File: newWorldMap.png (1.49 MB, 4612x1704)

1.49 MB PNG

>>33826046
Current Date and Time: Late afternoon on November 10th, 1952PC

>You have 1 FR point

You hold back a wince as Caitlyn instinctively cuddles into you after you pick her up off the ground. You’d moved quickly once she’d gone berserk but luckily hadn’t needed to intervene. Instead you just needed to withstand her new black claws digging into your skin. It was also very awkward holding a woman with wings and a tail.

Loud footsteps behind you signal the arrival of Phrace and his men. They’d been acting as emergency intervention in case things went south. You’re just glad that they hadn’t charged out and tried to intervene in this fight, as there was no chance of them doing much apart from dying. Phrace looks to you for orders as the crowd grows restless and you see movement in the box that was for the other rulers.

“Captain, get Rayza Starrn immediate medical attention. Try to get in contact with Lady Tsucchi – she might be able to help,” you order.

Phrace snaps off a sharp salute and immediately moves towards the immobile Rayza. You’ll deal with her later and hopefully after Alyce. You hadn’t expected another dragon, especially one that’s managed to hide out in the Magi League for years.

>continued

File: 002.jpg (494 KB, 980x572)

494 KB JPG

>>33826052
“Taira,” you say as you turn towards her, “take us to the main spire.”

“Are you sure? It might alarm them,” she asks you, her voice sounding amused for some reason.

“I don’t want to wade through the crowds with a small army of knights guarding us,” you say and give her a nod.

There’s a few brief moments where you can hear the roar of the crowd, the clatter of your knights’ armour and the general hustle and bustle of the stadium. Then Taira’s tails finish weaving their faux pattern, her three hidden tails likely weaving the array in the odd gaps you see in it, and the world warps.

Sometime later you find yourself in your study, pouring a glass of brandy, as Alyce and Mercenie step inside. You had at least been given some warning as to their arrival. You just don’t know what mood they’ll be in. They both look somewhat serious but at least their faces aren’t pictures of outrage. You…

>1. Offer them drinks but otherwise let them say their piece first.
>2. Ask them about their knowledge of Rayza before they can say anything.
>3. Apologise for what happened.
>4. Custom

This should be a short wrap-up before we move into decision-making.

>>33826073
>>1. Offer them drinks but otherwise let them say their piece first

>>33826073
>1. Offer them drinks but otherwise let them say their piece first.

>>33826073
>1. Offer them drinks but otherwise let them say their piece first.

>>33826073
>>1. Offer them drinks but otherwise let them say their piece first.

>>33826073
Why do I see Talon just being like "What a fight there."

>>33826303

I picture him like this to be honest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTfEDvVVwYE

Reminder that Caitlyn a cute.

File: 003.jpg (247 KB, 1215x883)

247 KB JPG

>1.

You gesture to the two glasses near you, offering them drinks. Alyce refuses with a short shake of her head but Merce accepts. You pretend not to notice the admonishing look Alyce gives Merce as you pour her some brandy. Offering her a glass, you lean back against your desk and wait for them to speak.

Alyce sighs when she notices you’re not going to start. “Despite what you might be thinking, I’m not here to cause a diplomatic incident. Well, not any more than it already is. I just need you to know that this causes me more problems than you, so I’m not about to create any more.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” you say slowly, giving her a curious look while sipping your drink.

“Rayza is a dragon. I noticed it. Most likely somebody else did too,” she says. “Non-humans can’t actually be members of mage towers like that, even as spellblades. They have to be a familiar,” Alyce tips her head towards Merce while saying this,” or they aren’t actually covered by the protections of the tower insofar as the law is concerned. That makes her a huge target.”

“What are you going to do about it?” you ask.

“Preferably I’ll leave her here under your care. You’ve got the mystic foxes who can heal her and I can work out what to do with her. I’m somewhat at a loss, to be honest,” she admits.

>Any questions to ask Alyce before making a decision on Rayza?

>>33826518

Does she have that many enemies? Who would mess with a Dragon after a display like that?

Do you know anything else about her Draconic heritage?

Anything we should know if we are to keep her under our care?

>>33826518

If she is becoming a huge target how is she more safe in our lands that hers?

>>33826518
"Why not just give her a knighthood then? Doesn't that make her an honorary mage under your reforms? One attached to the Tower of the stars?"

Or am I not supposed to actually solve her problem

>>33826518
>“Non-humans can’t actually be members of mage towers like that, even as spellblades. They have to be a familiar,”

Oh hoho. This means we got a change to snatch her up since we can legally protect her because we are the rules.

>>33826518
"Any idea how she hid her abilities for so long or her reason for joining you while hiding her identity? Any members of the towers I should be particularly wary of concerning her safety? How long do you request I care for her or are you basically asking me to become her patron until she decides to leave of her own?"

File: 004.jpg (931 KB, 1000x3750)

931 KB JPG

>>33826604
>"Why not just give her a knighthood then? Doesn't that make her an honorary mage under your reforms? One attached to the Tower of the stars?"
"My offer to the knights of providing them additional status was to provide stability. Granting knighthood to a dragon would be a disaster for that. You might be able to work around that in your domain but I won't risk what little stability I have in Ahm over one woman."

>>33826595
>If she is becoming a huge target how is she more safe in our lands that hers?
"Because Ahm is a sprawling metropolis practically built on politics. I don't think things are so bad here. That, and you can actually use your military to protect her - I cannot, without risking the stability of the League."

>>33826589
>Do you know anything else about her Draconic heritage?
"No. I didn't even know she was a dragon before that match."

>Who would mess with a Dragon after a display like that?
"Plenty of mages may fancy themselves powerful enough. Malataine may have representatives in the city. The Mage Guard will definitely try something. No matter how powerful she is, she's still only one person."

File: 016.jpg (454 KB, 1920x1200)

454 KB JPG

>>33826682
>"Any idea how she hid her abilities for so long or her reason for joining you while hiding her identity? Any members of the towers I should be particularly wary of concerning her safety?
"No and not really. If she's in your lands that makes it harder to tell who might take action."

>How long do you request I care for her or are you basically asking me to become her patron until she decides to leave of her own?"
"I am asking you to keep her here until I can figure out what to do with her. I would prefer it if you she didn't just wander off."

>>33826803

That's good enough for me, Finn's about to get a happy (?) surprise

>>33826803
How do you feel about us bedding her?

>>33826869

Bad anon, you don't NTR your squire/surrogate son

Yes, I know it's technically not NTR

File: 019.jpg (266 KB, 793x1200)

266 KB JPG

RAYZA VOTE
>1. Agree to keeping Rayza in your lands for now.
>2. Refuse to keep Rayza.
>3. Custom

I was going to suggest her talking to the Helldragon and maybe getting some advice, but I can't remember her name (I keep wanting to call her Sylvanis)and I doubt she'd be keen on the idea anyway.

>>33826963
>1. Agree to keeping Rayza in your lands for now.

>>33826963
>1. Agree to keeping Rayza in your lands for now.

>>33826963
>1. Agree to keeping Rayza in your lands for now.

>>33826963
>1. Agree to keeping Rayza in your lands for now.
>>33826976
I don't really care what she thinks

>>33826915
>Don't NTR

anon. Anon NTRing someone is a valuable life lesson on love. Don't consider it NTR just consider it part of his Squire training!

>>33826963
>1. Agree to keeping Rayza in your lands for now.

Its a favor that should please at least two faction heads and she's a strong warrior. If we can mend the disconnect between her and Lynn she could end up being a powerful ally.

>>33827002
"Remember this, and remember well, Finn- Bitches ain't nothing but hoes with tricks."

>>33826963
1. Assuming the woman in question is agreeable to the arrangement.

>>33827015

Do we think that she could be a potential General candidate down the line?

She's probably got the experience and she can wreck bitches on the frontline too. Our two generals can't do that as far as I know.

>>33826963
>2. Refuse to keep Rayza
The only thing we gain from this is problems

>>33827078

Hoes and Tricks, anon. Hoes and Tricks.

>>33826915
Why would we consider Finn a surrogate son? We had nothing to do with raising him and have known him what, a month? A few? Sure he's someone important to Talon, but he's a student not a son.

>>33827002

Who hurt you Anon? Why do you desire to pain our Squire?

>>33827149
Problems AND a decent sparing partner for our higher level underlings. That's not the easiest thing to come by.

Honestly our bigger issue is going to be Lynn. Any anti-dragon people are going to be going after us now anyway. So another dragon doesn't hurt that much.

>>33827110
Ideally, no guarantee she'll want to work under us though. She fancies herself a conqueror it seems. Still having another dragon under our care and someone with enough experience to act as a general and hold their own against serious threats is worth the problems she presents in the immediate future.

>>33827193
Oh shit a sparring partner, you should of said it earlier because now she is clearly worth keeping

>>33827159

Because he's the best son anyone could have. Also the whole male bonding relationship goes beyond just master-student relationship.

File: 021.jpg (265 KB, 1024x512)

265 KB JPG

>1.

“I’ll keep her here, then,” you tell Alyce, who gives you a small smile in return. “I can’t promise I’ll return her though.”

Merce snorts while Alyce gives you a confused look. She clearly wants to ask you what you mean but doesn’t, possibly because she’s afraid Merce will tease her for not immediately catching your meaning. You make some small-talk, with both women studiously avoiding the topic of Lynn, before finishing for the night. Both Lynn and Rayza are still out cold so you instead decide to hold the cabinet meeting you’d scheduled for tonight.

As everybody troops in, you consider what is before you. You’ll put aside the issue of your new knightly and ranger orders and instead just consider how to deal with Termina. You want to have an idea of your approach before the lords and ladies return to their own domains.

>Options incoming

This will basically be discussion time. I’ll call any votes as necessary.

>>33827243

Well, Lynn dealt her ego a blow, so we'll see how that works out. She will have to deal with being the second strongest dragon in the empire.

I also like the idea of having a general who can take out enemy champions herself. If I remember correctly, we had to allocate a lot of our hero units to General Old Man for that purpose.

File: 022.jpg (362 KB, 899x950)

362 KB JPG

>>33827343
TERMINA OPTION

Offer: Termina will cede power to The York Empire in exchange for military assistance. You will then conquer Compagnon and Farun by force with their help. King Lyyph will take a position either in your cabinet or as governor of the new Terminan state.

Benefits: Lyyph and his advisors appear somewhat competent and will be of assistance. Likely a quick and relatively bloodless conquest. No strings attached in your conquest of Compagnon and Farun.

Drawbacks: Lyyph is the ambitious sort and may prove a thorn in your side. Using conquest will result in lower order in Termina for some time. Incompatible with the other offers.

OPINIONS

Maloric: “Probably the best option if you don’t mind Lyyph. Otherwise just conquer the land without him. It’s not like there’ll be much difference.”

Marcus the Merchant: “I feel this might be the worst option. Termina has not been the most stable place of late and spreading that across the entire region is not ideal.”

Sarah: “It could work, but I would be wary of Lyyph. If left idle he won’t be too helpful – Termina can only keep him busy for so long.”

Undine: “You have more peaceful choices available. You could use those and simply remove Lyyph from power – the instability he has caused should make that easier than this.”

>Farun next

>>33826518
>Non-humans can’t actually be members of mage towers like that, even as spellblades. They have to be a familiar
Well now.
Anyone up to getting rid of this limitation in the harrowmont tower we are building? I bet quite a lot of powerful mages would love the opportunity.

File: 025.jpg (248 KB, 685x1024)

248 KB JPG

>>33827365
FARUN OPTION

Offer: To facilitate the peaceful acquisition of Farun in exchange for promising King Henry and his family continuing rule of the city and healing Prince Phillip. You would likely need to hold further negotiations with the nobles and landowners of the nation.

Benefits: You’ll gain Farun without needing to deploy troops. King Henry appears to be liked by his populace so order and control should remain high with him ruling the former capital.

Drawbacks: Your options in Farun may be limited by needing to keep Henry around. Sarah clearly doesn’t like Annette. Incompatible with the Termina offer.

OPINIONS

Sarah: “I don’t feel there’s much point in going through such a troublesome process. It may be peaceful but we’ll likely end up giving so much away that it might be pointless.”

Maloric: “I dislike it out of principle. It’s a boring royalist nation with no real power. Have them surrender or be swept aside.”

Taira: “The healing should be easy. Negotiations are always annoying but there might be ways of making those go more smoothly if you like. It would leave you free to deploy your troops elsewhere.”

Gnome: “A simpler option for the negotiations is to marry the princess to somebody under your thumb. Use that as a bargaining chip to force the noble’s hands. It avoids bloodshed and the negotiations.”

>Compagnon 1 next

>>33826756
>The Mage Guard will definitely try something.
wait, what? is sylvanus influence in it so weak that the mage guard hunts down dragons just for being dragon

File: 026.jpg (220 KB, 669x1024)

220 KB JPG

>>33827393
COMPAGNON OPTION 1

Offer: Compagnon cedes to The York Empire. Avinou remains a merchant city and port and establishes close trade links with the empire.

Benefits: Peaceful acquisition of territory. Additional merchant resources and expertise.

Drawbacks: Will grow at the expense of Vitria, destabilising that territory further. Will require immediate intervention to prevent Termina from attacking them. Incompatible with the Termina offer.

OPINIONS

Sarah: “You know my thoughts on this. Avinou will cannibalise Vitria and the empire won’t actually gain anything.”

Maloric: “Eh, it’s not much of an offer. They gain plenty and you gain some land that you could take with little difficulty.”

Gnome: “The land is what you really want, not the port. This is in contrast to Vitria where you want the city and the land is secondary. There’s not much point in having two mediocre cities instead of one great one.”

Marcus the Merchant: “I will dissent with the rest of the cabinet to support this option. You are gaining territory for no cost at all. Any movement of trade from one city to the other doesn’t impact the empire as a whole.”

>>33826869
>NTRing our squire
BAD! BAD!

>>33827452
Sylvian.

None of these options look particularly appetizing.

I am against Termina because I don't believe in employing the questionable for such an important role. If we want to go route of conquest, I'd rather we just do it ourselves and place someone trustworthy in that role.

Compagnon offer is mediocre.

Could we do a modified Farun option? Get the royal family to surrender, keep Henry on throne, heal his son.

Tell the nobles to bend the knees like the royals or face the full might of our army.

No option to just conquer them and be done with them all?

File: 028.jpg (104 KB, 550x825)

104 KB JPG

>>33827462
COMPAGNON OPTION 2

Offer: Compagnon cedes to The York Empire. Avinou will be reduce to an administrative city rather than a trade port in exchange for compensation.

Benefits: Peaceful acquisition of territory. Additional merchant resources and expertise. Maintains Vitria as your trade capital.

Drawbacks: Will cost 100TBY. Will require you to grant the merchants noble title, which may still upset some Vitrian nobles. The merchants may still feel unhappy about the move. Will require immediate intervention to prevent Termina from attacking them. Incompatible with the Termina offer.

OPINIONS

Sarah: “What nonsense! Why should we pay them to have the honour of be able to establish themselves in Vitria? I disagree with the idea of paying them compensation above what their land is worth.”

Maloric: “This seems worse than the last offer. Just conquer them already.”

Gnome: “100TBY isn’t much and the issues that will arise from the move can be dealt with. It’s a fair offer to gain so much territory bloodlessly.”

Marcus the Merchant: “I support this slightly less than the previous offer.”

>That is all the offers. Discuss.

Note that you can still jsut choose to conquer them as Mal said you should. Or try something completely different.

>>33827462
>COMPAGNON OPTION 1
Wonder what option 2 will be.

>>33827572
>Otherwise just conquer the land without him.

Yeah we can. It's just that we have options to do so quickly and without blood shed.

File: 031.jpg (488 KB, 1024x498)

488 KB JPG

Also, I wouldn't mind some feedback on how I presented the information. I'll either do something similar for the upcoming major alliance choice or try something different if you don't like it.

How about

1. FARUN OPTION, but only negotiate with royals. Nobles get in line or get fucked.
2. Conquer TERMINA
3. Renegotiate with COMPAGNON, they can have the noble titles, but no compensation. Reduced to administrative city.

>>33827575
Minor question. That Vitrian/Ahm canal idea a few people had. I assume that if Companion was still under mage guard restrictions when it was completed the merchants there would be screwed economically? Just wanted to know if announcing that might cause them to turn reasonable.

>>33827393
Could we get a list of potential suitors?

I'm honestly for the Termina offer. It offers the best option to gain land without blood, and has very minimal effect and long term issues outside of Lypph.

We can pretty much do that and use it to intimidate the other lands into our hands, we don't necessarily have to conquer them with blood and fire. Just using an aggressive form of diplomacy.

>>33827365
>Lyph caused instability in his own land
What kind of instability? we also caused instability but overall it was beneficial.
I think we need to do some info gathering.

>>33827393
We did spying on them, what did we find out? just how popular is the current king with the common man?

If he isn't exceptionally popular then I say we just conquer them. We can always avoid bloodshed by having our army at their gates and demanding a surrender which is NOT unconditional (aka, we renegotiate much better terms for us at the point of a sword)

Actually in general I want to do this for all 3.

>>33827677
>only negotiate with royals. Nobles get in line or get fucked.
That would be a big problem with alyce

>>33827677
>3. Renegotiate with COMPAGNON, they can have the noble titles, but no compensation. Reduced to administrative city.

I'm entirely against this. THe nobles in Vitria are already have constant issues with Talon, and there is going to come a point where they start to actively work against him to slow down processes or impede Sarah who is already struggling. We should be looking out to appease them so they can actively help our Empire more.

>>33827708
>We can pretty much do that and use it to intimidate the other lands into our hands, we don't necessarily have to conquer them with blood and fire. Just using an aggressive form of diplomacy.
Yea, I already said so earlier but
>Our army invades their land
>They are outnumbered
>We force them to surrender
>Instead of unconditional surrender, we allow them some MINOR concessions instead of the big ones they are asking for now.

>>33827575
You know, I really wanted to make a deal to wrap this arc sooner than latter, but I got to agree with Mal here. We do this the hard way.

>>33827766

Yep. That's pretty much how I see it. Plus I honestly think Lyyph is an asset, I don't know why I just liked the guy, probably because he was written to be like that, but still.

We're going to be conquering a lot of territory soon, he won't have a chance to get restless.

>>33827717
>What kind of instability? we also caused instability but overall it was beneficial.
He's been clearing out established nobles he doesn't like.

>We did spying on them, what did we find out? just how popular is the current king with the common man?
I said this in the diplomacy thread. Henry is fairly popular but you suspect it's mostly because the nation is wealthy and doesn't war. It's not necessarily connected to him being a good ruler and it would be easy to turn his populace against him.

>>33827686
>Minor question. That Vitrian/Ahm canal idea a few people had. I assume that if Companion was still under mage guard restrictions when it was completed the merchants there would be screwed economically?
They probably wouldn't believe you'd be doing something so grandiose or that it would fail. The fact they've made such an offer to you suggests they don't really believe you'll carry through any of your threats.

>Could we get a list of potential suitors?
If you want trusted people under your thumb, you're basically limited to Finn and a number of your officers (Arail, Phrace, Illon etc). You could also use Aaron Tabeth, depending on the degree to which you trust him and don't mind giving him additional power within your empire.

>>33827760

I don't like being blackmailed by these Vitrian nobles, especially since they have no reason to be sympathetic to us in the first place.

I'd rather relocate Avinou merchants to Vitria to weaken their influence and bargaining power.

>>33827820

But Aspie basically said Lyyph's whole thing is that he only looks out for number 1. He's an untrustworthy snake.

That doesn't mean that I'm against Termina option, but I don't want us to come close to trusting this guy.

Maloric has the best opinions.

>>33827820
I think so too, but I want to make sure.
It states he caused instability, are we talking "peasants revolts" or "some nobles are unhappy with having to do their job properly"
Those are both instability but very very different.
One makes us look like an ass for taking him in, the other is in line with what we are doing

>>33827829
>Arail
He might be a decent choice actually.

>>33827829
>>What kind of instability? we also caused instability but overall it was beneficial.
>He's been clearing out established nobles he doesn't like.
How does this affect his popularity with the "common man" so to speak?

What does everyone think of having the marriage option, but just have the princess marry King Lyyph and all of Farun's royalty save the princess will abdicate. In exchange King Lyyph will bend the knee and become a general in your army (thus allowing him to feed his war boner) and his new Queen will be tasked with administering the province. King Lyyph's payment for the Empire's support will be to bring Compagnon to heel and all three countries under the dominion of the empire. If Compagnon wishes to avoid bloodshed we will accept their unconditional surrender and call off Lyyph. We will of course help heal Prince Phillip in the course of these actions. We leave the task of corralling the nobles of Farun to either King Lyyph or the Queen depending on how obstinate they're being.

Fuck the merchants and their petty fucking ploys. They've deluded themselves into thinking they have a strong bargaining hand even when we told them they didn't. Lyyph can be controlled by letting him participate in our campaigns and having the administration of the region be left to those who are better suited to it.

>>33827838

They are established though and a lot of them submitted to Talon's rule with minimal fanfare. We've done enough to piss them off, there isn't any reason to do more. I'll remind you:
>Nobles are currently unhappy due to the introduction of state ownership of agricultural land, lowering Order.

From the pastebin, we've done nothing to address this and only furthering their dislike for the new regime will create more issues. Vitria left the fold of Darlesia once, I wouldn't put it past them to try again, with or without Sarah.

Plus what are we just going to pay people to be loyal and helpful? That's basically what the Avinou offer is, what if the money dries up?

>>33827917
>King Lyyph
Lyph is already married.

>>33827829
>They probably wouldn't believe you'd be doing something so grandiose or that it would fail. The fact they've made such an offer to you suggests they don't really believe you'll carry through any of your threats.
So, what we need to do is renegotiate with them in person, and by in person i mean with our army surrounding their capital and asking for a conditional surrender to "spare the people any bloodshed during this transition period"

>>33827673
I liked it. It gave enough information without taking to long to say it. Getting the councils opinion is also useful.

>>33827917
>marry King Lyyph

He already married, do you want to break up his current marriage?

>>33827880
I'm confident that we can deal with him. And we should Also aim to make things better for him with us in charge.

We should also come up with some scheme to commandeer the loyalty of the military after the conquest, or at least remove any potential for Lyyphs involvement, so we don't have to worry about widespread or well organized rebellions. Minor ones I'm sure would be manageable and inevitable on occasion

>>33827880
Citation:

>There's a reason that his nationalistic comments rang hollow when compared to Sarah's. Talon made an initial comment before Q&A started that his interest seemed purely selfish.

> exchange King Lyyph will bend the knee and become a general in your army

I do not want to give a selfish, power-hungry dude command of any part of our army.

>>33827968
>>33827936

Sorry forgot he already married. I just recalled their marriage was called off. Though its not like we're going to make Monogamy the standard in our empire at the rate Talon's going anyway.

>>33827880

I actually think that's what makes him useful.

Besides, we give out trust like candy. Our cabinet could use the opinion of someone that may have his interests in other directions, give us more ideas that aren't Talon centric.

>>33827917
>What does everyone think of having the marriage option
I personally really dislike the marriage option. its my least favorite idea of all the ideas. even going so far as paying the merchants is less bad in my opinion.

Also, just because we conquer the city doesn't mean we have to dispose of all the local nobles and royals. They are probably educated and experienced in management and we can always hire the competent into our civil administration thing (as long as we are clear that it is a job and not an inherited position, and they can be fired if they do a bad job)
OR we can just let them live their lives normally outside the government, they are still fabulously wealthy after all

>>33827917
I don't think it's the best idea. I don't think we should give him too much independence, and de jure control of 2/3 of the region would do that. Making him a general is also a move that would give him more freedom to rebel effectively

>>33827829
>They probably wouldn't believe you'd be doing something so grandiose or that it would fail. The fact they've made such an offer to you suggests they don't really believe you'll carry through any of your threats.
They don't think Gnome can dig a ditch?
Okay, fuck them. They are clearly too idiotic to be useful

>>33827985

I'd rather place him in the cabinet than allow him to be in the army or be a Governor, to be honest.

You know the old adage about keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Lyyph's probably both.

Giving him a position in the army and governor will allow him to build a power base independent of Talon. In the cabinet, he'll have to rely 100% on Talon for influence. This is how we can ensure control over him.

>>33827766
I back this.

But after that is done we turn to the king and princess, get her to marry someone under our command, leave their family in control of the city and heal the son, but don't negotiate with the nobles. Just spend a slow admin process of incorporating it. Conquer Lyyphs land, we don't need someone so obviously long term ambitious when we dont even know what kind of system we are going to use.

>>33828041
PS. if we do conquer the city, we can still heal their (ex)prince. talon giveth, talong taketh.

>>33827575
WAR
>>33827462
WAR
>>33827393
WAR
>>33827365
WAR

>>33828041
>I personally really dislike the marriage option. its my least favorite idea of all the ideas. even going so far as paying the merchants is less bad in my opinion.
Why? Marrying off One of our military dudes seems to cost us nothing.

My opinion is pretty simple. Show Compagnon Talon means business. Offer a marriage to Annette along with healing the prince. If they turn it down then ally with Termina. If they don't Then tell the king in Termina we have Furun by the nuts so he can focus all his resources on the merchants.

>>33827917
Since I forgot Lyyph was already married and him being untrustworthy is a fair point my suggestion is instead to bring the royal's of Farun in, and just murder everything that doesn't immediately capitulate including Farun's nobles. Personally I'm tired of nobles being a thorn in our side. Vitra's nobles need a reminder that they're special, because they still have their heads attached.

As a note I don't think we should hand Lyyph the title of General at all. He asked for a place in our cabinet, that's what he gets, give him the absolute bare minimal to show that all his talking up failed and he got what he wanted, but nothing else beyond it. We limit him a degree and he has to work to reestablish himself.

>>33828031

Well I just said >>33828058 so I agree, he'll be an asset so long as he's in the cabinet. He'll be dangerous if made governor or in the military.

>>33828066
>Healing the rulers

Why would you do that? If you take the city you kill the rulers so they can't create a rebellion.

>>33828075
>Lyyph
>untrustworthy

He is selfish and looks for number one. Talon can work with that pretty damn well so I don't see many issues as long as we keep him busy.

>>33828100

The family still has use, clearly and indebted them to Talon would be a surefire way to gain loyalty.

>>33828072
I don't like playing matchmaker
I don't like forcing a loyal and close friend to marry someone of our choice for our political gain (they are not our property, they are our generals!)
Their marriage is either going to be unahppy... Or they will be a good match and a happy marriage and we just subverted one of our most trusted generals by splitting his loyalties between us and a woman whose kingdom we usurped.
They are just so much weaker than us and nobody is breathing down our neck. We need to milk this to our advantage not give up all this power for no reason. A strong core of "owned personally by talon via right of conquest" is just what we need as the core of our empire

>>33828100
Keeping them alive but under us with no special treatment is a damn good way to keep a high control in a region. Plus having said family in our debt makes rebellion a lesser chance.

>>33828133

That guy is still right. He's untrustworthy. It's just that we know he's untrustworthy and his motivations so we can use him effectively.

We just need to make sure we don't forget what his real personality is.

>>33828087
>Put him in cabinet but in a way that we show that we don't like him and that he failed
what?
if you don't like the guy this much just conquer his nation and put him out of a job

>>33828185

But I do like him. I just want to knock him down a peg.

File: 033.jpg (513 KB, 1280x904)

513 KB JPG

I'm seeing three options being floated around here.

ONE: Conquer them all.

TWO: Take the Termina offer.

THREE: Try to marry Annette to one of your officers (probably Arail) and play hardball with Compagnon.

Any I've missed?

>>33828228
sounds about right.
Callin for a vote?

>>33828214
ah, the phrasing didn't sound like that.

>>33828228

I'm fine with those options.

>>33828255

Yeah that was my bad, drinking early tonight!

>>33828228

Sounds about right, though 2 entails a lot of aggressive diplomacy at sword point and minor concessions regardless.

Huh. That went a lot smoother than I thought it would.

Honestly I think the general feeling is shifting towards some form of conquering. So... HAH HAH Time for Army EXP!

>>33828354

I want to break in Taira the Destroyer of Armies

>>33828165
More like a fast way for them to rebel. People don't like having their power taken away so easily. Though I suppose we could heal the prince then use him as a method of controlling the place.

>>33828377

Need to leave some for our general guys, get dem sweet Veteran statuses for our AAs.

I just realized, we can spin "for the safety of the people" on conquering farun.
Rembmer that entire town was slaughtered?
>Only a few months ago there was a fae outbreak in termina, he butchered an entire town. Luckily a local fox informed me and I personally intervened to put it down.

also, if we heal their ex prince and give the family some administrative position, then it torpedoes the fuck out of any attempt of them to rally the nobility behind them
>You sold us out
kind of thing
oh sure they will claim they didn't... but the facts speak for themselves. (that is assuming they will even TRY such a thing instead of fearing the repercussions and preferring to keep their current status; because they DO have things to lose)

>>33828384
Its a case of rebellions now that we can put down easily, or rebellions later. Unless your ok with giving up allot of administrative power.

>>33828400

But let's not kill too many, they are going to be a part of our army after all.

>>33828354
for me its more
>Someone way weaker than us
>They have no allies to defend them
>We aren't preoccupied in a war elsewhere
>They are being too greedy (or in the case of farun need to negotiate with many disparate nobles, too annoying)
Done deal
I mean, so far we have been diplomatic out of pure sheer necessity, of more powerful enemies or having a two front war... with a more powerful enemy.

File: 035.jpg (267 KB, 720x1100)

267 KB JPG

Alright, time to vote.

>1. Conquer all of the factions without making any deals.
>2. Accept the Termina offer at >>33827365
>3. Attempt to marry the Farun Princess Annette to General Arail while playing hardball with Compagnon. You can then deal with Termina in some other way.

I'm going to try runoff voting here. Unless one choice gets a strong majority (60%+ first preference votes), I'll call a contentious vote between the top two.

Vote for each option in the order you prefer them.

>>33828451
>kill too many
they can always surrender

>>33828416
Yeah. Like personally once we get in we pretty much own the place. The area is way to small to put up a fight. Which is why it seems more efficient to get in somehow then take over.

>>33828480
>2
>3
>1

>>33828459
Farun won't be annoying though. We'll have the royalty the commons and the mages behind us. If the nobles balk, we crush them

>>33828480
1
3
2

>>33828480
3
2
1

File: 1406499899224.png (667 KB, 724x1024)

667 KB PNG

Found some Art that might be one of our units don't know if Arcane Archer or a knight of our gryphon order. Maybe both?

>>33827365
>Termina offer
>Drawback, reducces order in termina
did you mean reduce order in farun and compagnom?

>>33828459
321

>>33828480
>2, assuming >>33827766 is a part of it
>1
>3

>>33828480
3
2

>>33828451
This pretty impossible to actually do. During a war you really can't go "Make sure not to kill too many foes."

>>33828480
2
3
1

>>33828480
>2
>3
>1

File: 036.jpg (182 KB, 1000x682)

182 KB JPG

>>33828541
I meant the Terminan region.

>>33828480
2
1
3

>>33828480
1
3
2

>>33828480
213

>>33828573
>This pretty impossible to actually do. During a war you really can't go "Make sure not to kill too many foes."
he is probably referring to the idea of "scare them into surrendering once our armies enter their land instead"

>>33828540
I like it.

>>33828573

Well, not exactly. Remember most of the casualties in combat were caused in the rout and subsequent pursuit.

After we break their will to fight and their army is broken, we could choose not to pursue and demand surrender from their leaders.

>>33828480
>1
I'd rather just make an example of one of them, We have Taria the destroyer of armies with us, do a show of force then start marching towards the other two and tell them to surrender. If not then just conquer them but keep negotiations open, we don't want the bloodshed only their leaders do.

>>33828451

Between our mass of AAs and their overall low army strength I worry about the whole not kill too many idea.

>>33827365
>Marcus, sarah, and undine all dislike lypph's offer
huh, this was my favorite idea, and I like the guy. I am tempted to change my vote from 213 to 123 at their behest though.

>>33828480
2. Accept the Termina offer at >>33827365
3. Attempt to marry the Farun Princess Annette to General Arail while playing hardball with Compagnon. You can then deal with Termina in some other way.
1. Conquer all of the factions without making any deals.

3 and 1 should be tied. I don't have a preference between the two.

File: Dao-grey-warden.jpg (107 KB, 730x1000)

107 KB JPG

>>33828540

>>33828540

>that ridiculous helmet

Fund it.

>>33828480
>General Arail
what is arail's opinion on this?

>>33828682

Marcus and Sarah's influence would be reduced if Lyyph becomes cabinet member. Not saying they aren't right, but they do have stake in the game.

>>33828712

How so? Marcus and Sarah serve vastly different roles than Lyyph would.

>>33828627
That just lets them regroup if they need to. Got to remeber when you invade another nation most people don't have an idea of how reasonable Talon can be.

So they are thinking "Fuck my son is going to die." and the likes. Typically you keep fighting in that case.

>>33828651
I honestly don't want to over use Taira here. This is the small fry so might as well use her exactly when she would work best then leave.

>>33828072
oh, i forgot to mention in >>33828163 but
>We have a limited number of loyal people who can be married off and they can only be married off once. I would prefer to save this option for a more formidable opponent

>>33828540

That might not be the most practical helmet for archering. But then again, it's cool so I'm okay with it.

>>33828744

All three of them would be domestic advisers. Besides, adding cabinet members would logically mean that each member has reduced clout.

File: 037.jpg (289 KB, 1200x502)

289 KB JPG

Contentious vote shortly between options 2 and 3.

File: Heavy_MageKnight.TYE.jpg (102 KB, 900x666)

102 KB JPG

>>33828690

We posting random art?

This is what I imagined generic HMK looked like.

>>33828710
>"After all that time I spent managing the country why do you punish me so? what did I do wrong sir?"
Or something close like that, but he'll be a soldier and respond with "if it's what you order me to do, it'll shall be done"

>>33828747

Taira would be useful for teleporting and sniping enemy commanders. We don't have to make mincemeat out of their regular troops.

File: 039.jpg (194 KB, 1280x640)

194 KB JPG

CONTENTIOUS VOTE

OPTION 1
Accept the Termina offer at >>33827365 (You)

OPTION 2
Attempt to marry the Farun Princess Annette to General Arail while playing hardball with Compagnon. You can then deal with Termina in some other way.

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

I just worry about setting a precedence of giving into weaker forces that are taking advantage of us. Its been said several times that they are asking way too much and we are just gonna let em rake us over the coals makes us look weak.

>>33828710

I'd imagine he'd do so with his usual demeanor. Doesn't give much of a fuck.

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
2

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
2

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
1

>>33828866
>Doesn't give a fuck
so... a no sex marriage?

>>33828710
I'm curious about this as well.

>>33828862

TRUTH.

Time to slap some locals.

>10 votes
>all 10 voted properly, not a single person voted wrong
ok, I am impressed

>>33828856
2

>>33828856
2

>>33828936

We learning!

>>33828856
2

>>33828862
same here anon

>>33828856
2

>>33828936

AEQ has a decent playerbase as far as these things go.

We also don't have a "everyone else is an idiot" brigade.

>>33828856
2

>>33828988
>We also don't have a "everyone else is an idiot" brigade.
Oh god, so many quests have those.

>>33828856
1

>>33828856
>1

>>33829016
wrong format
no greentext

>>33828856
1

>>33829016

Ya blew it.

>>33829009

It's the worst.

File: 041.jpg (456 KB, 900x569)

456 KB JPG

Vote is for Option 1. Last vote that counted was >>33828985.

It's going to be a little bit before I do the next major decision/discussion. Sorry for not pre-writing things but it's been a rough week.

This could be a time where you talk about how you might carry out the Termina deal.

I can't help getting the feeling that those votes trickling in after the initial 2 minute rush are using an ip changer.

>>33828856
TBH, options 1 and 2 aren't incompatible. Why are we having a strict vote about it?

>>33828988
I've felt that way sometimes to be honest. But in general after reading most the arguments I find most are reasoned out enough to change my mind.

>>33828936
It's honestly probably because it was mentioned a while back we would have one. In general it seems to me when that happens it's mostly people rushing out the door making a fast vote without reading.

>>33828988

The worst we've got is everyone giving tunnelbro hell and that's just for shits and giggles really.

File: Urahara_kisuke.jpg (31 KB, 476x477)

31 KB JPG

>>33829042
>>33829052
is it now

>>33829077
nah I voted 1 with my phone. and theres nothing people can do to stop me

>>33829088
>TBH, options 1 and 2 aren't incompatible.
They are very much incompatible.
I mean, technically we COULD try to marry off annette after conquering her country, but that is pointless meddling

>>33829075
So why exactly are termina and the princess's offer incompatible together?

File: 051.jpg (148 KB, 708x965)

148 KB JPG

>>33829088
Because Lyyph won't side with you if you take a more conservative approach to either of the other factions. That was the main difference between 'conquer them all' and 'side with Lyyph'.

>>33829138
Take the country peacefully than make deals with termina to take campagnon.
Seems to work fine imo

>>33829088
I think it's because the king of Termina won't like us being so nice. He pretty much has an offer to take everything. So not taking everything and showing we bend so easily to a weak nation.

>>33829075
>might carry out the Termina deal.

Go for Farun first, they're more likely to roll over, and surround the merchants. They proceed to shit their pants, offer us a better deal that now that they've seen we actually do mean business and then bam done.

Also I am so hyped to conquer again. Even if the most we'll get is some minor skirmishes. I still want it.

>>33829148
The princcess didn't make an offer to marry someone of our choice, this was entirely our idea as a way to usurp the throne.
And Termina's king said he won't believe we are serious about forging an empire if we let someone so much weaker than us push us around.
Furthermore, even if he did, the combined plan would be

Step 1: Invade Farun and conquer it with army
Step 2: Depose the local royal family
Step 3: Force ex royal princess whose country we conquered who is now just some random person with no authority to marry our top general for "reasons"

>>33829167
Can't we just convince him to use his head?
I mean it seems simple to get him to marry the princess after introducing a new bill that poly is allowed within our own empire (what with our own harem as a basis and all)

>>33829075
We heal the Kings son, then put pressure internally and extenrally like he wants. It's basically his plan, but we add additional internal pressure.

>>33829227

A harem does not equal Polyamorous marriages. Big difference.

>>33829227
Forcing polygamy on a group of people who don't like each other is a terribad idea (and she doesn't like him)
There is 0 political benefit to him marrying her after we depose her

>>33829255
I thought the royal family was popular?
I mean isn't that the whole reason we were going to marry her to our general?
To ensure order right?
Or are all the other people who chose 2 voting because of their sexism or soemthing?

>>33829286
Basically. Also, I like using medieval politics. If I didn't like Alyce I'd advocate starting a royal bloodline

>>33829286
This.

>>33829212
Pointless plan.

Honestly in the short term this is going to suck because we will have to keep order again. In the long term though this plan is an advantage because it gives us total power.

>>33829227
Why does everyone want to marry the princess off? if we invade there is no point compared to just disposing of the family or telling them we rule now then using the healed prince as a method of controlling the place.

Though the bigger issue is pissing off the RSK for overthrowing a royal. I think we can probably get away with keeping them though manipulating Alyce but the other way is harder.

>>33829075
Ok, here is how.
Step 1: We cite the fae incident as proof that they need our protection
Step 2: We invade exactly like lyyph suggested in a two pronged attack.
Step 3: Once invading, avoid causing ANY damage to locals civilians and infrastructure. Aim at trapping enemy soldiers with overwhelming force to force a surrender.
Step 4: Make lyyph cabinet member and assign him some administrative duties annex his nation
Step 5: Start moving armies on compagnom and "renegotiate" again, only this time playing hardball and having an army at their throat and their pleas on the mage guard going unanswered
If lyyph starts being a problem we can always assign him back to managing his previous nation, but under us.
Although remember he actually offered us the option of just assigning him as a governor of wherever we want. be it his previous nation or more

>>33829357
because we'll have lots of citizens discontent if we just come right in and step on their traditions

>>33829361
>Make lyyph cabinet member and assign him some administrative duties annex his nation

I agree with your plan pretty much entirely just wanted to say something about this note. Sarah has positions for people within Vitria for the unwanted people so they still feel useful while really doing nothing. We should ask her opinion on this so we can give Lyyph some busy work.

We corporate rat race now.

>>33829286
They are somewhat popular, but not enough to justify this. And if we conquer the country at that point political marriage with the ex royals who got conquered ceases being an advantage.

Also, it betrays alyce's principles of "anti royalty", alyce is a far more important person to appease.

Also, forcing a man to marry a second wife when neither of them wants to and there is a strong dislike between them is not going to do us any favors with public opinion (plus I find the notion very distasteful).

>>33829450
>plus I find the notion very distasteful
lel
I see your point with alyce through, so I'll cede the point to you.

>>33829424
but lyyph isn't really unwanted at the moment. i like the cut of his jib.
so far the only "bad" thing he did was depose nobles who were useless layabouts and weren't doing their job.
That's it, that is all he did.
I am saying if he turns out to actually be a bad apple we can gentle dispose of him by assigning him to some backwater. Or depending on what he did even put him on trial for it saying "even members of my cabinet are required to obey the laws and not abuse their position, blah blah blah PR"

>>33829424

I don't want to give Lyyph busy work. I want him as a cabinet member, but he should be doing useful things.

>>33829501

Its mostly for heading off the issue we'll have with him where he's ambitious and restless.

Just give him something to occupy his time with. Watch him become the best Sewers Master in existence.

As a note I really like him too, I don't know why, I just like his style.

>>33829475
The thing with Alyce though is we can always just tell her.

"I plan on pulling what info I can out of the RSK kingdom. Don't worry about the royals here because I'll get rid of it later."

We can push with Alyce a lot easier just because she has a personality we can push easier.

>>33829424
Lyyph could also be useful in a once in a while military leader.

>>33829450
>Also, it betrays alyce's principles of "anti royalty", alyce is a far more important person to appease.
And felix's too when I think about it, now that we discovered that he does not share the RSK's general attitude of "royalty first"
we will certainly offend some RSK people by doing this, but luckily felix is secretely on our side...
but oh damn it would suck if he got assassinated and his daughter took over (since she is a royalist at heart)

>>33829560
>Felix

Poor guy. People keep upgrading his position a bit there.

>>33829560

Fenix.

Felix is our Knight/Personal Guard.

>>33829552
the thing is, there are a fuckton of things to do..
OH FUCK! I just realized

>His only "downside" is that he did away with nobles who were layabouts, making him unpopular with nobles who value blood purity first
>He said he would work for us in administration wherever we want
>In the recent war, both taour and darlesia have been left entirely devoid of nobility
Perfect job for him. far from those he pissed off and with noone that he would piss off there.
And we can benefit from his cabinet advice as well since being cabinet is not a full time job (all cabinet members do things on the side)

>>33829616
ah, right, sorry. names are so similar

>>33829602
what did i upgrade?

>>33829655
Eh, I have people I'd like to see in those spots

>>33829655
>making him unpopular with nobles who value blood purity first

I think you're getting your people mixed up there.

And, Aspirational mentioned we'd be doing something about the local governance in this thread.

>>33829674
who? we are currently very hurting for management potential. if you know someone that can do it, name them so we can get shit done

>>33829554
Actually thinking on it given what I've seen of Alyce so far I understand what they mean by she couldn't just monster opposition. She is too reasonable and tends to bend pretty easily from what we've seen so far.

>>33829673
Turned Felix into the RSK king.

>>33829716
Neir's family, A few Darlesian nobles

>>33829711
>I think you're getting your people mixed up there.
I am not
>>33827717
>>Lyph caused instability in his own land
>What kind of instability?
>>33827829
>He's been clearing out established nobles he doesn't like.

And in our dialog with him he told us that he doesn't like layabout lazy nobles who don't do anything useful, just getting fat on the fruit of the populace's labor

We need to hire someone to specifically watch Lyph and Kick him in the dick if he tries to step out of line.

On a completely unrelated topic any chance we could get the RuseLord to work for us and if we could would he be useful?

Also Sending The Felixinator to get Swole when?

Inquisition when?

What the fuck is talon when?

Summoning Corps when?

Tunnels when?

Gryphons when?

>>33829716

Arail made a very capable castellan in the early days of our conquests. Giving him the tools and ability to do so in Darlesia would likely help the city recover and reward one of our military guys (No it doesn't have to become a regular thing, but we were bound to do it eventually).

I'm not that guy, but I see a lot of upside to Arail, he just needs to gain experience, doing so locally would help him grow.

File: 058.jpg (903 KB, 1024x766)

903 KB JPG

MAGI LEAGUE OPTION

Offer: Form an under-the-table alliance with the Archmage Alyce in anticipation of the Magi League collapsing. You will be provided with trade agreements, cheap magitech and mages. Once the League collapses it will be your responsibility to seize the territory of those that secede and fight off others who oppose you (e.g. Mage Guard or Malataine) and the alliance will become open.

Benefits: Access to Ahm. 2 free machinists. Easier recruitment of mages. Trade agreements with Alyce’s territories. Cheap magitech and templates for your factories so long as Alyce and her towers control the intellectual property.

Drawbacks: Will guarantee you will be fighting the Mage Guard over Shropham. Alyce’s ultimate goal is unknown. Any attempt to form a royal line (rather than a meritocracy of some form) will anger Alyce.

OPINIONS

Gnome: “My opinion on this isn’t neutral so I won’t say much. There’s a lot to gain here but I would still be careful of Alyce. She’s different to how she used to be, no matter how she acts.”

Undine: “I am supportive of this alliance. We would gain a lot through trade and be able to expand without any issues.”

Maloric: “We need more mages and this is an effective way to get them. Be careful of getting drawn into the politics, though. There’s not much benefit in becoming Alyce’s pawn.”

Cormann: “No matter how fast we train our soldiers, we’ll be relying heavily on good tactics and powerful assets such as yourself, Imperator. Shropham will be our first foe and they’ll not only outnumber us but will have plenty of mages. We’ll then have to fight the Mage Guard. Choosing this means we must move to a war footing immediately.”

Karise: “If you do this then you’ll need to bring as many foxes over as you can before Shropham secedes. Once you’re fighting the Mage Guard it will be harder to move large numbers of people. Otherwise, I’m supportive and I can provide plenty of intelligence.”

>>33829781

That's our spymaster's job, isn't it?

>>33829749
>Turned Felix into the RSK king.
oh, I thought you meant I was misrepresenting fenix's opinions as something more noble then they really are. heh.
yea, i did accidentally mix up the two

File: 060.jpg (61 KB, 491x799)

61 KB JPG

>>33829799
RSK OPTION

Offer: Form a close alliance with the RSK and become a representative in the royal court (but not subordinate to King Fenix). You will then need to fend off other would-be usurpers of the throne and convince the nobles of the RSK to support you so that you can absorb the RSK into The York Empire.

Benefits: Access to RSK magitech templates and trade. Smooth path to taking over the RSK without fighting them all. Is supportive of you forming a royal line.

Drawbacks: You will need to fight the three separatist factions that are splitting from the RSK and the nobles that will oppose you. Poor absorption of the RSK could lead to their culture overwhelming TYE’s.

OPINIONS

Gnome: “Your friendship with Fenix might make this the best option. You could gain a lot of territory and influence and the trade benefits would be immense.”

Undine: “I don’t support Fenix’s goals. I don’t think we should be taking a path that might lead us to be supporting those, even if indirectly.”

Maloric: “Honestly, this sounds dangerous. Fighting Magister General Falwick, Grand Magister Darvui and unknown mages who can push back the RSK, one after another? I think we should let the RSK devour itself and come back to them later.”

Cormann: “Our military will gain immensely from their magitech capability. More mage-knights, better equipment and training – we would be able to rapidly strengthen our forces. Possible enough so that we could defeat the stronger foes. Not to mention the possibility of gaining entire RSK armies from the nobles that may side with us.”

Marcus the Merchant: “The trade benefits from the RSK will outweigh those from Ahm so long as we’re able to maintain control of the trade route from Worremburg. If we lose that to Falwick or Darvui then this option will be far inferior to siding with the League.”

>>33829805
Nah someone who literally has no other focus I life no other ambition no other desires or goals.

Only the urge to kick Lyph In the dick

>>33829781
>We need to hire someone to specifically watch Lyph and Kick him in the dick if he tries to step out of line.
we hired an entire clan of spy foxes.

>Inquisition when?
already started it, but voted to call them auditors instead since it is a bit less nasty sounding (especially considering there are actual inquisitors in this setting in the mage guard and pretty much everyone in the world hates them)

>>33829787
Honestly Arail as good as he is seems more to me like the type of guy who is kind of a adrenaline junkie in a way. He wants challenge and the likes so keeping him cooped up for too long is a pretty bad idea.

File: 066.jpg (111 KB, 970x547)

111 KB JPG

>>33829824
MAGE GUARD OPTION

Offer: Sylvian, a silver helldragon and one of the most powerful beings alive, becomes your right-hand in exchange for you spreading her ideals throughout your empire. You’ll need to conquer the Mage Guard, who don’t share her ideals anymore, as well as all rebel factions (in order to prevent them causing magical incidents out of desperation).

Benefits: The personal assistance of Sylvian, who could probably single-handedly destroy most of your empire right now. The foxes will also ally with you more openly and you may gain some forces from the Mage Guard. You may be helping to solve potential future disasters before they can occur.

Drawbacks: You’ll be restricted from using some of the more innovative magicks (typically revolving around creation (like constructs etc) and bodily modification). The rest of the world will treat you very cautiously as Sylvian is a loose cannon. You’ll be fighting multiple front wars.

OPINIONS

Gnome: “This would pretty much be you against the world, Talon. It might not be the wrong approach, though – Sylvian saw the Golden Age just as I did and there was a lot of terrible things that happened then. The mages that created the Magi Line mountains killed a lot of people in doing so, for instance.”

Maloric: “I oppose this. I won’t defect if you agree to it but I definitely feel she’ll limit our options very heavily. There’s things we could do that she will oppose and if you can’t convince her otherwise then we’ll be missing out.”

Taira: “Controlling magic and how it is used is pretty much necessary for any large empire. She might not be wrong about the dangers, either. The world is full of threats that don’t care much for politics.”

>Discussion

Again, other options are on the table such as taking two of these together.

>>33829787
Remember that we decided to just HIRE governors.
I am fine however with granting arail nobility and having him act as governor of darlesia... the problem is that it can't be a long term position because he is one of our top generals, we need him on the field

>>33829850
excellent argument too.
We really should ask people what they want, but i am not sure that a general really WANTS to be sent away from the front lines and assigned as a governor.

>>33829851
I'm strongly in favor of the Magi League option.

>>33829851

I'd favor 1 and 3 to be honest.

Choosing all 3 will lead us to fight too many fucking fronts at once. RSK also seems to be the most dangerous enemy, and I'd rather watch them splinter.

>>33829908
Warrior Nobility is not exactly something we seem to be opposed to. Talon does it constantly, and he's a Flyer he'll probably need to be out there from time to time anyway. He is one of our best.

>>33829799
>Drawbacks: Will guarantee you will be fighting the Mage Guard over Shropham
we have to fight the mage guard anyways, they are completely out of control and even their founder sylvanis has told us they need to be pacified
furthermore, they are not hunting dragons "just cause" without even requiring them to have committed a crime. to just show how badly out of control they are

It would seem teaming up with Sylvian and King Fenix could both be done mutually.

But really i am leaning towards allying with Fenix, the main reason is that although we would be facing multiple great generals, we will also get the supply of the loyalist armys under Fenix's command already.

>>33829851
This may seem inane, but is she against magical prosthetics, if that is even such a thing, as well?

Really leaning toward Magi League.

Magic is STRONK, we seriously lack it. All of the benefits that multiple mages can bring to the table over our AAs alone would be some serious upside.

That and I don't favor a royal line, it seems to cause far more issues than it's worth.

And the RSK situation is something we can allow to happen and play it be ear. I have no doubt we'll need to fight Falwick while doing Magi League things, so really we'll benefit from that without even accepting the deal.

>>33829851
>>33829942
Aspirational, can we get a confirmation that this is a viable option? Just want to make sure these two in particular aren't mutually exclusive.

>>33829930

He can do both. Darlesia is on the front lines of the Magi League and his quick strike capacities from Darlesia and Crece serving as a defensive buffer if pretty perfect for him.

>>33829908
That and he is a military man at heart. I really don't want to send him a bunch of paper work all day long.

>>33829799
>>33829824
>>33829851

I honestly support ties to both the RSK and the magi league. We would need to balance it out really damn good though and the league is a long term better ally due to the magic we can pull off.

Sylvian brings up some good points but Talon isn't the type to ban things like that. More control what happens.

>>33830038
We were flat out told it wasn't by Sylvian

I don't see the benefits of doing a mixture. With the Termania region it was people under estimating us, with the world at large, it would be us over estimating ourselves. And if it falls to pieces, the multi front war would be devastating.

Also it has been said that other factions have a vehement hatred for Sylvian. I don't see her option working with anyone else.

It may be the most difficult but I feel if we can get Sylvian and Alyce to reach a state of compromise and work with them it'd have the greatest overall benefit to us in the long run. If the two of them can peacefully work together a middle ground on how far magic in the empire is allowed to go until it becomes too dangerous to reign in that will also give us a a strong development path on projects to spend resources on.

The liklihood of them agreeing to compromise doesn't seem to be zero either, though they both have past prejudices in the way of an alliance Alyce doesn't know that Sylvian has grow so dissatisfied with Mage Guard radicalism. If we can convince the two to a sit down it may be worth trying. I don't think we could swing all three even if we wanted to, but I think combining these two will keep either one from pushing magic control to either extreme.

File: 067.jpg (239 KB, 1020x613)

239 KB JPG

>>33830038
They're not mutually exclusive.

They are incredibly hard to combine, though. Sylvian and Alyce don't get along. If you want to try to choose both, you would have to sit all three of you in a room and try to bash it out. It would probably fail as these two have a history that goes back a ways.

>>33829960
>It would seem teaming up with Sylvian and King Fenix could both be done mutually.
That has other issues - namely that you would have a very hard time getting any RSK support with Sylvian on your side. Nobody really likes her or the Mage Guard so that stigma would be hard to overcome.

>>33830101
>If you want to try to choose both, you would have to sit all three of you in a room and try to bash it out. It would probably fail as these two have a history that goes back a ways.

Rolling 1s all day long.

>>33830101
well. We could have it under the table.

Frankly the only reason im really considering this is because that damn dragon will come back and burn our asses if we dont give some kind of responce to work with her to some degree.

>>33830101
>They are incredibly hard to combine, though. Sylvian and Alyce don't get along. If you want to try to choose both, you would have to sit all three of you in a room and try to bash it out. It would probably fail as these two have a history that goes back a ways.

Goddamn it.

If it fails, could we pick which alliance to preserve or would it be a "Fuck you, we are out" type of thing?

Because if it's the former, fuck it, why not give it a try and hope for a 20?

>>33829799
We should to this, especially since her offer is to SECRETLY cooperate with Alyce herself subsume the league instead of open alliance.

>>33829824
either let them fall into infighting and then sweep up
or do this at a much later date. remember that felix said we have years.
maybe even renegotiate into a less extreme version of this when we are in better position

>>33829851
Sylvian has made too many enemies for us to openly support her in such a manner. And while I agree that some restriction is needed, I fear she is too fierce in her restrictions. Ideally we can find some common ground which involve her secretly cooperating with us instead of openly becoming our right hand dragoness, but that will require that she be a little more flexible with us and enforcement. I fear that she might have a strict "with me or against me" here, if she does then we will have to fight her

>>33829799
>>33829824
>>33829851
I vote all three.
I'm pretty sure if we discuss with alyce about why she hates royals than we can sort this out.
Sylvian and the mageguard can be taken over if we introduce a system that allows Sylvian to "inspect" any of our towers at any time. In return, he can't stop the creation of new magic unless its dangerous

>>33830048
for now. but borders will shift, what happens in 2 years when we relocate him to a frontline elsewhere?

>>33830049
>That and he is a military man at heart. I really don't want to send him a bunch of paper work all day long.
true, aside from crushing his spirit, he won't get a chance to get better at soldiering.
some people need to specialize

>>33830149

I agree with this Anon.

>>33830101
I fucking vote we try and get sylvian and alyce to bash it out, we can't ALWAYS roll 1's right?

>>33830150

But anon, we would literally be surrounded by enemies. Talon can't be in three places at once.

I think two max would be prudent. We can't open too many fronts at once.

>>33830088
Pretty much yeah. The helldragon strong as she is doesn't really work all that well in the long term. Just because she lowers our tech and makes other nations want to declare war. Not a good combo there.

>>33830129
or
>Rolling 20s
>Reconcile
>Also threesome
>Future argument between the two now involving sex

Teaming up with Slyvian seems like a bad idea I mean we'd get a ridiculous war asset but all that control and the massive hit to diplomacy is it really worth it?

We'd basically have to go to mommy Slyvian before doing anything "Radical" or whenever we want to make a major decision

>>33830184
We would have a dragon at our side.
I'm pretty sure we can fight a three sided war as we can focus on one part at a time.
Also Mage guard is not an instant issue, we can take over RSK or Mage league first

>>33830101
Quick question about Sylvian. You said she's again body modification, would that include research to fix Finn's tattoo and as a follow up if someone (could be us) figured out how to make a non-pain/early death inducing form of the tattoos, would she still consider the...technology a taboo?

I just don't want to risk the multiple fronts of war that would occur if we should fail. Going down one path is a safer option that helps us consolidate the land we take quicker and bring it under Order and Control. Most of the Darlesia region is still low on that chart, and Termina will be no different.

Sometimes a conservative approach is what is best for now, before we explode forth with multiple wars at once.

>>33830217
yeah i'm with this guy

I do not like the idea of losing out on magic and tech
especially with Mal on our side

>>33830101
Its probably the hardest path diplomatically but if we can get them to cooperate it would be so damn useful. The fact that we have Slyvian on our side would be tempered by having Alyce act as a counterbalance, showing that we aren't the radicals the magi league turned into.

After seeing the blood farm there's no way Talon can think magical research without limit is a good idea.

We shoudln't use it as leverage but pointing out that we now have two dragons under our protection who need a mentor may help urge Slyvian to take a less hardline position (but maybe not)

Let's get Mal, Gnome and Undine's opinion especially on this idea though.

>>33830149
> SECRETLY cooperate with Alyce herself subsume the league instead of open alliance.

Yeah honestly there isn't a reason not to side with her here. Even if things go to shit there is no way the archmage is going to go "Oh we need to go to war"

"Why?"

"He betrayed a secret alliance I had with him."

Personally though I like the idea of playing the RSK and the magi League against each other.

>>33830101
>. If you want to try to choose both, you would have to sit all three of you in a room and try to bash it out.
i support only i think we should have fenix and alyce sort out their shit instead

>>33830230
>I'm pretty sure we can fight a three sided war

Those are famous last words, anon.

There's no guarantee the enemy will be nice and just say "Oh, you are fighting Magi Guard rebels right now? I guess I won't invade Harrowmont then."

We should expect the worst, a simultaneous three front war.

>>33830280

This Anon is on point. And no amount of turtling is going to stop the Helldragon from burnating the thatch roof cottages.

>>33830257
>After seeing the blood farm there's no way Talon can think magical research without limit is a good idea.

That didn't have anything to do with magic research though. Like at all. That's just some mages bleeding out some people to try to cast a spell that is more likely to explode on their face.

>>33830257
The problem isn't that there will be a limit but that it won't be us setting the limit.
And Sylvian is something of a luddite.

>>33830280
Only two fronts as we have a dragon, plus the RSK rebels won't know about our alliance since everything is all secret.

>>33830217
yea, but I don't think we should completely give up on her...
heck, maybe we can work with her to help her crush the elements that are out of control in the mage guard (basically, she starts a civil war in mage guard and we help her side). but remain seperate and do our own thing, with us agreeing to carefully monitor magic but not outright ban anything that isn't immortal (with our definition of immoral, aka blood sacrifices; rather then hers, aka empowerment, ascension, bioengineering, etc)
She remains an external power and one we have a truce with

>>33830129
>>33830212
I'd like to think that this is whats going through Talon's mind the entire meeting. Just him sitting there deep in thought over total world destruction or threesomes with the most powerful dragon and mage in the world.

>>33830304
Though I'm not too sure the helldragon will do much at first. Just because in general she seems the wait and see type and doesn't like her own faction.

>>33830314

What part of this is a secret?

>Offer: Form a close alliance with the RSK and become a representative in the royal court (but not subordinate to King Fenix). You will then need to fend off other would-be usurpers of the throne and convince the nobles of the RSK to support you so that you can absorb the RSK into The York Empire.

>>33830325
>the most powerful dragon and mage in the world.
I think the Feldragon's might be stronger.

File: 068.jpg (223 KB, 1023x976)

223 KB JPG

>>33830142
>If it fails, could we pick which alliance to preserve or would it be a "Fuck you, we are out" type of thing?
It depends on how badly it fails. You wouldn't be ruled out of any chance of an alliance but you'd take a hit in dealing with Alyce/Sylvian the dialogue option failed badly. No risk, no reward.

>>33830149
>We should to this, especially since her offer is to SECRETLY cooperate with Alyce herself subsume the league instead of open alliance.
It will become an open alliance once the League begins to collapse. She only wants it to be secret while the League is together. She just wouldn't deploy her own troops to fight the secessionists as her own mages would fight her over it.

>>33830217
>We'd basically have to go to mommy Slyvian before doing anything "Radical" or whenever we want to make a major decision
You're exaggerating slightly here. She'd be more like Gnome or Maloric and would only get really heated over something she was vehemently opposed to. Otherwise, your goals align and she doesn't want to be a ruler.

>>33830234
>You said she's again body modification, would that include research to fix Finn's tattoo
Presumably she wouldn't be opposed to reversing something she dislikes. Helldragons are something she would oppose but she doesn't kill herself.

>>33830352
>force everyone to reconcile
>make alliance in secret between the 4 rulers
>help mage league acting as if you're alyce's support making the RSK rebels breathe a sigh of relief
>as soon as mage league is one than attack rsk rebels with full force of new conquered shit and get them in two pronged attack
>take over rsk too

>>33830368
Probably.
Also, I think it's downright optimistic of us to assume Kushan is dead just because he's not around anymore.

>>33830280
Not to mention not only our troops but our people any types of reforms would be at severe risk at that point if it does escalate to that point

>>33829851
Frankly, I think the Mage Guard option would be the best to make. The RSK is going to self-destruct sooner or later and really, letting them tear each other apart while we focus on ourselves for a bit would be ideal.

Sylvian seems too...controlling for us to deal with like we could with Alyce. We'll always be the junior partner in the relationship and most would see us as just a pawn for her to gain control. It's also easier to crack down with laws then it is to build up innovation and new ideas after all.

>>33830403
This is what I want to do. Preemptive vote for it.

>>33830403
>Watch us totally roll 20s

>>33830324
She isn't going to agree to that anon. Think of it from her perspective. She in her opinion saw her entire race fall apart due to infighting due to magic. She isn't just going to agree to give up her views of what is immoral magic that easily. Besides she honestly probably finds blood sacrifices less immoral then the things we want to do. Just because all that is is supercharging a magical catalyst compared to building living beings.

>>33830391
This pretty much cements my vote for trying to get Alyce and Slyvian to work together if nothing else they both want the Mage Guard to fall. They have some common ground at least even if they'd be loathe to admit it.

Rolled 12

>>33830403

>DC:20, Roll.

>>33830403
Voting for this

Well I don't have much more to say. I feel like most people have their vote in mind unless someone comes up with some radical way to make something work.

>>33830391

Fuck it, I feel bold as hell. Alyce and Sylvian tag team then.

>>33830257
we aren't for unlimited magical researrch
we are saying that she is TOO RESTRICTIVE

talon is GOING to have magical restrictions
fuck everyone does! The reason shropam is going to rebel against the magi league is because shropam thinks that the magi league's ethical restrictions are too severe

let this sink for a minute. the magi league pretty much only bans human sacrifice. Shropam mages think this too restrictive and want out.

Talon i going to be far more restrictive then magi league on what one can reseach, but far more lenient than the magi guard. There i a point between two extremes.

The difference is that alyce is the president of a republic that is going to help take over the parts of it that are seceding because supposedly we are the lesser evil and she rather we take them than guard/RSK/mela. (and honestly I am not sure if she doesn't just want to use our conquest of shropam to scare the rest of them into not seceding from the union)
while sylvian wants to be given free reign to pursue her goals in our emprie

>>33830403
>force everyone to reconcile

And then we have 3 enemies.

Rolled 12

>>33830403
DC 20
fail
have makeup sex
DC 1
success

>>33830444
not give up her views, compromise a little on what she wants and what she can attain. Because talon is still going to be more restrictive than the league. just not as restrictive as her

Rolled 14

>>33830403
inb4 alyce's reason for her hatred of RSK is something personal like her parents and shit getting killed by RSK and we need a 20 roll to succeed

>>33830411
oh shit!

>>33830391
> Helldragons are something she would oppose

I wonder how pissed she would get if we started making Felldragons.

>>33830411
>Kushan shows up
>Fluffy tails die
>Talon kills him with raw rage.
>No one knows what the fuck is going on.
>Talon assumes Blackwater planned it all. Somehow.

>>33830587

Is Blackwater our Loki?

Because I'm down with that.

>>33830403
>DC 26, +1 for cajones, roll d20

Yea- no.

Rolled 7

>>33830403
Why is everyone rolling?
rollan

File: 072.jpg (451 KB, 2000x1250)

451 KB JPG

Options I'm seeing are:

ONE: Side with the Magi League alone.
TWO: Side with the RSK alone.
THREE: Try to get Alyce and Sylvian to work together (note that if it fails it will force a choice between the League and the Mage Guard, the RSK will be off the table). Very hard.
FOUR: Try to work with both the RSK and League at the same time. No difficulty in choosing this but it will force two or three front wars and may cause diplomatic issues.
FIVE: Try to build a secret alliance between all of the rulers. Incredibly, incredibly difficult.

Any options I've missed?

>>33830552
>not give up her views, compromise a little on what she wants and what she can attain.
This is possible. As Sylvian's one person you could potentially bend her views if you gain her respect.

>>33830501

I think the issue with that is we're assuming that leaders of their respective nations want to give out details of their failing nation to those they hate.

If the Magi League or Mage Guard knew the other is falling to pieces, want would stop from them immediately going at each others throats? Talon is considered a wild card in the sense he has no connections as of yet. He can be relied on to be told secrets to bring about a deal. While I highly doubt Alyce is going to casually tell Sylvian that the League is about to die. And if we bring it up in the negotiations it makes us look two faced to both sides, especially if it fails.

>>33830619

Can we use our 1 FR point to force a negotiation roll to succeed? I thought it was only a combat roll but I just checked the pastebin and that doesn't seem to be the case.

>>33830619
for five
>Alyce and Sylvian discussion first
than
>Alyce and Fenix discussion
Sylvian and Fenix are fine right?

>>33830444
The argument is gonna be
>Look sylvan, your way has caused the mage guard to become so zealous that they went out of control and are now even hunting dragons just for being dragons.
>Doing the same thing twice and expecting different results is folly, this could very well end your race if the mage guard repeats itself in the york empire
>Certainly magic needs to be controlled, but unrestrained zealotry also bloodthirsty fear also needs to be controlled. thus i propose a more mellow approach this time
>And that our agreement remain secret because honestly you made far too many enemies for me to openly appoint you my right hand
>So, are you willing to compromise here? or will you let your own machinations be the death of your race due to breeding uncontrolled zealots out to exterminate all they perceive as dangerous?

THREE: Try to get Alyce and Sylvian to work together (note that if it fails it will force a choice between the League and the Mage Guard, the RSK will be off the table). Very hard.

Has my vote. I don't think we can swing the all rulers secret alliance but we can get something close.

>>33830619
I vote for burning as many FR points as necessary to force the success

>>33830391
>It will become an open alliance once the League begins to collapse.
an open alliance with HER or with the LEAGUE?
i thought we would be subsuming the league as a whole

>>33830601
I honestly get a kick mainly out of the mental image of blackwater just chilling out in some country home somewhere. Then hearing all this bullshit about how everything is his fault in 4 different nations and just being like "What the fuck? I haven't even been to pharos why would I hurt the fluffy tails there?"

>>33830619
I vote three or five and burning our points to get it to work

>>33830601

I assume all 1s have something to do with Blackwater.

The prick. Who the fuck fights naked anyway!