I assumed that it was mined ore, and if I'm wrong, Cash might not know differently as of present.
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Newest post! For context, they started to get set up, but haven't been able to bring in workers yet due to the day to day risk of just living here, let alone mining. There is both some ancient cold iron, and some traded stuff, although none of it was bought with money...
In Ranveer's Wellington Barracks interlude I also gave a backstory to how he was given cold iron bullets from a veteran of the Feywild. So glad to see that it has been traded for in some capacity :)
"Imagine if you will, an entirely captured production from the bottom to the top, based in this new, or old, reality alongside our own. Product sourced from fey resources, crafted by artisans, refined, milled, produced in full, then sold to this old Earth. The profits to be realized there are as immense as the profits of India, and at a fraction the cost in defense." She nods to the soldiers about them.
"We'd still need soldiers, of course, but the postings would be stable with barracks at hand instead of distant. The door connects to this very rail. The men who've served know, but you others may not - the Empire spends a fortune on defense of our far flung holdings. Blood and treasure that will not return. Yet at the heart of our independence is a chance of geography. Britannia owes our home isle's current independence from old powers in Europe entirely to our ability to hold the channel and the navy upon it. The largest moat ever imagined, until the Americans realized the Atlantic. Now in America, they seek to tame the continent, driving the older people before them with shot and steel, alchemy and arcanistry. You were a part of that, Cash, and your insights will be critical, I am certain to what lies before us." She smiles lion-like.
"Now I ask all of you to imagine further, how vast the moat across this door, and beyond? We seek to tame a world. A world with no sign that it has known our war and turmoil. A world lacking only ruler-ship and law. I can see, far in the future, that the majority of the Empire might exist beyond these doors, if that world is as this one, with just the border crossing held tightly. Oh it won't be my empire, or yours, it will instead be The Empire, for empires grow as they grow if you have the will to tend them. The name may even change, yet it will be built by the ambition we have to build it, and our heirs will be well rewarded. All we must needs do is realize it. It is destiny that calls us, and it is destiny we must fulfill." She looks far into the distance as the train travels.
"The industry and resources are beyond imaginable, but the reward is attainable. We choose to do this not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. For Queen, and Empire, and for Ourselves. If it is worth doing, is worth doing completely. If the land cries out for a ruler, we shall see it surveyed and given one." She nods to her fellows, then falls silent a moment more, still watching the hills roll by then adds. "At a tidy profit, and with a minimum of atrocity. Barbarians pillage, Imperiums rule. We must be an Imperium gentlefolk, or we will surely turn barbarous."
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Before I can reply I just want to say I found it hilarious that you said "barbarians pillage," when the one of us most likely to pillage (Cash) is a barbarian
Before I can reply I just want to say I found it hilarious that you said "barbarians pillage," when the one of us most likely to pillage (Cash) is a barbarian
Margarett is all about building things, people, systems, empire. It's not what you did, but who you might become. She's not a paladin because it didn't seem like it would really fit into the setting, but she's definitely all about that societal progression into the future and the future being better than the past. Dangle that redemption in service to a higher cause and see who bites. Maybe he'll be a reformed barbarian by the time we're done!
Alternatively, we're in a paradox paint the map game essentially, exploring alt history. So by that logic, barbarians just need a little respectability and they're basically feudal nobility. Just need to give Cash enough perspective that his Life goals include forming the Empire of Britainnae and a Personal Union with a royal house of the fey to lend some legitimacy...We can marry him off to a nice seelie daughter to cement his ties to the land or what have you.
Of our party, Lionel is the hard one to figure out how to get on board the Empire building colonialist track. He seems very much in the small term stakes and "I have a hatchet and a house on a mountain and I don't want or need company" side of humanity to me. He seems like he'll be happy mapping out the Frontier but not so much doing anything with it. I've been trying to think how Margarette might tempt him towards LG colonialism (isn't that a hilarious concept) and coming up blank.
That's more or less how Lionel sees things. Empire building is good for others, but he dearly loves the wilderness in all of it's wildness even if he does want to prove that he is firmly at the top of it. He likely will develop further aspirations for the Feyrealm but it'll depend very heavily on the nature of the fey when we come to encounter them and the nature of the Feyrealm as we explore it.
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Hey everyone! It's been about a week since we started! Time really does fly. Just checking in, making sure everyone's enjoying themselves, and wondering if anyone has feedback, recommendations, requests, stuff like that! As I mentioned in my recruitment, this is my first time DMing PbP.
Hope everyone's having a good time, I know I am!
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I've been having a lovely time, enjoy all the characters so far, everyone really seems to have quite a handle on who and what they are. As for myself, I've no greater comments other than I am excited for there to be more.
Love the way the Feywild has been portrayed thus far and how the three interlopers all seem (atm) to be such scum. I especially like the Brigadier and Cash playing off each other in that thread, but I also feel like I kinda wasted the opportunity to get to know our boss better, but oh well.
The game is good. Please let me know if Margarett needs to be less wordy. I don’t want people to be uncomfortable or feel crowded out by her.
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Having a great time also - fantastic setting and blend of characters.
FYI - I'm knee deep in a busy operational week folks. Likely be a day or so before I can get some clear air to post properly. Please bot Ranveer or have him loiter in the background where necessary :)
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Hey guys! Ended up being super busy today. I'll try and get something up some time tomorrow!
Please let me know if Margarett needs to be less wordy. I don’t want people to be uncomfortable or feel crowded out by her.
In character, Median is quite relieved when Margarett talks. Takes off some of the burden of this unwanted leadership position, and worrying about talking too much.
Out of character, really... almost the same. Thanks for backing up my character so well, and feel free to talk as much as you like. The whole lost memory thing is challenging. :)
Ok. Just assuming we get started with the recon in force, and leaving it up to the gm when that is and if we take npcs along.
Yeah, good assumption... we do have to go out there, but we really do need to figure out the map thing... pointless to just be wandering in circles. Maybe a way to navigate the fey lands is in one of my journals?
Here's a reference image if that helps! Not very big at all.
He brings his glass hand to pull at his moustache as he replies. "Ma'am, I've but one question, one hole to poke in your moat. Who's to say as we press in, impose rule and rigid order on what we can, the realm won't crack and open other doors to other nations? Surely we have the advantage of time, for all I know, this is the first reliable point of entry in the world, but what if that changes? Suddenly, we could have our position in military threat, not just our position in the Fey, but a door straight to the middle of Northumberland!" He laughs, gazing out the window at the rolling hills they pass. "Not that there's much about the place to conquer."
In typically American candor, he pushes the envelope of informality, an attempt to find the boundaries of their relationship as they grow and shrink. "Fitzgerald," he starts, omitting any title, "magic is a necessary evil. It's good money, it's high stakes, it's exciting. And not a lick a' me trusts it. Never have. If the Crown's mission was to take this place and exact not just order, but mundanity, 'twouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
"How's about you, Officer? You must have an opinion on the subject." he nods to Ranveer, deliberately giving the Sikh the deference he avoided giving Fitzgerald to try and test the man into showing his hand.
Personally, I'm fine with Margarett's verbosity! Less work for me :) I may occasionally correct/clarify, but that's not meant to be criticism .
==
Cash, I had seen the last post you made to the Brigadier. I had meant to send a message, but I must have forgotten, so I'll say it now; I was thinking we could leave the nature of that conversation currently open ended so we can use it as a story element, if that's ok with you.
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Ranveer shifts from relaxing to reaching for his blades and producing a whetstone. With a smile he nods towards Cash;
"Please. I am no officer Sahib. Lieutenant Colonel there is an officer and a gentleman. I am but a humble Havildar... British Army would call me a sergeant."
His eyes flit to the LTC before he sets to work honing the edges of his chakram, as he mulls the American's statements and question;
"What of magic indeed? There is more to this world than meets the eye. We Sikhs are always mindful that The One, The All works in mysterious ways. What we call Jādū is magic or sorcery and
is a particular way of dividing up beyond what meets the eye... It is neither good nor evil, merely there..."
He holds up the newly sharpened Chakram with a smile;
"Good. Good. Jādū, is a tool Sahib Cash. Like a rifle, or a blade. In the hand of the righteous and good, it too can do good. In the hand of the misguided or fallen it will cause suffering and pain."
Ok. There's a quick* justification for having the NPCs stay here to plot with the military and give some space, the party move north, and an itinerary of 3 weeks before people start worrying about us. Easy guidepost to justify any sort of GM timeskip and future shocking revelations as needed.
Perhaps take Friday to get any further Fort Nowhere posts in order, and let's all assume GM Kaz can move us along by posting the next scene this evening?
1. Marge/Median examine Mirror + Campfire with party reactions (this could be entertaining to write as something goes wrong with the examination or as the examination is a bust but ~something else happens~, probably a prequel to combat or other challenge.)
2. Rifle cleaning talk. (Everyone but median seems to use firearms, post battle this is a pretty easy response scene perhaps while median examines some newly perforated creature.)
3. Finding some wyld resource, (maybe even Fey Crude in a bubbling tar pit? historically we're right after the first successfully drilled oil wells, so finding signs of oil and then drilling might let us have our own fey spindletop...)
Lastly we are probably going to need a map at some stage if only to make it easier to hexcrawl. If you don't want to generate one, let us know and we can all go trawl through Azgaar's fantasy map generator until we find something that looks cool.
*quick is relative, right?
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Perfectly reasonable questions. All wood, they've had plenty of time and supplies to phase out tents at this point. There's 3 research buildings, 1 empty prison type building, and the rest is barracks. Some of the more important people have started working on their own cabins, but those tend to be cruder, being someone's personal project to help pass time. There are approximately 50 people that you've seen so far, although not everyone would've been at the meeting, so it's probably safe to say around 70 people total. It's about 80% Wardens, 20% military, but what that really means is it's about 50% warrior types, 35% laborers, and about 15% researchers. The room you were exploring was a small individual room off of a larger barracks building.
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Heya. Just going to dot so I can follow everyone better. :)
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Ranveer bows his head with a smile;
"No offences taken Sahib. Serving as Wardens is very different posting for us all yes?"
He nods his turbaned head toward the LTC at the American's question;
"Sahib Cash, I do not presume to speak for the Lieutenant Colonel, but it is worth remembering the sage words of the Guru at moments such as these; Where speech will not succeed, It is better to be silent."
He bows once again to both men.
the Gm posted the mirror's image The reason Angus didn't bring it along with him was due to the three dimensional space. Will it fit in a backpack?
I'm saying yes, obviously, or I wouldn't have written it. Even if the mirror is exactly as pictured, usually those outer pieces rotate and make it a little bit less wide, but depending on whatever else is in the pack, and the size of the pack, it should work. I mean, it is in a camp... it has to be portable to some extent to get here however it did. No moving company, just people. If the DM says no, I can rewrite, but I think better to have it with us than in the camp. Cool with you carrying it instead though, if you want it.
I mean, if you are asking if it would fit in a little teenager backpack, no. But a military traveling pack, for sure.
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Ranveer's smile tightens a little, then he bows his head respectfully;
"And on such a note I will go and make myself useful. I am sure there is some base labour that befits hands such as mine. "
He rises, buttoning up his tunic and nods toward Cash...
"Cash Sahib."
... then straightens his turban and salutes the LTC with over-enthusiasm;
"Sah! Permission to be dismissed, Lieutenant Colonel sah!"
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"I had a sister, Mr. Haigh. Diana. Last bit of my family left alive you see. Most important person in my world. Depended on me, and my military job for money too. Well, one day she got it into her head that she'd like to ease the burden on my wallet, and earn some money of her own." He swallows hard.
"She got into magic, Mr. Haigh. Working as the assistant to a chemist, an alchemical expert, working out of Baker Road. I have to assume she didn't know his true trade, or she wouldn't have kept working for him. Maybe she didn't know 'til the end, or maybe her discovery was her undoing, but all I know is that I got a letter while deployed saying that my sister had been identified as the victim of sorcery." His fists are clenched now. "And not as part of an attack. As a lab specimen. And what did those bastards at the Wardens do? Execute the alchemist?Throw him in the Tower? he bellows.
"Pardon my outburst Mr. Haigh. Ever since then, I've had difficulty focusing on the empire the same way that I used to be able to. The way my job requires me to. So when the bigwigs at the top asked for volunteers to make sure that those Warden bastards were doing their job properly I jumped at the opportunity."
@Kaz: Just a wee suggestion - could you possibly include a list of all Dramatis Personae in the campaign tab?
Always find it useful to keep a track of key NPCs, names etc within a game.
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A very good idea! I just stayed up all night getting an essay done, but as soon as lucidity returns to me, I'll do my best to get that up!
As an aside, I find it easiest to write the fey bits when I'm exhausted, but it does mean occasionally I fall asleep before I finish posting something!
I am laughing at our group of accomplished linguists being stumped by Olde English.
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Hey folks! You'll have to forgive me, I'm trying to find a new place to rent while doing finals, so things are very busy here. I'll try and get a post up soon, but it may be... shorter than I'd like.
So our gm is perhaps swamped at the moment, care to tell us what cash is drawing?
I'll get a post replying to you up soon, but I doubt Cash has much patience so after Lionel stepped back and Angus moved forward, I bet he violently scrawled all over the original piece and is restarting with some mumbling
Hope your finals went well, GM! And good luck looking for a new rental as well
Alright so first I'd like to apologize to everyone for taking so much time. And then I'd like to thank everyone for their patience.
After finals, I spent most of my time either dreading everyone leaving, or spending as much time as I could with them. It was very bitter-sweet, and I won't bore with details, but I said I'd throw myself back into the forums when they were gone. That time has come.
I am beyond thankful to have got the chance to meet these incredibly talented, intelligent people. Some of them even helped me carry my belongings the two miles to my new apartment! I found a location to live in, and all in all it's pretty nice. A bit lonely, but nice.
TLDR: It's been a very hectic and emotionally charged few weeks.
I hope to get back into the game! But I also understand if this long absence was enough for people to turn their attention elsewhere. I'd like to have a role-call to see who remains, and then I'll try and get back into it! I'm still quite excited to see where this can go.
"Havildar Singh present and correct!"