finding elven lore.

I think we should plan on revealing ourselves at some point.

There's just so much we're limited from doing if we have to hide our presence. It's demeaning and an insult to our pride. We don't have to jump out of the closet now, but we should be planning long-term for a way to rule openly.

Rolled 4

>>22793821
>Tiamat

Rolled 13

>>22793821
If tiamat blesses three rolls in a row I'll suck whatever genitals she has

>>22793626
Continue with subversion of the local government through our representatives. Further prosperity. Set up a framework for our Red Dragon Society.

>>22793748
Okay, clearly Tiamat has plans for us. Considering that she's even less scrupulous than us, a divine, and we're both gunning for the same things, if on far different scales, I'm a little worried.

>>22793836
Welp, better get on my knees.

>>22793836

You, I like you.

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>>22793836
>4, 4, 4

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>>22793870
holy shit you're right.

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>>22793836
Holy fuck this tiamat works! All hail the dark lady!

Captcha: dlnksk serve

wtf....... WTF...... I JUST ROLLED AND I GOT A CAPTCHA SAYING SERVE.
/TG/ I AM SCARED

>>22793836
>>22793748
We best be prayin'.

>>22793885
>>22793870
this proves it. S͐̿̊́ͣ̌̎̀҉̘̯̞͕̜H͊̒͜҉̴̟͓͈̟͔E̸̪ͦ̅̃̑ͅ ̨̨̲̭͊̉̃ͦͨ̅ͬ̊ͨC̶ͩͪ̎̽͞͏̪̦̩̳Ŏ̸ͦ͛̂͆͛ͨͫ҉͙̪Ḿ̷͚͎͈͉̝̤̻ͣ͒̎̇̒̅ͪ̀͟E̸̝̘̪ͣ͞S̮̩̗̰̱̀̈́̓͜

>>22793885
>In this episode, we find religion

Tiamat is a greedy goddess, but damn she is fine when she wants to be.

>>22793827

We are still young and not even immune to non-magic weapons yet. We have lifespans that will last millenia, what good would it do to attract more assassins while we're still young?

>>22793736
Don't do only this.

Try to create a secret society in the city. Print a leaflet expanding on >>22793218 and the others ideas about our secret society, and distribute it. Don't mention anything precise about a secret society, just raise some ideas, like the faults of leaving the leadership into the hands of rival and private companies, the faults of human kings, and what would be an enlightened tyrant, sign "your servitor the red dragon".
Let our agents see the reaction in various places where people of various classes gather and discuss, like pubs, the townhall, some rich widow's house, etc. Have them try to call the most enthusiast people they find for secret meetings.
Start the secret society from there.
After a while, let those people know that there's an actual dragon.

Also, buy a lot of slaves in the city and elsewhere, free them, and help them build a village of their own.

>>22793870
>>22793879
>>22793885
>>22793899
>>22793899
>>22793901
>>22793914

Are there any non-Dragon worshippers of Tiamat? If there are then this might be a sign for the direction of our cult.

>>22793652
>find shut-in fa/tg/uy noble
>make him proxy

I bet people that know of him will end up getting suspicious about who's helping him.

>>22793870
>Tiamat's holy number is 5.
>She sends a message of "4"

So. She's missing one.

Pimp dragon indeed.

>>22793938
If we find this human bard to help us in this it would be awesome.

>>22793938
Printing a leaflet with point (1) might give the game away.

>>22793949
Who needs a waifu when you can have a banging hot goddess with 5 times the genes for the price of one! (Not that I don't advocate finding us a metallic to bang)

>>22793949
IT IS A SIGN! WE ARE TO ASCEND AND BECOME THE FIFTH DRAGON HEAD!

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>>22793949

It tastes like her own, but it's always great getting head.

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>>22793975
oh we'll give her a head alright

>>22793938
Agreed.

>>22793939
Some, but not many. Pretty sure 90% are just greedy dickheads or powermad dickheads. The other 10% are whatever. We're going to end up being a separate sect.

>>22793949
>4
>missing head
>we're of the greatest of chromatic dragon breeds
>we're the missing piece
Well FUCK, we really are the messiah. If we don't get omens in the post, I will be disappointed.

>>22793974
Although we should probably prove our virility to the dark lady before ascending.

>>22793975
IIRC, Tiamat has a consort from each of the 5 tribes of chromatic dragon. So we may not be getting absorbed into her.

At least, not permanently.

>>22793974
>finding and fucking a metallic

Depending on how sadistic and creepy we'd be willing to go, we could rape & mentally break a young metallic and rebuild her into our fuckslave.

>>22794017
Let's hold off on trolling Bahamut for another couple of episodes.

>>22793974

I still think having a metallic spouse to serve as receptacle of our subjects' unconditional adoration would be nice. A pretty face they would love and treasure while enjoying the benefits of being ruled and protected by a Red.

>>22793987
>>22793984
>>22793975
>>22793974
>>22793949
Careful, don't want to make her angry.
>>22793961
I still think it's to early to start moving in on the town, but WHEN we do, signing everything as "the Red Dragon" would be hilarious. Everyone thinks that it's just an alias, and then we reveal that we actually are a red dragon.
>>22794017
Dude, come on. Dragons don't do that to dragons.

>>22794069
>I still think it's to early to start moving in on the town, but WHEN we do, signing everything as "the Red Dragon" would be hilarious. Everyone thinks that it's just an alias, and then we reveal that we actually are a red dragon.

This.

"Of course you can trust me. I've been honest with you the whole time."

>>22794069

I'm not saying we should do it, just putting out the idea.

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Oh hey, you guys used the name I suggested. That was a nice surprise to look in on.

>>22794017

I don't think rape and mindbend should be necessary. We're not your typical dragon, ruling only through fear and terror.

Although we should probably make sure she's not relatives with the ones we have already, ah, displaced.

>>22794008
We wouldn't wear the pants in that relationship
>>22794017
Blue board my friend. I prefer more subtle forms of emotional manipulation than that.

>>22793811
>If we openly reveal ourself as a Dragon BEFORE we gain creditability and support as a good ruler we'll be up to our horns in fucking murderhobos!
No. We'll take control of the island at that moment and we'll be able to prevent any murderhobo from coming.

>"Hey, I'm a Dragon, and I control the island."
>"ohshitohshitohshit we can't do anything let's just do what he says and avoid being hurt"
>"Hey, our lives are actually improving"

>"Hey, I'm a good and capable ruler that had brought wealth and prosperity to the land."
>"Well that's nice, though you're gaining more than we do from it"
>"Oh, I'm also a Dragon."
> "ohshiohshitohshit guys we've be decieved, he did all this only to enslave us"

All our credibility will be done for when we reveal ourself, and we'll have to start again.
We only need a (relatively) small group of people to do a coup. Might as well start from there directlyLet's not spend too long on gathering support we'll lose as soon as we try to use it.

>>22794115
Muhammad went around with an older, more powerful, woman for a while. It was all part of becoming the Prophet.

>>22794118
Not if we do:
>>22794069
>I still think it's to early to start moving in on the town, but WHEN we do, signing everything as "the Red Dragon" would be hilarious. Everyone thinks that it's just an alias, and then we reveal that we actually are a red dragon.

People would react like:
>>22794093
>"Of course you can trust me. I've been honest with you the whole time."

>>22794093
+1 vote for this.

Partly because I think it will have long term gains. Softening the blow if/when we are revealed as a Dragon.

Also because I think it will be fucking hilarious!

>>22793933
Doesn't have to be immediate, I said that! We should just be planning along those lines. We can swallow our pride for a few decades or so, but we should not cower or have to hide our glory.

>>22794143
They aren't going to be leaping for joy, but it takes the edge off.

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>>22794115
We need to get some pants at some point.

>>22794154
AND it will be hilarious.

>>22794069
Not sure what number you are on, but that is hilarious.

>>22794118
If we have our cult properly organized, there won't be any such naysayers spreading dragon prejudice around us. Seriously, time is a dragon's greatest asset, don't waste it.

>>22794017

>her

CIS scum, etc.

>>22793970
True. But it's not meant to be printed it like that, just make something inspired from that.

>>22794069
>I still think it's to early to start moving in on the town
No... not through indirect propaganda, anyway. I'd even say that waiting months before we sart our secret society is just losing our time.

>>22794000
If ANYTHING, it's probably 'we have a chance at becoming her consort'.

>>22794189
>CIS

Wat?

>>22794179
Oooo, what a clever idea! We get our cult to integrate and start some anti dragon prejudice stuff. Very subtly of course.

>>22794204
When Tiamat smiles at you, jump for joy. And keep jumping until it hurts. Then keep jumping until you collapse.

That's just how she rolls.

>>22794143
No, seriously, people will freak out even if we've been good.
People are not open-minded. They don't think "we shouldn't assume that it's a regular red dragon until he does something to prove it". They think "FUCK IT'S A RED DRAGON, GET IN THE SHIP".

>>22794225
you heard him guys. From now on, always tiamatfag your rolls even if it hurts.

>>22794165
I'm thinking we make our alias "The Crimson Dragon"

What do you think? It's 'showy' enough that people will just take it as the alias of someone who's a bit eccentric. But, clear enough that well be able to say "What are you talking about? I told you I was a Dragon. You knew all along.... Humaniods?!"

>>22794231
The commoners can't afford to leave. So it just comes down down to the wealthier layers. Those who've joined the Red Dragon Society have been enriched by us, or at least know that others have benefited by being members.

Those who were too "principled" to join - disappear.

>>22794253
not going full-on literal kind of makes it lose its cool. Crimson is an overrated word anyways.

>>22794253
No, "the Red Dragon" is direct but still seems like what a secretive conspirator might call themselves.

>>22794270
yup

>>22794253

Why not "The Crimson King"?

>>22794259
>The Red Dragon Society
PERFECT!

>>22794297
But that's not as ironic as "the Red Dragon"!

(Nearing 300 posts, what should I put for the Archive Description?)

>>22794297
Stop it. Red Dragon is perfect.

>>22794297
Because, crudely put:
Strongly good-aligned people are against us anyway. Evils may work with us but can't be trusted. We need to win the Lawful Neutral vote, and one thing they appreciate is honesty.

>>22794231
Dragon rulers are not exactly uncommon.

>>22794179
>>22793933
Right, time is our greatest asset.
We shouldn't waste it.

So don't use it to solve problems that can be solved with minor assets.
Let's enjoy our youth and take over this little island as soon as we can. Don't waste time on this when we'll need it more to expand outside.

>>22794205

Don't ask. Let's discuss dragons instead.

>>22794270
>not going full-on literal kind of makes it lose its cool.

Fair point. "The Red Dragon" it is then.

This is going to be fucking hilarious!

>>22794323
tiamat shows us her favour and we suck up like the good chromatics we are.

>>22794334
That's exactly what will attract assassins.

>>22794351
Seconding motion for "The Red Dragon"

>>22794334
baby steps, my friend. It all begins from here, and as we get more powerful our scale will expand.

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>>22794351
Yes. Yes it will be.

>>22794351
Thirding.

>>22794334
If we're sloppy and just go for the direct power grab we'll be buried under murderhobos before the end of the next thread.

>>22794330
Yes. And they certainly don't have a good reputation, as far as rulers go.
>>22794259
The commoners can afford to leave. We're on an island, there's lots of fishermen willign to ferry people out of here for a very reasonable price.
Most rich people won't join the society.
Killing the opposition will confirm people's fears.
But the probalem isn't so much that they'll leave, it's that they'll want to.

It will mean we wasted our time on proving that our persona is a good lord, then destroyed that persona.
Might as well concentrate our efforts on finding people who will stick with us when we reveal ourself, then work on the others.

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>>22794418
Yeah, what would we do if this guy shows at our doorstep?

>>22794329

>good aligned
>opposing a respected ruler that freed you from corrupt criminal scum of a guildmaster and gives you order and protection in exchange for modest taxation. Doesn't even demand virgin sacrifices and boosts economy with his draconic lore of bird shit.

you meant to say "chaotic stupid", yes?

>>22794418
Even as things stand, the Red Dragon Society might attract some investigation. But so long as we hold our nerve, we should be OK.

>>22794458

Invite it for some tea.

If it tried to steal from our hoard, eat it and spit out the metal bits.

>>22794473
>Dragon
>eating Smalls

>>22794452
At this point, your method is just to contradict me, which is a waste of time for both of us.

You're in the minority. Come up with some new arguments, or accept the majority's decision.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/22791054/

Archive link there

>>22794460
No, I mean Good. Paladins might not decide that we're a priority target, but they'll still be highly suspicious of a Red Dragon ruler.

>>22794460
>draconic lore of bird shit
Hahaha, oh shit, this is good some good shit right here

>>22794473
>Dragon eating THE DRAGONSLAYER
>Implying Biggie wouldnt eat him first

>>22794374
>>22794418
Let them come. We'll kill them and take their stuff. Like we did for the last dragonslayers who came for us, but after the coup we'll have the ressources of the whole island to help. Not to mention that an island is easy to defend.
This world is not that powerful compared to us.
This island is no serious threat, and going slow won't make it much easier.
>>22794394
We're a dragon, not a baby.
I don't want to wait to be a great wyrm before we start doing what we want.

>>22794452

To be honest, it's better if the commoners who do not want to benefit from our rule leave than stay and plot against us. It means more land for our loyal followers. And if they stay, they will soon come to realize that nothing really changed for the worse.

>>22794418
Disagree. What in the world makes you think that we will tell them where we lair. Plus, we have a government that most of them won't get past anyway.

>>22794494
I might be the minority, but that doesn't make my arguments less valid. I think you're wrong, why shouldn't I explain why ?

>>22794544
>And when other dragons realize that you are bringing unnecessary attention to Dragonkind? When rulers of foreign kingdoms launch campaigns to rid themselves of local dragons, for fear of having them rise up to rule? When Ancient Wyrms come down from their lairs to kick our ass, take our hoard, and restore balance to the force?

I know we're a dragon, but that doesn't mean that we should bite off more than we can chew.