Empire 7: Into the Depths IC Thread

[Corona]

Most Serene Lojanese Republic
Time: Round 11, Place: Regions 6, 9, 11 and 13
Prime Minister Hoerthd Thnoet
Diplomacy: 6
Military: 5
Economy: 7
Faith: 2
Intrigue: 5

rolls

Actions:

1. [Diplomacy]Sway merchants in region 5, buy out Waveweed Root TP 5.1
   Sway: 2d8 + 6 Dip + 1 Prestige - 0 distance vs TN 12 (open, own TP in region 6) success
   Buyout: 2d6 + 7 Eco - 0 distance vs TN 12 success
   Time to sit on thrones in the shiny new palace and demand tributes from all the foreigners! Difficult questions like who really owns the palace - the government, or the merchants and nobles that co-funded it - are set aside for later as everyone is happy that such a feat was achieved, the construction of the biggest and most luxurious building in the known world. Our descendants will remember our times as a golden age, certainly, except if they should be even more prosperous.
   
2. [Military]Invade Kaarme (14) again. Route: Adjacent. General: Zabkrew. TD: Graceful Show of Force. Technology: Death Commandos (+1 battle). Units: 2. Ruler Military bonus: +3 Treasure spent: 2 (+1 battle, +1 battle from city, +1 mercenary unit). Total bonus to battle, not including outnumbering: +6
   The likes of Master Juma will be crushed, and Kaarme will be conquered, no matter what. The resisting units do not know what is good for them. If the Most Serene Republic had not graciously offered to take Kaarme under its wings, it would have been simply gobbled up by another power, perhaps a less scrupulous one.
   
   This time, the Lojanese army is equipped even better, with new siege engines from the Oarngalau factory and squads of fearless elite soldiers turned into killing machines through the consumption of Siren Extract. The army committed to the campaign is once again fairly small, as the Auros are expected to surrender when they catch sight of what peak military performance looks like.
   
   Units present:
   Selachian Elites
   Black Guards
   Unknown mercenaries
   
   
3. [Military 5]Raise Huurdrav fortress in Lojan (9)
   The coming of the Titan and rumors that the Reapers will be returning have made the Prime Minister somewhat paranoid, and he orders the construction of massive fortifications around key areas of Lojan, such as the city of Sheade, government headquarters, Tairlav Palace, and weak points in Lojan's natural borders. Thick stone walls with a triangular profile, which deflects bombardment by presenting a sloped surface, form the bulk of the fortifications. Bunkers and towers peek out from behind these walls to rain down frontal and enfilading fire on the attackers, with close range units manning the walls. Simple, but numerous traps adapted from the nets, spikes and cords used for hunting are scattered all around the fortified positions (though in densely populated areas the traps are merely stored ready for deployment, to avoid civilians injuring themselves). Eel-shaped gargoyles on the walls are ready to spout toxins. Manned armored balloons of sorts are floating above the walls in order to prevent the enemy from circumventing or bombarding the fortifications by swimming above them.
   
   
4. [Economy]Explore the eastern wastes (east of 13) using the Losinka Alaku 2d6 + 7 Economy + 1 Losinka Alaku + 1 DNA - 0 distance vs TN 12 success
   Done with the explorers' incompetence, Queen Nirali personally leads the second expedition, leaving her sickly newborn in the hands of (hopefully more competent) doctors and attendants.
   
5. [Economy]Buyout Blood Pearls TP 26.1 2d6 + 7 Eco - 0 distance (1 negated by Tairlav Palace) vs TN 12 success
   News of the palace being built and of Lojan's opulence in general causes merchants from distant seas to take an interest in trading with the Republic, and Woenpal Noerjang revels in the attention.
   
6. [Diplomacy]Raise rep with ABS 1>2 2d6 + 6 Dip + 2 Prestige vs TN 12 success
   The Stewards' stabilizing presence is welcomed as the Eel intrudes onto Republic territory.
   

Non-Actions:
Activate Tairlav Palace for 1 treasure
Supply region 11 DI with Kelp Fiber from LSD trade route
Supply LSD with Selachian Mercenaries through trade route
Songline...?
[Renown] A Monumental Undertaking: The Sunlit Roads 2/3

Spoiler: The Sunlit Roads

Show

A prototype pipe is built between Woenpal Noerjang's summer residence and Woenpal Noerjang's winter residence. More accurately, several prototypes are built in succession, as the chief engineer's plans are foiled by physics and the sea. The failures are, of course, not referred to as such, but rather as iterative design, to keep the funds flowing. For example, a stone corridor of some length is built before the increasingly dark interior cues the chief engineer in to the fact that the planned connections will have people swimming for hours in complete darkness, without any view of the outside world... large windows are added to the stone walls, and regularly spaced exits and refreshment stations are planned to make travel tolerable. The pumps that are supposed to generate a water current in the "roads" are another matter still. Beasts of burden might not be able to effect enough power for a sufficiently low price, and so Woenpal's employees are looking for another power source.

News and Rumors:

Spoiler: Ruler

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Prime Minister Hoerthd Thnoet
Next round stats:
Diplomacy: 7
Military: 6
Economy: 8
Faith: 2
Intrigue: 5

New ruler next round? No

Note to fellow players: I want to live dangerously, so you may assassinate, kidnap or otherwise ravish my rulers at any time. You don't need to approach me first, surprises are fine too. IC resistance and retaliation will be be offered, of course.

Spoiler: Country Info, last update R11

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Actions to take: sway merchants in 8.

Special Actions Available: D5 I5
Special Actions Used: E5 M5

Diplomacy

Spoiler

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Region Ownership/Claims/Supports Table to be simplified?


Reputation/Favours To be updated
The Abyssal Stewards: Rep 1, 1 Favours (Expected Change: +1 Rep)
The Chelonian Chora: Rep -1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None)
The Divine Nacres: Rep 1, 0 Favours (Expected Change: None)
International Prestige: Rep 3, 0 Progress (Expected Change: None)

Cultural Exchanges
Lambent Syndicate
Coral of the Protected Statera RIP

Cultural Identities
Let's Have a Cuppa - 2d8 to Swaying

Military

Spoiler

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Units: 6/10 (Expected Change: ?)

• Republican Guards - recruited R1, was destroyed in the 1st invasion of Kaarme
• 1st Selachian Battalion - hired R2, looted a temple in Bloodhome, fought in the 1st invasion of Kaarme
• 2nd Selachian Battalion - hired R2
• Black Guards - hired R3, assassinated the Plo'uogoar
• Selachian Elites - gained R7
• Region 13 unit - gained R9
• Sheade Regulars - recruited R10

Generals
Zabkrew - Mil 9, Graceful Show of Force:
+1 to tactical maneuvering
-20% enemy casualties
-20% own casualties
+12 to enemy leader loss roll
+2 to own leader loss roll
You may make a Sway attempt against a randomly determined support in the battlefield region (regardless of the outcome of the battle)

Fortresses
Huurdrav, Lojan

Perfected Tactical Doctrines
None

Military Technologies
Death Commando Conditioning +1 to battle, requires Lamia Extract

Economy

Spoiler

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Treasure: 7 (Expected Change: -3+3)
Trade post income: 3 Treasure/round

Trade Posts List to be simplified
Total Owned ?? (?? for Treasure gain)

Cities
Sheade, Lojan - Swaying
Oarngalau, Selach - Battles

Trade Routes
Coral of the Protected Statera RIP
Lambent Syndicate
Lighthouse
Forests of Astral Yearning

Specialised Ships
Losinka Alaku: A Specialized Ship in the form of a Juvenile Reefback with an experienced crew. +4 vs theft, +1 to Explorations and Buyouts made with it.

Civilian Technologies
Megafaunal Tailoring No mechanical effect
Graduated Symbiosis No mechanical effect

Faith

Spoiler

Show

State Faith: Shimmers of Unseen Bane

Faith Holy Sites: lots

Organised Faith Bonuses
+1 Conversions, 2d8 to Impressing

Artefacts
None

Holy Orders
None

Miracles
SUB followers can cross toxic borders.

Intrigue

Spoiler

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Spies
Nope, no ninjas here.

Spoiler: Interesting quests

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ABS

[Offer] Bounty of the Depths -

(Offer: The Abyssal Stewards are offering Treasure! Benefit: 2 or 5 Treasure. Cost: 1 Favor for 2 Treasure, 2 Favors for 5 Treasure. Duration: Available until the end of Round 15. Details: Available to countries of Reputation -1 or higher. )

[Opportunity] Fueling The Forge -

(Opportunity: Countries may provide Units, Food, Labor, or Heat Sources to repay debts to the Abyssal Stewards. Reward: 1 Favor. Cost: 2 Units or 1 suitable Trade Post per Favor. Deadline: Available indefinitely - desired goods may change over time. Opportunity may disappear with 1 round’s notice. Details: Non-action to gift Units/Trading Posts. May not be used if no Favors are owed. )

CCA

[Action - Faith] Work on a means of unmaking the Dreaming Dead 2/? -

[Request] A Little Less Lonely Road -
(Request: The Chelonian Chora would be delighted to see established countries keeping them company in the Wastes. Reward: +1 Reputation for successfully Exploring or Prospecting a Wastes region. On a Wastes region Prospecting roll of 16 or higher, +1 Favor. Penalty: None. Deadline: Available until the end of round 15. Details: Available to countries with Reputation -2 or higher. Max of +2 Reputation from this request per Country.)

[Opportunity] An Appetite For Abundance -

(Opportunity: Countries may provide Treasure, Luxuries, Esoterica, or Fertilizer to repay debts to the Chelonian Chora. Reward: 1 or more Favors. Cost: 3 Treasure or 1 suitable Trade Post per Favor. Deadline: Available indefinitely - desired goods may change over time. Opportunity may disappear with 1 round’s notice. Details: Non-action to gift Treasure/Trading Posts. May not be used if no Favors are owed.)

Taboo: The Chelonian Chora have a religious vendetta against The Dreaming Dead. Penalty: -2 CCA Reputation for adopting The Dreaming Dead as a state religion; additional -1 CCA Reputation every turn thereafter unless abandoned, which grants +1 CCA Reputation. Duration: Indefinite. Details: None.)

(Task: Cooperate in the creation of the Songline of the Sunlit Seas. Available for Tropical zone countries only. Reward: +2 Favors (max); if Project is completed, additional reward given to all contributors. Penalty: None. Deadline: End of Round 12. Details: 1 Favor earned per sufficient length/content fluff submission fit for inclusion in the Songline. 1 Favor earned for spending a Faith action to contribute to the Project. Fluff submissions will still be accepted and eligible for Favor gains if the project is completed before the request duration expires.)

DNA

[Opportunity] A Need For Knowledge -
(Opportunity: Countries may provide Technologies, Toxins, Exotic Flora, or Exotic Fauna to repay debts to the Divine Nacres. Reward: 1 or more Favors. Cost: 1 previously unknown Technology or 1 suitable Trade Post per Favor. Deadline: Available indefinitely - desired goods may change over time. Opportunity may disappear with 1 round’s notice. Details: Non-action to gift Technology/Trading Posts. May not be used if no Favors are owed.)

[Offer] Survival Of The Fittest -
(Offer: The Divine Nacres are offering to procure Trading Posts for countries they like through means some might consider predatory. Benefit: The Divine Nacres will attempt to Coerce Trading Posts on a country’s behalf. Cost: 1 Favor per Coercion attempt. Duration: Available until the end of Round 15. Details: Normal restrictions on Coercion apply. Available to Reputation 1 or higher countries, and will not target TPs belonging to countries with a higher Reputation than the requesting country - other Organizations are considered to have a Reputation of 2 for this purpose.)

(Circumstance: The Divine Nacres are returning to their traditional seclusion. Benefit: None.Penalty: The TN to Raise Reputation with the Divine Nacres is increased by 2. Additionally, when using a Favor to Raise Reputation, it still requires a roll (though not an action), but the country which spent the favor gains a +2 bonus on said roll. Duration: From the start of round 10 to the end of round 15. Details: None.)

PRS


[Honor] Remarkable Reconstruction -
When a country rebuilds a TP or Holy Site that was destroyed by the Reavers, they may choose to let it enter play Open, rather than under their control. If they do so, they gain +1 Prestige. If a country donates 2 Units as a non-action to a region that lost units to the Reavers, they gain +1 Prestige and the region no longer qualifies for such donations by other countries. If a country successfully Sways or Impresses a Reaved Faction in a region they don’t control, they may choose for it to become Open instead of gaining the Faction’s Support; for every second Faction they restore in this way, they gain +1 Prestige. Special: Any country may rebuild Holy Sites or TPs destroyed by Reavers in uncontrolled regions. If multiple countries donate Units to a region that lost units to the Reavers, they both gain the Prestige, and the region gains the Units from all such donations received.

[Mystique] Renegades, Turnskins, And Defectors -
The first country in each starting zone to successfully Incite Betrayal will gain 1 Prestige. The first rebellion to arise on behalf of a specific country in each starting zone will gain that country 1 Prestige. The successful use of either the Galvanize Partisans Intrigue 5 Special Action or the Spark Claimant Revolt Diplomacy Action will suffice for fulfilling the second half of this opportunity; the Inspire Uprising or Spark Rebellion actions will not.


[Piety] The Religious Community -
(Opportunity: The first country in each starting zone to found a Holy Order will gain 1 Prestige. Duration: End of round 12. Special: If multiple countries in the same starting zone found a Holy Order in the same round before any others, both countries will gain the additional Prestige.)

Indefinite duration effects

[Strife] Big Fish In Small Ponds -

Prestige and PRS Rank will no longer correlate one to one: to reach PRS Rank 3 from PRS Rank 2 will require 2 Prestige, while reaching PRS Rank 4 from PRS Rank 3 will require 3 Prestige. This Prestige does not have to be earned in the same turn. Reaching PRS Rank -3 from PRS Rank -2 requires the loss of 2 Prestige in the same turn. If all available positions at a given PRS Rank are occupied when a new country would reach said rank, the country which gained Prestige least recently has their PRS Rank reduced by 1. Ties are resolved by roll-off with the tying country’s highest respective attributes, with the lowest rolls losing. Changing rulers will no longer result in PRS Rank loss when at PRS Rank 3 or 4, but will reset any accumulated Prestige to 0.
Special: The loss of Prestige still causes a loss of PRS Rank. Gaining Prestige when at PRS Rank 2 or 3 which is insufficient to rise to the next PRS Rank, or gaining Prestige when at PRS Rank 4, still counts for determining which country gained Prestige least recently. Losing PRS Rank resets the clock and clears out any accumulated Prestige which was insufficient to reach the next Rank, and counts as an instance of gaining Prestige for timing purposes only.

[Renown] A Monumental Undertaking -

Can work on one monument or similarly grand project in a region you control as a non-action. This requires a fluff description of the ongoing work, design, difficulties, progress, or similar. Three to four sentences should usually be sufficient. When beginning such a project, must decide on a 3-part project (+1 PRS) or 5-part project (+2 PRS).

[Acclaim] To Greatness -

Sea Power, Empire, Merchant Marine, or Holy Sea -> 1 Prestige. Usurpation results in Prestige loss for the usurped country.

[Honor] Blood, Stone, and Ink - PRS treaties can be made.
[Affluence] Opulent Optics - May spend 5 Wealth as non-action to gain 1 Prestige.
[Mendacity] A Lack Of Commitment - Prestige loss if a country Oppresses a faction in a region on which they have a Confederation claim. Prestige loss if a country backs down from an Ultimatum it has made.

[Notoriety] The Fragility of Fear -
[Ignominy] Stigma, Scandal, and Shame -

Prestige loss will be assigned: experience a rebellion in response to a failed Oppress Faction or Impress Aristocracy action, commit gross atrocities.
Prestige loss may be assigned: forced to acquiesce to a rebellion’s demands, badly lose a battle heavily favored to win, grossly humiliated or suffer a gross embarrassment.
Return captured general: can give -1 PRS to the other party, captured ruler: -2 PRS.