Topic: (TSG) Warlord (Read 8247 times)

RAM · « **Reply #90 on:** June 12, 2013, 09:22:13 pm »

That seems fair.

Gamerlord · « **Reply #91 on:** June 13, 2013, 11:30:06 am »

Sounds about right.

escaped lurker · « **Reply #92 on:** June 14, 2013, 12:15:52 pm »

Spoiler: OOC-Talk and Discussion (click to show/hide)

The next morning you meet up with Rakver and together you go to the meeting grounds. He also is kind enough to give you some pointers on how to act - basically neither weak nor boastfull. By the entrance some shamans make sure of the authenticity of your tattoos. Getting caught with a fake one would normally warrant death, more so on this premises - but with them doing these checks there seem to have been some who did so. The available seats are also strictly ordered by the ranks, and you are given one quite a ways from the tribune where the Chieftains will take theirs.

After a surprisingly short time, all those of true name and rank seem to have gathered, and you get your first eyefull of the Supreme Chieftain. Despite being past his prime with 42 years, he is an impressive pack of muscles - but more on the wiry side than brutish. He takes his time with inspecting the tributes brought forth by the landholders, and often enough there are exclamations of approvement - or the opposite. He get's showered with weapons, armours and often enough simply coins accompanied by a simple functional item - Orc society really does not favor any kind of useless crafts. There are also instances where he asks about the province and it is by this way that you are able to identify your other two neighbours.

It takes quite a while until it is your turn, seeing as you seem to be the landholder with the least amount of ink - not a surprising fact. It does make you a bit uncomfortable thou, after having seen all the riches that have been heaved upon him already. Standing before the current Supreme Chieftain is quite nervewracking for you, and you stumble over your own tongue twice, but that could have gone quite worse is how you comfort yourself. As before, the orc also eyes your gift observantly - if his demeanour is truthfull he quite likes the bow, seeing as it is not only artful but also of good use. On the other hand he gives the cloak only a few glances, before he asks about the situation in your province.

You awnser truthfully, as there really is not much more to your province than woodland and some fields. That your elves only tend to be headstrong and at worst hostile in their demeanor strikes his interest, and you are asked in great detail about how you went on to govern over them. Some of the chieftains seem to dislike the idea of going soft on the elves, but as Uzgath seems to have no distinctive opinion on the matter, they soon leave that part of the discussion be. You also bring forth your request to build a road towards the homelands meant for military relief, wich gains emidiate approval, thou they also tell you that anything pertaining to it will be your own responsibility. You also make a short summary about the matter of the tower, wich gains some interest - some of the chieftains even want to be informed how the matter will be concluded.

Hurriedly you rush back to your seat, and soon enough a discussion about politics starts. Of great interest is the matter of the elven nation to you. It seems that following the war and loss of the crown-prince, the former king has become a marionette of the nobles. According to the reports they even had quite a bloody civil war, with one elven noble being the de-facto ruler at the moment. As he has crushed anyone in a position to oppose him, the elven nation has even strengthend from the conflict. They are currently in the process of forming some alliances with other nations and even some of the local tribes. The Chieftains estimate that a new war might be unavailable - but as most of the alliances are about defending, making sure that the elves are the aggressors should make it no real competition.

There were also some topics that fall more into economy, like how the mine in Lathanor sadly only gives copper - not a material prefered for tools of war, how trade within the new elven lands was coming along slower than some would like and the general distrust of possible settlers. Rakvar also brought up the multiple rebellions and the attempts at his life, with the old elven lords being his prime suspects in these matters. The discussions run into the late evening, but most are not of interest or concern to you.

When the council gathers the next two days, it is more for interaction between the members - trading agreements, hiring of lower-ranking personel and of course watching the later rounds to determine the champions. On this occasion Argub, by his ink Champion Slaugtherer, Contender and Skirmisher and current lord of Lathanor approaches you with a proposal. He laments that the traders have been bleeding him dry with charging quite a sum for coal, and seeing that you have enough resources to help that asking surely would not hurt. The price for one wagon-load (200 kg) of coal is about 5 Silvers, mainly because of the long transport and the "danger" of traveling through the new provinces. His yearly estimated need is somewhere at 300 wagons, seeing as he drives the many slaves in the mines hard for their crimes and also prefers to smith the metal instead of exporting it. With 5 Silvers enabling one to eat poorly for a year, you are quite sure to be able to give him a satisfactory lesser price, but he accepts that you would like to speak with your trusted circle first. He would also be more than willing to purchase woodcutting and coaling rights from you, being highly flexible in the matter.

With the champions inked, the Gathering is slowly nearing its end. You are also chatted up by some traders, which say they would be quite more incited to come into your province once the road is completed - the message appearantly already having spread without your doing.

Is there anything left to do before you return to your province?

Gamerlord · « **Reply #93 on:** June 14, 2013, 12:26:29 pm »

One, i'm not sure what this guy is asking us. Two, how much coin do we have on us?

10ebbor10 · « **Reply #94 on:** June 14, 2013, 12:34:48 pm »

The economical proposal is interesting, but also likely going to cause some problems with the elves. Quite a lot of coal (60tonnes), which requires quite a lot of wood (5:1 efficience), almost 300 tonnes. Then again, the average tree weights quite a lot, so it should be doable. Something that might be more problematic is the storage and transport, as we can't produce during large parts of the year.

But well, I can suppose we can agree on delivering coal. We're getting quite a lot of wood anyway, with all these infrastructure projects.

Can we look for a proper architect. We got quite a bit of engineering to do. Fortress construction, forges, installation of small scale hydropower for various uses, and to prevent similar bad harvest as have happened recently.

I'm not certain if we would do the coaling centralized, or decentralized. The one has the advantage of keeping everything under our control, but also got quite a lot of traffic problems.

Quote from: Gamerlord on June 14, 2013, 12:26:29 pm

One, i'm not sure what this guy is asking us. Two, how much coin do we have on us?

He wants us to set up a charcoal industry to supply his mines/forges. Seeing as we got quite a lot of trees.

Gamerlord · « **Reply #95 on:** June 14, 2013, 12:41:41 pm »

Ah, right.

kaian-a-coel · « **Reply #96 on:** June 14, 2013, 06:06:04 pm »

that's a wonderful opportunity. I doubt we would be able to give him all the coal he needs, but if we put our prices lower than 5 silver (exact price needs to be studied for), he'll prioritarize our stuff. We can safely say that any coal we made will be sold, for a fairly high price (from our point of vue).
TL;DR we do not need to make the bloody 60 tonnes of coal. Any amount is good.

RAM · « **Reply #97 on:** June 14, 2013, 09:37:54 pm »

I would be opposed to granting them rights to work our province.

While clearing the forests irks me, and in our current environment the forest is one of our more valuable resources, what with hunting being a major industry, and our own construction and heating needs, and the fact that we don't want to end up in the same situation, we should be able to sell lots of coal for now and stop later. Of course, stopping the trade would likely harm our reputation...

For now, we should get to work arranging that road. Talk to logistical military and merchant types as well as relevant craftsmen about road requirements and construction. Study a map, preferably with the assistance of a miner, to determine the route, and talk to the owners of the provinces that the road would pass through.
The major question I think that will come up about the road is, how much do we want to compromise its path in order to get help building it? With the support of the council, we shouldn't have much trouble getting permission to build it ourselves, but it'll be expensive work, and running it through certain mercantile hubs might get the locals to help pay for it. On the other hand, a path directly from the capital to the front would make for faster transit, and it is easy enough to build a road from some local spot in a province to the straight road if need be. Then again, armies need supplies, and orcs might get bored with a straight road...
Personally, I am inclined to have it as straight as we can afford.

kaian-a-coel · « **Reply #98 on:** June 15, 2013, 04:11:56 am »

For he coal, trees are a renewable ressource. If we burn them into charcoal, they'll grow back. We just need to not overexploit the forest.
We make some coal ourselves, and we sell him the finished product, delivered right at home, for 40% cheaper! (exact price to be evaluated).
Elves working at the coal industry will be paid, and we can take our taxes before paying them. The whole taxes. So if they work enough they won't have to pay us further.

escaped lurker · « **Reply #99 on:** June 16, 2013, 05:45:05 pm »

Spoiler: OOC-Talk and Decision (click to show/hide)

First Year - September - 8th year of Uzgath's Reign

After the festivities you travel homewards with Rakvar, and this time nothing of note happens, the weather is on the bad side thou. Surkoz wounded man - while in no condition for fighting or hard labour - is able to travel back with you. The ashes of the other one are expertly burned, and fitted into an exquisite burial vase. The Shaman responsible for both got easily the most well-spent five pieces of silver that you ever paid.

You safely arrive at the crossing in Nerindras and bid your farewell to Rakvar. The exact terms of your trading agreement still stand to discussion, but it is clear that both of you will first look at this years harvest before deciding on any terms. He reminds you to take part in next years competition, jesting that the just might brake off all contact with you, shall you chicken out again. You are not so sure how much of that is a joke, but he seems to take the competition quite serious

Arriving back at Fairspringwood - the whole name really does sound better in elven - you have the task of informing Surkoz about the loss of his man. He takes it not very well, and seeing his reaction you take full responsibility for it, but even then it is not easy to pacify him. After calming down he also sees the fault in your lack of tactical abilities, but he still would have expected better of your normal present wit. He begrudingly orders you to spend one hour of your daily training on this matter, and to pacify him - and seeing the need to do so yourself - you agree without a complaint, and do so from now on. The biggest part in pacifying him might have been the treatment and the burial vase that the men recieved.

Your three stand-ins then tell you all that happened in your absence. A good part of the harvest was taken in, with the elves part being a step above average, surpising with the blunder in spring. Orc and refugee farms only produced half of that, adressing their failure to the unfamiliar climate and lack of irrigation - the later is discussed as a focus for next month, before the ground freezes over. The countrysides did vary, overall it was not a good year for them either. The elves did start fixing the existing canal system, and achieved ample progress. The granary would need some more ample stones to build further, but with harvest around there were no free oxen. Luckily the food stores in the barracks will be able to hold most of it for now, with the hunters throwing in some good tribute for this month..

The construction of new hovels did go quite well, with the orc farmers having ample living space for now. Alanor and his men did quite worse than normal in your absence, a matter the others are somewhat confused about - the orcs have lost some respect for them. When talking to them, they do tell you that they enjoy their new housing very much, especially the distance from their brethren. After discussing the matter of their motivation, it seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle back, the whole situation annoying to you by now

Native elven resistance was of on problem during your visit to the homelands, causing your men to believe that they really do hold the grudge mainly against you. Alanor has to contribute that they also disliked their previous lord, so it might not only be your race that comes into play, but rather the general sentiment against being ruled.

Telling them about the happenings at the gathering, with Murak especially interested in the whole matter of making coal for Argub. Even with a seasoned elven coaler in the city, the most difficult part will be cutting down the trees to suitable size. Making the trees that will be felled for the road towards the homelands into coal seems like an obvious suggestion, but it will be quite difficult to get the personal for that. There is talk about making some of the more troubling elves of your own province into drafted workers, but that might incite the rest more than it would help. Surkoz remarks that buying some "copper elves" might be worth it in the long run. The notion of selling rights is quickly dispelled, seeing as your province really could use the coin.

The shaman tried to endear the populace to himself, not seldom showing critic to your way with the native elves. Your trio made it clear to him that he would be unwelcome if he would continue with his speeches, to wich he easily enough complied. Most of the other orcs agree that he went a bit too far there, and some dislike the backhanded nature of his actions. You earnestly consider throwing him out at this point, but doing so without discussing "your shortcomings" might send the wrong message to your kin.

The next month will bring in the rest of the harvest, with wild fruits and probably the first frost. You also await the delegation of Wuruzov Shamans, a matter that someone of status in your province should attend.

What are your plans for next month?

Spoiler: Ninkasi (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Land and Places (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Military View (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Possessions and Resources (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Relevant Persona & Relations (click to show/hide)

RAM · « **Reply #100 on:** June 16, 2013, 09:47:57 pm »

Well we will want to personally attend to the delegation. Get the irrigation done. Designate the path for the road and have standard logging practises directed along it. And get construction started on some coal ovens.

escaped lurker · « **Reply #101 on:** June 20, 2013, 09:00:43 am »

Spoiler: OOC-Talk and Decision (click to show/hide)

Second Year - October - 8th year of Uzgath's Reign

Deciding that all is well, you don't really give out much in the way of new orders - true enough, the matter with Rakver should wait till after the harvest, and else your people have plenty to do already.

The rest of the harvest brings in quite the boon from the native elves, partly due to them gathering the surrounding woods for fruits and nuts. Your own people don't do bad either, mirroring the natives in some parts. There is a strange cough gonig around the countryside, with the affected elves laying feverish in bed for multiple days - quite a lot of the smaller villages are hit hard by it. It also spreads to you - no wonder, being the capital city afterall, but orcs seem unaffected by it. Towards the end of the month most of those that got it have pulled through, but the damage to the harvest is done.

With the anniversary of your inking comes a small feast with your trusted circle of orcs. Alanor is not invited, because the others clearly did not want it that way, but luckily he doesn't seem to mind, with you pinning it as a cultural thing. You also spend 10 silver on a sacrifice for the true Ninkasi, hoping that it might appease Wuruzov for him in the afterlife.

It is also time to renew the contract with Surkoz, but as he has invested most of his own supplies to your cause, it strikes you as no wonder that he intends to stay - with the payment being the supplies needed for his men and wolves, nebst to 15% of any buisness you might strike up. He is a clear supporter of the coaling idea and wants a cut of the money this time - Seeing as he could have wanted worse, you see no reason to debate the matter.

Talking with the elven coaler, it becomes clear that he would not mind preferential treatment, but you want the matter to depend on the results that he achieves. Sparing some men he is to set up some coaling ovens near the border to Is'vell and in the course of the month you hear reports of him making good progress on the matter, setting up a number of them sure to accomendate your needs.

Scouting for the road went well, and most of the existing road leading to Is'vell can be left as it is, with only minor adjustments to some parts. There are also no swamps on the planned road through the other province, with the problem of crossing the river being the only point of concern left. Luckily there is a quite broad and shallow ford available, wich will be able to accomendate even wagons. As bridges are somewhat uncommon constructions for orcs, this is a good thing. Still, if you were to insist on it later on, you would be able to find someone capable of planning and building such in the homelands.

While only a handful of the local elves will be able to help with the road due to the region mainly sporting hunters, they will be able to house your workers. The promise of a road bringing the trade to them is the only incentive needed for this reasonable bunch, letting the orcs stay for free out of their own accord. Still, it is a days ride worth of road that needs clearing and minor construction - it will take the 10 men over 30 months of work - with the long winters around here a task of four years or more. The ancient woods that encompass these parts are pretty much untouched, and to tame this land will take its time. On that matter, Surkoz has asked if you would have any objections to him owning slaves - he thinks some "copper-elves" would soon enough work in their worth on that road. True enough, you should only await coal coming in from the east for now.

Construction on the granary is finished, and a good part of the irrigation has been dealt with - unless the frost next month hits hard, you will be able to finish it this year. Building the fortifications towards Gala'vo has it's problems thou - the elevation there makes workable trees somewhat rare, and in the mountains the frost has already begun to set in. They intend to build some makeshift barricades for now, with the occasional elven trader that passes through being the only mentionworthy report from them.

You also train quite a lot, albeit you are far from Rakvers idea of this matter. Soon after having started the first lessons in tactics, it shows that you are a quick learner. Surkoz also shows his worth, having ordered a few crude figurines from the carpenters, with wich he shows you battles he participated in, or the different tactics that he knows off. At the end of the month you already have a good view on the basics - the raider does imply that he can only teach you on his view, and since you have infantry this might not be the best thing in the long run. He does know advanced tactics of other troops, but is more proficient in thwarting them than furthering their effectiveness.

The Shamans arrive near the end of the month, and you are pleased to see that the elder leading it is accompanied by others that share the three differing views. You make sure to treat them with the deserving respect, and everything runs smoothly, they even compliment the matter mildly.

You set out for the tower, taking Murak with you - while your elven has improved, there could be quite difficult matters to discuss afterall. With four shamans and ten of Surkoz raiders you feel quite safe that you should be able to overwhelm the elven priests, should it come to tensions - or the shamans decree it a sinful place.

The meeting with the Moonpriests was shacky, as they did not suspect you - but with the archbishop? being absent the remaining priest and his handfull of acolytes pose a lesser threat as well. Murak is hard as work, as the different faiths discuss their views - the shamans do think some of it is reasonable enough thou. The view on top of the tower gives them quite the reason for thought, and soon after that they retreat for discussion. When they return, the Elder concludes that it is indeed a place of power, but the elven ideas associated with it are wrong and they are to leave it to the orcs.

The faithful elves take the matter calmly, mentioning to Murak that they already feared for worse. It seems that they are content with the shamans agreeing it to be a sin to tread upon the twin-mountains and will clear the tower of their belongings before winter. While the shamans will return to the homelands to spread their views about the place, one of them remains to study it further. As they esteem it to be a place of ample power, they will establish a permanent hold here - clearly not a bad thing as far as you are concerned.

What are your plans for the next month?

Spoiler: Ninkasi (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Land and Places (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Military View (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Possessions and Resources (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Relevant Persona & Relations (click to show/hide)

Gamerlord · « **Reply #102 on:** June 20, 2013, 09:07:49 am »

I think we need to focus on our combat skills. Maybe specialise in one area and stick to it. I think best choice would be close-quarters, in the thick of it. Would be good for the melee competitions and might earn us some respect.

kaian-a-coel · « **Reply #103 on:** June 20, 2013, 12:23:39 pm »

Yes, and maybe use the figurines and imagine a game to play with it. Something to emulate a battlefield and confront others' tactical skill.
We'll need dices

Otherwise... Maybe start a Great Hall for ourselves and our close orcs. Housing of better quality in general. Animal farms. Workplaces...

escaped lurker · « **Reply #104 on:** June 23, 2013, 12:01:15 am »

Spoiler: OOC-Talk and Decision (click to show/hide)

Second Year - November - 8th Year of Uzgaths Reign

With the coming of the new month, the weather turns into frost and cold winds blow through the woods. The cold weather makes it difficult for the linen-clothed peasantry to do much gathering, and unlike last year they dont see a pressing need to do so. The hunting is good however, and the products gained are very welcome.

You concentrate yourself on training your capabilities in melee, but the progress is not as good as you would have expected. The results are there, but since you left most of the buisness to Gózul and Murak you certainly would have expected more.

The first play-matches against Surkoz show his skills, and you will have a hard time catching up to his level. While you do well most of the time, you sacrifice troops to easily, sometimes being wiped out completely.

Reading the reports, it seems that the coaling buisness is running along smoothly, with the first batch being made. The winter-furs from last year also seem to do their job, as the work on the road does progress as planned. Irrigation is also finished, but with the coming of the frost it took them almost all month. Your peers agree that it would do you good to build a house to show your standing - with the elves being overall amiable they even deem it a more pressing matter than the tower that was previously talked about. Alas, it will have to wait till spring.

Murak - being a former trader afterall - struck a very good deal with the messenger that the Grand Raider sent. Sadly there won't be all that much trade, but it will generate a small income. The whole matter did however increase interest in your province, and it seems that some of the neigbhouring traders will start to visit Fairspringwoods market - once the winter is over, that is.

It is also Murak that reports the elves do take the whole matter about the tower not that serious. It seems the populace can practice their faith well enough without the priest, no wonder as the later were not much more than a group of hermits.

The wolfriders stationed at the border have reported sightings of what seem to be scouts. You and Surkoz have agreed to strengthen the patrols of the area for now, but as noone would be mad enough to wage a war in winter, you feel safe for the moment. You did send a report about it to the homelands thou - let them gauge the matter.

At the end of the month, the wind speeds up, and now carries snow with it. You do not doubt that winter will entomb you soon. Thanks to the high food tax you have ample food for the winter, but it seems that quite a lot of relief will need to wander through the province, with the feaver last month having ruined some harvests out there. While it ultimately stopped, it did do a lot of damage afterall.

On another note, the shaman opened his profane gap again, but it seems like he has lost the favour of your kin. You are unsure if to throw him out, or let the matter solve itself. There is also trouble brewing between the serfs and the orcs, as the later do not treat them with "enough respect". Alanor wants this matter cleared, and you can see where he is coming from - you did promise them specific rights afterall.

What are your goals for winter?

Spoiler: Ninkasi (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Land and Places (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Military View (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Possessions and Resources (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Relevant Persona & Relations (click to show/hide)

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Author Topic: (TSG) Warlord (Read 8247 times)

RAM

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council draws near

Gamerlord

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council draws near

escaped lurker

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

Gamerlord

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

10ebbor10

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

Gamerlord

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

kaian-a-coel

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

RAM

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

kaian-a-coel

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escaped lurker

Re: (TSG) Warlord - The Council meets

RAM

Re: (TSG) Warlord - Home, sweet home

escaped lurker

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Gamerlord

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kaian-a-coel

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escaped lurker

Re: (TSG) Warlord