You have always wanted to be an emperor. That ambition has burned dimly in the past, tempered by reality. Now the opportunity to realise your ambition has arrived and you are determined not to let it slip. Now is the time to build your empire and become an emperor.
Last Thread: You are the mercenary spellblade Saul Waise, in command of a mercenary company that is currently seizing a large amount of territory in the hopes of forming an empire. Last thread you infiltrated a tower in Vitria in order to kill a vampire and then turned her into paste.
Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Aspirational%2C+Aspiring+Emperor+Quest+Re
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AspirationalQM
Next thread on Saturday 26th December at 5:30pm EST. There may be a Christmas SoL thread if people are interested.
Rolls are d100 and the best of the first three posters. I may sometimes ask for more dice to be rolled by each player, but same rules apply otherwise. Please quote the post you are voting for or rolling against. Note there are hard-to-replace points that can be used to offset failures in rolls. Additional dice mechanics will be given a GDocs later.
>Now, without further ado
>>44313927
End of last post was
That just leaves the daywalker in the centre. Who is no longer there.
Where did they go?
There’s no power to be found in the dressing room, which makes you worried. You…
>1. Check the dressing room.
>2. Leave the tower now, before much more attention arrives.
>3. Ignore the dressing room but interrogate one of the nightwalkers that Lynn and Gnome didn’t kill (yet), they might know where Lady Rorek is.
I've already counted the votes from last thread, so you don't need to vote again.
>>44313965
>ThisWasTerceBeforePackaging.jpg
It's an accurate filename, no?
>>44313984
>1. Check the dressing room.
>"You know, you're supposed to keep the blood IN you,Waise. You'd make a shitty vampire"
Blackwater after Saul destroyed half of the vampires in Taour
>>44313984
>1. Check the dressing room.
I can't help but see this as Saul when he uses Thousand Cuts subskill and walks out the battlefield.
>>44313984
>>3. Ignore the dressing room but interrogate one of the nightwalkers that Lynn and Gnome didn’t kill (yet), they might know where Lady Rorek is.
>>44313984
>1. Check the dressing room.
And have the rest question the survivors before they kill
>>44313984
Will we meet Felix again? I wonder how he and Saul will get along
>>44314040
We're totally going to get known as "Bloody" Saul, aren't we?
>>44314040
>"Well I can't help it if the vampires can't keep their own blood from spilling OUT of their bodies, Blackwater. You should teach them how to hold it in.
Saul making his way to Blackwater's office.
This has just gone the way of 1, but with Gnome and Lynn doing the interrogating while you check the dressing room.
Anyone like the idea of taking on a new last name at some point? My suggestions
Saul Goodman
Saul Ohman
Saul Ute
Saul Ovahnow
Saul Vehnt
Saul Wright
Saul D'totheladyinthesecondrow
>>44314121
>"I'm far too busy following my own ventures to teach a bunch of half-wits what their sires should have taught them."
As Saul and Blackwater share notes on leads to immortality.
>>44314181
No, I like the sound of Saul Waise. From what I've gathered from how Aspirational implies about Saul's last name, we had a name prior to taking the name Waise.
>>44314216
Pretty sure we didn't take the name Waise so much as it was forced upon us.
>>44314216
From what I got it sounds more like a bastards last name
>>44314216
Saul D'sametome
>>44314181
Do these names even mean anything? Because they sound stupid.
>>44314181
But why
"It's always a good time with Saul Waise"
>>44314184
>"You should take the time to teach them, you DO have all the time in the world after all. Or are you still worried that you're somehow still MORTAL?
>>44314216
Plus we can name our empire Wasia, which will be an IC statement showing a lack of shame in our origin and sounds better than anything we could come up with for Talons holdings
>>44314266
"The name's Waise. Saul Waise."
>>44314252
Say them aloud, phonetically they will make sense if they don't from text.
But I think one is a reference to a character.
>>44314252
You serious? They're puns
>>44314181
Hawkins
>>44314298
>>44314308
Still doesn't make any sense. Meh
>>44314238
No, Saul took the name Waise. He abandoned his own surname and took on one that draws less attention (a generic one they give to orphans with no known family name in parts of the RSK).
>1, with interrogation
You snap off sendings to Ser Lynn and Gnome, so that they might interrogate one of the nightwalkers before executing him. You want to know where Rorek is, though you’re not sure if you should keep her around just yet. She could be dangerous thralled, not to mention a liability if she won’t negotiate with you. On the other hand, she might feel indebted to you.
Your question is answered for you when you enter the dressing room, however. The room is unlocked, but lying in the darkness is a woman that matches the description of the elder Lady Rorek. A large amount of her neck is missing, as though an animal had ripped it out. She’s very much dead.
She’s not a vampire, so far as you can tell. Which means the daywalker in here had killed her. Why on earth would they do that, you wonder? You hope that the younger daughter is still alive. She might only be thirteen but noble houses don’t lose power merely because their current head perishes, and a young head coming out of a traumatic situation like this could be easily used to seize power.
“I see the vampire was being truthful,” Ser Lynn says from the doorway. “Supposedly the daughter escaped and they lost her.”
You sigh. “Well, let’s be gone then. Did they say who the daywalker who was here was?”
“A Lady Serat. They knew little else, beyond that she was an unexpected guest,” Lynn says.
>continued
>>44314380
'Sall is short for 'it's all' and is pronounced the same as saul
>>44314395
Escape is relatively easy at this time of night, as Mal simply placed a barrier on some balcony doors facing out to the docks and you flew everybody away. Now you just had to wait out the end of thraldom and move on the nobles before things returned to normal. You first try…
>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
>2. Aaron Tabeth and Count Argyle, out at the Argyle Estate. You could work with them to receive kudos for winning the war.
>3. The resistance. They had many mages and knights would could vouch for you. Once Terce failed to make an appearance and the vampires began to flee, they would know full well you had succeeded.
>4. Custom
>>44314413
>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
Quick! save the adorable female shortstack!
>>44314413
1. Rescue mission that is also a kidnapping mission: go.
>>44314413
>>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
Tabeth and Argyle are cannon fodder against Volante
>>44314413
>>2. Aaron Tabeth and Count Argyle, out at the Argyle Estate. You could work with them to receive kudos for winning the war.
>>44314413
>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
>>44314413
dooooont think with your dick
which is the most likely to get us tthe best hold on the cuty, dyou think?
>>44314413
>>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
>>44314413
>The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
>>44314413
>3. Get the backing of the most active military elements in the country, consolidate an armed power base, then open negotiations.
Might as well prep the removal of ineffecting governing hold overs before we deal with the incompetents.
>>44314380
u srs bruh
It's all good, man
Solomon (?)
Salute
It's all over now
Solvent
It's alright
Sold to the lady in the second row
>>44314413
>>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
>>44314413
>1. The Hawkins tower. The matriarch of the family held the most political power before Vitria fell and you’ve met Sarah before. Best to start negotiations from the top.
A no brainer.
>>44314514
Solomon, yeah
>>44314413
>3. The resistance. They had many mages and knights would could vouch for you. Once Terce failed to make an appearance and the vampires began to flee, they would know full well you had succeeded.
Viglo Confido
>>44314453
>>44314487
>You hope that the younger daughter is still alive. She might only be thirteen
Niggas she's thirteen. Thank fuck aspie is doing his best to nip this waifu stuff at the bud
>>44314514
I know that. It's just stupid to base one's name off puns.
Hey, to me afterimages can someone explain?
>>44314611
Well, Yoda, check the character sheet for "Shadowblade"
>>44314600
dude i was joking
>>44314587
That's a different heiress
>>44314633
autism or b8. Don't bother bruh
>>44314566
Saul is set loose in a vampire town
>>44314659
>every time Saul fights it ends up looking like a cheeky B-movie blood effect was used for a full hour
>>44314587
she's still in Jailbait territory, remember that once we establish the foundations of our empire we can afford the time to expand our empire to a point where it can sustain itself, conquer other nations, and wait until she's of legal age.
>>44314656
do people with autism really comehere? i never thought that was serious
>>44314587
It's Sarah Hawkins, not Sarah Rorek
>>44314715
Not the guy with no sense of humor, but I do in fact has autism.
Asperger's Syndrome, specifically.And before you ask, the short bus was incredibly convenient because it came to my front door instead of making me wait in 20 degree weather in the winter, or shitty rain.
>>44314715
/tg/ is inherently autistic to some degree.
>>44314633
Poe's Law man. That and words don't carry over tone very well.
>>44314775
Nah you're just dumb
>>44314775
>words
text rather
>>44314765
huh, alright. never spoken to someone with it before
>>44314786
I bow to your greater intellect. Enlighten us, o learned one.
>>44314715
It's just the catchall insult of the moment because there's some passing resemblance between people with aspergers and people on the internet who obsess over details and semantics and take things literally, have to be right no matter what, can't lose face online, etc etc
>>44314821
If something seems silly... There's a better than even chance its a joke.
>>44314587
No, that's the young Rorek heir. Sarah Hawkins is still 18.
>>44314611
It's an ability:
>Shadow Blade Lv1 – your blade leaves afterimages formed of magic that impede hostile attacks as strong as a war hammer blow, both physical and magical. The shadows can only form in empty air. Costs 1 mana per minute of active use.
>1.
Before you go hunting for the Hawkins you decide to see if one in particular is still alive, in some sense of the word. The danger of alerting the Taourans is gone now, with Terce dead. The sending you send to Sarah Hawkins is short and sweet.
‘Are you still alive?’
While you waited for an answer you eyed the Hawkins tower from down below. The weather was turning awfully miserable overnight and it was already beginning to sprinkle. You’d always hated winter, even though it never got anywhere near as cold this far south from the Magi Line mountains. It was still a few days away from being June but the cold night was reminding you of why.
Finally an answer arrives, and the sending is rather… long. Gnome looks at you oddly at you seem to stare into space for almost half a minute reading the damned thing. The point of sendings was to make them short and sweet, not a page long diatribe.
Well, you knew she was alive and relatively well. You even knew where she was – holed up in the fortieth floor of her family’s tower with some Black Stone knights, including a badly injured Grandmaster Lucas. The more annoying part of the message was the one where she demanded you leave the city and come back with your army, as if you’d formed some form of alliance with her city.
>continued
>>44314819
Really it depends on how severe it is.
I don't have developmental issues, so I got the light end with social awkwardness.
All the documentaries always show people who can hardly have a normal conversation but we're not all that bad.
We're all pretty fucking weird here, though, so it's not like it matters.
>>44314847
Sighing, you decide to make your way up to her tower. You only hoped she’d be able to let you in, because you didn’t want to hover in the rain for half an hour carrying Maloric while he poked a hole in the barriers on the upper floors of the tower. Fortune was with you, and you were able to drop him off – you knock on the doors from the balcony and step back.
The doors burst open and you see a half dozen mage-knight weapons pointed at you, all ready to blow you away if you’re not friendly.
“It’s fine. That’s General Waise,” Sarah says from the back of the room, lowering her own hand and the magical energy she’d gathered dissipating.
“Certainly smaller than I’d expected,” muttered one of the knights.
“I’ll be back shortly with friends,” you say, and then leap off the balcony to fetch Lynn and Gnome. You’re pretty sure you heard Sarah shriek as you jumped.
Later, you sit down with her to talk.
“I said for you to come back with your army, not pay me a visit,” she says, crossing her arms over her mage robes. “Or do you intend on lifting this occupation with you and your… familiar.” She glances at Gnome briefly with a haughty look.
>How do you respond?
>>44314847
yes but what is an 'afterimage,' the thing formed of magic?
>>44314864
Maybe we can play it coy by asking her what we can get in exchanging for lifting the siege. Have her make the first offer. Don't reveal that we murdered the daywalker yet since that removes leverage.desu senpai we could just blow them all way and abduct Sarah if things go terribly wrong while diplomancing
>>44314864
Well, we're not exactly formally allied, so what's your offer. Why shouldn't I march on Darlesia while they're in disarray now that the existential threat to basically everyone is gone. Sell me on it.
>>44314864
>"Am I still covered in blood?"
>"She's not my familiar, she's my champion and her name is Gnome. My real Familiar is elsewhere heaving her lunch after seeing Lady Terce turned to paste.
>>44314864
>"Firstly, I do not take orders from you, secondly, rushing in here with my army while the effects of Terce's thralldom still working would cause undue amounts of casualties for both sides."
>>44314864
>"Well, yes. The majority of the vampires are pitifully weak and the army is marching under orders at the moment. And I'd appreciate you refraining from underestimating my familiar."
>>44314954
This mang
>>44314924
The residual image of left after the blade has moved. Magic.
Watch more chinese cartoons
>>44314864
I could just as easily leave and not return until Vitria is a burning ruin you stuck up noble ass. This is me being nice and trying to save it before that happens. Playing haughty bullshit games is going to make me reconsider recovering Darlesia as Vitria still has a standing army. Now cut the shit and let's talk about how to kill the vampires.
>>44314864
>tfw if our "familiar" was here the city would be evacuated
>tfw "he's short"
>>44314864
"Dunno Gnome, Think you can hack it?"
>>44314953
>my champion
A little early to reveal we have access to a Source, don't you think?
>>44314945
this is good
also explain the political situation to her, explain that you have plans to take power in the city at some point, that she can rule it as your regent, that she is boned without you and with you she can take greater power than she otherwise would have been able to
i feel like we might not be able to pull this off
Im at a loss on how Saul would approach her keeping in mind I want to stay mysterious but necessary. The biggest thing is to convince her that Vitria requires us to beat the daywalkers, and we proved we can.
>>44314864
>>44314945
>>44314954
This. Clear up the details of our "alliance" before talking of cooperation.
>>44314864
>"hey i just met you (again) and this is crazy, but I've got a couple voices screaming at me that you're my favourite and we should get married"
>>44314864
>“Certainly smaller than I’d expected,” muttered one of the knights.
THEMS FIGHTING WORDS
>>44315015
>inb4 she's already betrothed
HAH
>>44314864
"Lady Terce is dead, turned into paste by my familiar's hands. City's still under thralldom though. By the way, am I still covered in blood?
>>44315024
Shoulda just turned around and left right there
>>44314953
Probably not a great idea to mention having a Champion just yet. The Source isn't public knowledge yet (something I don't think I made clear, sorry).
Anyway, just about everybody wants to push back on her regarding the 'alliance' thing and get her to make an offer to get you to do something, the question is more about what sort of tone you want.
VOTE
Note that there's no dice rolls in the conversation.
>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>2. Politely rebuke her before offering to help if she can convince you. Like >>44314945 and >>44314954
>3. Rude, make it clear you don't need to deal with this nonsense. Like >>44314977
>4. Custom
>>44315104
Obviously they don't want our help.
>>44315112
>1
Play it cool, Saul
Wait so if lady rorik's body was even recognizable... Terce could've survived by hiding in the closet.
>>44315112
>3. Rude, make it clear you don't need to deal with this nonsense
>>44315112
>2.
If this Alliance is going to be a thing, there's gonna have to be a bit more mutual respect.
>>44315112
>>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>>44315112
>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotiations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>>44315112
>>3
>>44315112
>>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934(You)
>>44315112
Does the flow reading give us accumulated successes in social combat?
>>44315112
>2.
>>44315112
>2. Politely rebuke her before offering to help if she can convince you. Like >>44314945 and >>44314954
>>44315112
>>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>>44315112
>2.
Is Saul still covered in blood? I'm getting kinda paranoid that Saul is still covered head to toe unless it's mentioned that he's actually cleaned up or taken a shower of sorts.
>>44315112
Haha oh man, I'm just starting to realize how much of an advantage Talon's charisma gave us with diplomancing females
Weren't our initial interactions with Sarah characterized by terror/love + spaghetti at first sight on her part with us being utterly oblivious of her feelings til gnome or Undine basically shouted at us?
>>44315194
If we were covered in blood Sarah's men would not have stood down.
>>44315194
I think the rain took care of it
can you guys explain why you want 2? I get being polite but offering help if she can convince us seems rather off. Its like going to a car salesman and telling him you want to buy a car but also you want to be convinced to buy the car.
>>44315207
Yes. I miss Talon.
>>44315112
>>1 Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>>44315228
Let it go. The reign of Talon is over. We'll honour his memory by making Saul great anon
>>44315194
We are going to get a reputation as Saul "The Bloody Bastard" Waise
>>44315221
dude, attach a custom
>>44315222
i chose 3 for that reason. her diplomatic tactic is confidence and bravado and we need to counteract that
>>44315222
This isn't a car, it's a quagmire. It's more like us wanting to buy a run down house and requiring the seller to disclose any serious problems and maybe get them to commit to a series of repairs before we're willing to buy.
>>44315222
Honestly, I'm a bit worried about pissing her off long term. Though admittedly I'm not sure how to accomplish my long term goals here.
>>44315221
Crap didn't realize my fat fingers hit the 4 instead of 3. Using my phone.
>>44315222
Well, just like a car salesman, we want to buy a car, but we need to be convinced not to but one of those darlesia cars from another dealership
>>44315281
I think 1 and 3 could both work, but I don't like option 2. Seems too wishy washy.
>>44315278
>The reign of Talon is over
Haven't given up yet, though that isn't really relevant right now.
>>44315207
Talon's charisma was that he was tall, well built, had a larger than life persona, and really got around. Saul on the otherhand is sorta like the rookie underdog that no one takes seriously until they see him in action, he doesn't register much or at all on the female gossip radar, and he's a shrimpy manlet. Saul's at a disadvantage if there's an actual attempt at getting Sarah to the bed.
>>44315112
>>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>>44315282
"I want to buy your house make me an offer" is a horrible business and diplomatic technique.
>>44315316
That isnt what the second option entails I dont think
>>44315341
Well he listed an option that included "why shouldn't I go invade darlesia" as one of its examples" so if it's not part of it the confusion is really OP's fault
>>44315337
I'm hoping that he'll grow into the role, both figuratively and literally.
>>44315329
eh, I sorta wish we could just throw a fuckton of ideas at aspie and then let him novelise the Talon storyline to finish it as he sees fit so we get some closure, but I've no desire to revisit Talonquest anymore, personally.
Would pay money for an aspie written AEQ novel though
>>44315368
Ok, my bad. Didnt see that at first.
>>44315341
More like "I want to buy you're how, assuming you fix the lead in the plumbing and will commit to putting on a roof that doesn't leak."
Right now she needs us much more than we need her. Don't rub her nose in it, but do recognize the fact.
>>44315112
>>2. Politely rebuke her before offering to help if she can convince you. Like >>44314945 and >>44314954
>>44315394
>>3.
truth
>>44315112
>1. Standoff-ish. Say very little about your involvement here with no emotion and try to get her to start negotitations for your involvement. She's a bit haughty so she might hold out, but the results will be positive if she doesn't. Like >>44314934
>>44315384
Saul is in his 20s, He wouldn't be able to gain much in the height department now that he's past puberty, barring enhancement via magical means.
>>44315436
I know. I like the larger than life figure. Having him grow from zero to hero will be more satisfying than having his height be a running gag. Its already growing old.
>>44315394
same, it would be nice for some sort of closure in the Talon timeline. I still remember the last point of entry in that timeline was us having sex with a havoc fox and finding out a few months down the line that we had a child with that fox.
>>44315436
People ignore the fact that Saul is a grown ass man.
>inb4 Sarah talks to him like a child
I just realized that we are a tiny mantle with the power of rage. That's pretty funny
>>44315475
Fucking this. The jokes been overplayed and frankly isn't funny anymore. I hope he grows to at least 6 feet.
>>44315194
Gnome probably cleaned his hair out a bit. There's probably still traces of blood in it, though.
>>44315139
What?
>1.
“We don’t exactly have an alliance,” you say after some thought, glancing around this sitting room. The ornate double doors leading out of the room are barricaded by a large desk, with a pair of heavily armoured knight leaning against it. “I was curious as to what the situation was like here, as it hadn’t sounded positive.”
She scowls. “You seized our land, took a fortress from us and my mother convinced the ruling houses to graciously forgive you for it and you answer ‘we don’t exactly have an alliance’? Really?”
It’s awfully tempting to snap back or try to intimidate her, but you don’t exactly have the presence for it. Plus, you wouldn’t get anywhere if the knights in the room tried to intervene. Still, if that’s how she’s going to play it…
“I’m not sure that’s how forgiveness works,” you say, intentionally spacing your words out and keeping your tone neutral bordering on disinterested. “I’m also not sure if the land around Harrowmont would be of much interest to you right now, given it’s overrun with Darlesians. Do they have an alliance with you?”
Probably a little too much bark, you think as Sarah looks away with an either deeper scowl. Then again, maybe not. The young noblewoman wanders over to what looks like a separate office and gestures you inside.
“Lady Hawkins, I do not believe that wise,” says a wounded man on one of the couches you assume to be Grandmaster Lucas.
>continued
>>44315484
If she starts bad mouthing us I see no reason to help Vitria
>>44315521
he is not going to grow he is in his 20's
>>44315484
He needs to grow a beard. I'm pretty short and in high school people assumed I was a freshman until halfway through senior year when I stopped shaving my sideburns
>>44315525
“Without my mother here I am the head of the Hawkins family and negotiations are a private matter, to ensure we may speak frankly,” Sarah says, not looking back as she wanders into the office.
You follow her and close the door behind you. Lightning flashes out at sea, lighting up the office far more than the dim magic lantern on the wall does.
“If you’re here then I suspect it’s not for a social visit,” she says, leaning back against the desk and looking at you. Her face is still dark, meaning her mood hasn’t exactly improved, but she is making the effort to try to negotiate.
“That depends on what happens next.”
The scowl returns briefly, but she straightens out her face. “The vampire is the key to this, but even beyond that is my mother. If order is to be restored to Vitria then we’ll need to confirm her safety.”
“You mean you will, if you want to retain power,” you say, cutting through her bluff.
She seems to freeze and you’re not sure if she’s shaking with rage or something else. You…
>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
>2. Soften a bit, offer to help but at a price. You still don’t need to help.
>3. Become harsher. If her mother’s missing then you might be able to push her using that point as leverage.
>4. Custom
>>44315533
He also has a magical pact with a gigantic dragon.
>>44315545
>>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
Don't give into a pretty face, Saul, you are better than that
>>44315337
Yeah I'm aware. I'm prob one of the minority of anons who never actually found Talon interesting outside of battle. Just felt like a caricature of a beefcake archetype. Though I did enjoy his SoL interactions with Mal and find the callbacks to them in AEQR poignant. Not sure how I feel about Saul yet but I'm sure he'll get developed further as we go on.
desu the fleshed out side characters were always my favourite anyways (Hallim, Blackwater, Felix. Felix was fan-fucking-tastically written, with his entire arc and fucked up worldview even before he got his hands on power)
>>44315475
>We begin AEQ redux as a 5'3" shrimpy manlet underdog on a quest to become an emperor
>We end AEQ redux having grown into a charismatic 6'1" Talon 2.0. over the course of the quest.
I would love to see the visible changes in progression and how the various characters in AEQ:R change how they view Saul as he somehow grows more charismatic and taller as he gets stronger.
>>44315545
>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
>>44315545
>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
>>44315545
>>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
>>44315545
>Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
>>44315571
5'7', we are 5'7"
>>44315545
>>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
Break her, then offer her more than what she bends to offer, securing her loyalty and respect.
>>44315570
Frankly I feel the same way you do about Talon and the side characters
>>44315599
5'6''
>>44315571
>Talon 2.0
No
>>44315545
>>3. Become harsher. If her mother’s missing then you might be able to push her using that point as leverage.
Shes soft she'll break under pressure
>>44315570
>desu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRy3wICXVXI
>>44315571
please yes
>>44315633
baka desu senpai
>>44315520
>>44315521
>Complains about having too many short jokes
>literally one second after another short joke
I laughed
>>44315545
>1. Stay the course. Wait for her to either break off negotiations or break down and offer you something you can work with.
>soften up in demeanor when she breaks down.
>>44315602
Definitely in favor of this. We can't use our manly charms to sway her, yet.
>>44315705
What manly charms?
>>44315705
You mean are boyish charm.and our tiny hands
>>44315521
I don't think it's a running gag though? It's more a defining character trait. Talon was larger than life and it affected his negotiation as a positive perk. Saul is shrimpy and it makes him less intimidating as a negative perk.
It's just a part of his character, he isn't Talon so there's no need to get super upset about it.
>>44315705
>manly charms
we don't have that kind of charm. what we do have however is the adorable child-like charm of a shota given our height and how we interact with Gnome.
Also, I just realised I broke one of the rules I set for myself at the start of the reboot, which was to make decisions in negotiation less based on emotions. Urgh. Right, let’s move onto the meat of the matter.
>1.
“It’s not about power, it’s about my mother,” she says, her voice shaking. You wince as you realise she’s shaking with tears. “This isn’t what I do. I’m a mage, not an heiress. I… I just want things to get better.”
You hold in a sigh and stay the course despite the breakdown. Staring out the window to afford her some time to compose herself, you wonder if her mother is still alive. Probably best not to say that out loud, if you want to get anywhere.
“I’m sorry,” she says after a few minutes, looking like she’s back to normal. She takes a deep breath and continues, “Beyond the city, I just want to find my mother. She got separate from us when the siege began. I know she’s still in the tower but she stopped responding to my sendings this morning. I can’t take over from her – I’ve spent all these years learning to become a mage, undertaking research and enjoying myself, but if Vitria will be ruined despite it.”
Ah, so it was a personal reason. You watch her silently, waiting for her to ask for help.
“I… I want you to help find my mother and kill the vampire Terce. Please, Saul,” she says, her eyes searching yours.
“And?”
“And? I… I’ll help convince my mother to negotiate an alliance?” she says, sounding uncertain. You visibly sigh and she sniffs. “I don’t really do negotiations. What do you want?”
>So, what do you want to request of her? You’ve got her over the coals, now what do you want her to help you gain precisely?
>>44315723
>>44315764
I said yet. We'll get there eventually.
>>44315749
No, its a running gag.
>>44315784
What I want is Vitria. Plain and simple I'm building my own realm and Vitria will be in it. By force if necessary.
>>44315784
I want her support in dominion over the land here. Research she does as a mage should be shared with us.
>>44315784
An alliance is not worth it. We want Vitria itself. We can negotiate over the finer details and whether noble houses would have day to day control, but the ultimate power needs to be in our hands.
>>44315784
What I want is for Vitria to swear fealty to me.
>>44315784
"What I want, is the city itself. the Vampire has already been dealt with and my army is camped outside merely awaiting my word to strike,"
>>44315784
"I want the city. I want it under my control. I don't care much for the day to day administration and would give it a great deal of autonomy, but i expect taxes, levies, and the foundry. In exchange for this I will be its protector, I will end the invasion of the vampires.
I also am building a tower in Harrowmont soon. I want it to be recognized, and I want you to become a part of it, to relocate to my fortress and continue your studies under Maloric
>>44315815
pretty much this, I want it and I will have it.
Either by being having it served on a platter or by tearring it one stone at a time.
>>44315784
Vitria, the support of herself and all of her allies/vassels/resources as the reprsentative or head of the Hawkins family.
>>44315784
"I'll be blunt. I want an empire. My familiar's name is Gnome, who previously worked for Tarun Hand. I have access too a two hundred year old dragon, an exteremly talented magister by the name of Maloric, Talon York's apprentice and powerful elites including specializes monster hunters. In return, I'm willing to grant your family status as the preeminent noble family in the empire, second only to my own should I end up founding one and as the acknowledged master of the Vitrian Terriotry in my larger family. As well as a space on my council."
>>44315867
You went over board 3 times and the crew is wondering if they should let you go.
>>44315784
>I just the ability to control Vitria and have Vitria within my borders. I'll kill the vampire and help you find your mother, I promise.
Old habits are hard to break Aspirational. But then again, prompts centered around emotions are what make the diplomacy fun to engage in.
>>44315747
We are manly all statements to the contrary are slander! It matters not that we are short and have smooth dexterous hands. We are a Manlet
Saul is not physicly the beefcake hero, hes shorter then most people he hits you from the side instead of head on. character wise hes still the Big Damn Hero, which is what makes the jokes fun. Hes an underdog lead, I don't get why so many people are so resistant to this short plucky, devil may care guy other then they just want to play a game with Talon...
>>44315784
hnnng honest/vulnerable mage Sarah and not diplomancing politician Sarah I'm back on the recruitment train
>>44315867
Okay so you want to give up all our aces and make her second only to ourselves? Just make the Hawkins preeminent in Vitria. No reason for them to be second after our line.
>>44315912
the jokes aren't funny, theyre tedious
>>44315862
Well if we're making demands of her that her mother is less inclined to stick to we should definitely take her as a hostage. And well, from her point of view she's not a very useful hostage if we don't find her mother so its a little extra motivation right? Her coming to our mage tower would make for a decent veneer of "not a hostage"
>>44315867
You are the type of fella who'd walk into a dealership to buy a $20,000 car and walk out with a $30,000 hole in your pocket
>>44315944
That's shrimpy talk
>>44315867
>>44315932
gentle reminder that we don't have the charisma that Talon has. Sarah this time is vulnerable and emotion, not stiff and haughty.
>>44315944
>>44315944
>>44315944tinybabyhands
>>44315784
Hey aspie, does this incarnation of Sarah mean (if we nab her) we can use her as more of magic/research hero unit and less a politician/administrator?
>>44315784
>What do you want?
Her house to be made a vassal of ours. Her family's support for our claim to rule Vitiria. Her services as a Mage assuming she is not needed here once we've finished sorting out the vampiric mess. All the intelligence on this place that she has access too.
>>44315953
that was the idea
>>44315972
Yes and emotional people are a bit easier to take advantage of. But giving her everything for a single town? If she gave us Vitria, Taur and Darlesia without fighting yes make her second but it's in the air if she could give us Vitria at all.
>>44315973
Agreed. Enough with the piglet jokes.
>>44316008
Ah, sell it wasn't totally clear you didn't just want to recruit her so I think it's a good thing that's cleared up
>>44315932
I didn't give up all of our aces, and I significantly exaggerated our position (note I didn't exactly say what our relationship with the 200 year old dragon is.) I wanted to overawe her and then offer a deal that seems better than she should really deserve to secure her loyalty.
>>44315988
That's kind of the point, yes. I wanted a way to have Sarah sidelined in the way she was less, so her talents as a mage are pre-existing. Also, this means that Undine would have been the better administrator in the quest if you'd taken her.
>>44315910
>But then again, prompts centered around emotions are what make the diplomacy fun to engage in.
They are, but they also can cause a lot of issues when the results aren't clear. I'll try in the future to link diplomacy prompts more to objectives. Instead of prompting 'what do you say' it should be 'what do want to get from this person', perhaps with a little 'how should we get it'?
Anyway, everybody pretty clearly wants to take Vitria outright. As a few people also want to add Sarah to the mage tower back in Harrowmont, that's on the table too.
SARAH VOTE
>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
>2. Leave Sarah to her own devices so long as she helps you get Vitria (she might still help you)
>3. Custom
>>44315784
An oath of fealty would be a good start.
>>44315972
I think the issue is the laying everything out like that. we don't have to we are in a position of strength. >>44315857 said exactly what >>44315867 said without weakening our stance. We already did half of what she is asking us to do so we can afford to push harder then normal.
>>44316041
>>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
>>44316041
>>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
>>44316041
>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
>>44316041
1. If we can't seduce people into service, hostages are the next most reliable thing.
>>44315972
She most certainly is stiff and haughty, she just can't handle the pressure.
And giving her the keys to our fucking empire if we die is stupid.
Moreover, she herself is completely unable to grant us what we want on her own, so she herself isn't worth as much as, say, getting the people to love us by wiping out Volante. Which would have the added benefit of sending ripples to other places about Saul.
Basically, you cannot into politics.
>>44316041
>>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
>>44315784
I'm bad at words so hopefully someone can speech properly but to confirm
>we hold all the cards here
Sarah/Vitria wants
1. Mom found
2. Terce dead (already dome though she doesn't know)
and we want some form of
1. Noble support, preferably in the form of fealty and/or backing amd control, with terms to be discussed?
>>44316041
>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower
I'm not convinced that she's court material at this point.
>>44316041
>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
>>44316041
3. She can join our tower and maybe even the council if she proves herself capable in that capacity. Other wise she will be left to her own devices.
>>44316041
>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
But slide it in as a bargaining chip, we would be doing her a favor. doesn't matter that our nation doesn't technically exist yet.
>>44316041
>>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
Strongly in favor of the building her up once we've tore her down. I believe the quote I'm looking for is "now is the time to swoop and catch her as she falls"
>>44316041
>1. Have Sarah join your mage tower and serve you in your court (or equivalent)
Just mage tower only. If she wants to join the court she can. But in this playthrough, she seems to want to be left alone and do research rather than to politicking.
>>44316088
Probably more along the lines of "magic hero unit who also has political ties/connections we can use later"
>>44316041
Holy shit
Consensus
>>44316114
>But in this playthrough, she seems to want to be left alone and do research rather than to politicking.
Which was kinda a shame. Her trying to administer for Talon was hilarious.
>>44316128
Oh, member of court but not part of our retinue/cabinet? Yeah, that makes more sense.
>>44316109
>"now is the time to swoop and catch her as she falls"
Ah, nostalgia. It works too.>>44315784
>Also, I just realised I broke one of the rules I set for myself at the start of the reboot, which was to make decisions in negotiation less based on emotions. Urgh. Right, let’s move onto the meat of the matter.
To be fair, considering how many people want her as oursubagain, her emotions was pretty clear.
>>44316143
No bully
>>44316154
>Oh, member of court but not part of our retinue/cabinet? Yeah, that makes more sense.
Oh, she'll be a part of our cabinet I'm sure.
>>44316183
Guess what we have been doing this whole time?
>>44316143
But it would get grating with Saul. Shes a petty noble not a Supreme Champion or a fuckmothering dragon, safe to say shes beneath us in regards to our ambitions.
>>44316143
I can't remember and understand how Sarah administering for Talon was hilarious-
oh.
oh.....
Bedroom negotiations.
Now I remember, every now and again I chuckle at the memory.
Especially when Taira at one point said during a cabinet meeting "well why don't you just fuck (insert female diplomat) and get it over with?"
>>44316221
>But it would get grating with Saul.
Eh, I'd have fun.
>safe to say shes beneath us in regards to our ambitions.
No.
>>44316207
>Guess what we have been doing this whole time?
Using an effective negotiating tactic.
>>44316207
>oh, she'll be a part of our cabinet I'm sure.
I'd really rather we just let her focus solely on her studies and becoming a mage hero unit. Her potential was crippled last time around due to our reliance on her as an administrator.
>>44316247
Her frustration at Talons antics.
>>44316252
called bullying
>>44316284
It's literally self-bullying since we are using the standoffish tactics
>>44316253
>I'd really rather we just let her focus solely on her studies and becoming a mage hero unit. Her potential was crippled last time around due to our reliance on her as an administrator.
Mal's part of our Cabnit. Keeping her only as a hero unit sounds like sidelining her. Which would be no fun. Plus, we need someone to give a noble perspective.
>>44316284
>called bullying
We're not doing anything, she's obviously upsetting herself.
>>44316154
eh, I think people are also overestimating our (future/potential) powerlevel as a whole. We were able to steamroll everyone last time because of all the hero units we gathered early on, to the point that someone like Sarah was a small fry who was stuck doing politics and we basically ran out of challenges.
While I'm sure the upper level for Saul's power is eventually going to be the same, I imagine it'll take more time to get there, it won't be possible to accumulate as many high power heroes (since they'll be taken and it's entirely possible they'll be opposing us) and research/tactics will be much more influential than "seduce all of the things"
tl;dr it's probably a lower powered/slower campaign with constant challenges that will scale to our level, and weaker units like Sarah or creation of daywalker/nightwalker/Siege archer units will be hugely influential to our success. Or so I'm hoping.
>>44316041
>They are, but they also can cause a lot of issues when the results aren't clear. I'll try in the future to link diplomacy prompts more to objectives. Instead of prompting 'what do you say' it should be 'what do want to get from this person', perhaps with a little 'how should we get it'?
Another way to look at it is that the personality reading provides bonuses leading to better results.
>tfw beating dragons is as simple as "send a fuckload of patterns so the dragon has to waste time and energy killing them, continue until dragon is weak and stab it to death"
Uh, yeah, simple.
>>44316363
>"seduce all of the things"
Hopefully we can still seduce things.
>Vitria and her serving in your mage tower
“I want Vitria,” you say. “As I intimated last time, I don’t intend on camping out in a ruined fortress the rest of my life.”
“Vitria? You mean, you want to rule this city?” Sarah asks you, surprised. “What makes you think you could?”
“An army. The fact that right now I’m offering to help you where others can’t,” you say, stepping over to the window so you’re out of the lantern light. “Who else will rule Vitria after this? Aaron Tabeth?”
To be perfectly honest, you didn’t know the man but Master Harold had not been all that positive on him, so you took him as a useful target. Judging from Sarah’s wince you figure right.
“My mother could,” she says quietly, then sighs. “But that’s just it, isn’t it. If you save her, then I’ll do everything I can to convince her in your power and… right to rule. I have no choice.”
You lick your lips, glad that things are going well. Things could easily have gone much, much worse. Of course, you still hadn’t convinced her mother who held the real power. If you were the one with the army and the vanquisher of the vampires then perhaps that would be easily possible, too.
“I also want you to join the mage tower that Archmagister Maloric is forming in Harrowmont,” you say. “You seem like a capable mage.”
>continued
>>44316363
>We were able to steamroll everyone last time because of all the hero units we gathered early on
well most of it was because we got 3 (later 4) pure elementals under our control and went for PoP splunking for maximum magic gains as well as getting another champion.
This time we're limited to only ONE champion, and all the others have been locked out of the selection. The challenges are "relatively" the same, but we just don't have that huge of a handicap.
>>44316341
That's what dedicated nobles are for though. If you want a noble perspective, it needs to be from someone tied into politics and if you have someone doing that you might as well get the extra bang for your investment and put them in an administrative position so they can apply their political savy without having to run everything through us. At that point we might as well pick someone without mage potential rather than force someone to forgo their personal goals.
>>44316431
“I’m more than capable,” she says, a bit of bite returning to her voice. She looks thoughtful at the idea. “That doesn’t sound so bad, actually. I’ve heard of Magister Maloric – if he’s forming a mage tower then I’d be glad to join it as a Journeywoman.”
She was eighteen and a Journeywoman? That was… phenomenal. Then again, the Vitrian towers may have been more willing to bend the typical rules of advancement for a noble of high standing. Things worked differently outside of the Mage Guard.
“This all depends on you saving my mother and defeating the vampire. So go get your army and do something!”
Well, she returned to normal awfully fast, you think. If you wanted her to stay that way, you’d have to fulfil your end of the bargain. You doubted she’d renege on the deal – she seemed far more honest than most nobles you’d met, and most mages for that matter. Perhaps it was because she was sheltered?
Well, no matter. You doubted that Vitria would be much trouble from here on. With Terce dead her thraldom would begin to vanish as of the morning and would be completely over within days. All that remained was to secure the Hawkins matriarch, camp your army close to the city and claim victory. Whatever Parras thought of you and your plans he would have no power over you should you manage to convince the nobles or the public.
Or at least, you would try to have it work out that way. You suspected things would be a bit bumpier.
>one last update after this to wrap up Vitria, at least the city itself (for the most part). Nothing else of any real interest would happen so I'm just summarising it to skip to the fun part
>>44316439
dude we can get all the people we had the option of starting with but they will be hard to get
>>44316463
Aspir implied they would have other masters. Masters who we'll have a fairly high odds of murdering the shit out of.
And I'm fine with that desu
>>44316341
Get someone who's a more sophisticated and less sheltered to be our noble perspective then.
Like I dunno, her mother
>>44316430
We are a manlet with a general lack of experience in that area, who has a crush on a centuries old dragon that considers him her familiar (who was also his first/only? experience) and may or may not be psychologically damaged
why though? We are a completely different character from Talon. That's like being That Guy and choosing to play Talon with his backstory of bedding 50+ women and seducing skills as a celibate monk "because that's how I played my last character"
>>44316453
Sounds good boss.
>>44316530
But you don't get it anon Talon was so cool!!111
>>44316530
>We are a manlet
we aren't a manlet. Stop saying that. Also, I'm going to play him in a way I find fun. If we still played Talon occasionally, I'd probably do it less, but we aren't, so I'll call it character growth. Or just power going to his head, wouldn't be the first time.
You rested until morning and set out into the tower at first light, but not after a rather long shower. Remembering that your hair isn’t supposed to be a matted clump, you appreciate being clean, at least temporarily.
“I’d wondered why your hair was redder than earlier,” Sarah mutters once she sees you ready to head off.
With Terce neutralised you had Malaine’s knights infiltrate the city and work with the resistance to purge the remaining Taouran knights. With the Vitrians none the wiser as to why Terce was not appearing, unaware of her demise, it was relatively easy to sneak in while the military continued to remain outside the city and scared of a vampire who was long since dead.
Sarah’s mother was in a slightly worse condition, having taken rather nasty wounds. You weren’t much of a healer, and neither was Maloric, so you’d need to rely on mages dedicated to such skills. As word spread of your defeat of Lady Terce (by your men, of course), those mages were available.
The problem was now in the north. Even as Vitria begins to calm, trying to return to normal and cope with the death and turmoil that Taour had caused to them, there was yet another vampiric army to the north. Trembin had finally fallen and now Volante turned his eye southward. You almost had the city under your thumb, the nobles reeling as they discovered that one ruling house had been completely wiped out, two more were already under your thumb and the last was now controlled by the black sheep of his family.
You just had to deal with a six thousand strong army led by a vampiric General you’d been expressly warned would murder you even with Lyria’s help. No trouble. But that was next week’s problem – not even the vampires could control an army so well that looting and pillaging would not occur.
>That’s the thread
Next thread on Saturday 26th December at 5:30pm EST. There may be a Christmas SoL thread if people are interested – let me know if you are.
>>44316530
You know, as much as I liked Talon, it is getting really old how everyone compares Saul to Talon and wants to play the same character.
The ship has sailed, it is no longer the same. Trying to do something we aren't is just going to sour the experience.
>>44316530
>We are Piglet pining after our Pooh Bear.
It's disturbing how well that description fits. I wonder who Christopher Robin is in all this though?
>>44316598
I'm interested, boss.
>>44316574
Your condescending mockery is honestly far more annoying that the Talonfags. At least they are upfront about it. And fairly respectful, if unapologetic.
>>44316598
>two more were already under your thumb
What's the other house besides Hawkins?
>With the Vitrians none the wiser as to why Terce was not appearing, unaware of her demise, it was relatively easy to sneak in while the military continued to remain outside the city and scared of a vampire who was long since dead.
Stealth mission, great success
>>44316598
So, we're going to gather every mage we can and have them perform a massive ritual to bomb Volante from a safe distance to get rid of him, right?
>>44316463
they're taken. They don't know us, they don't have any loyalty to us. They have no reason to do anything BUT try to murder the fuck out of is of ordered to so so. They will most likely not join us even if we kill their masters (Blackwater murders Talon. Is Undine magically going to join him now?) The best we could get is allying with their masters
From a meta perspective, giving us the ability to recruit more champion level hero units will just break the game like last time, especially since /tg/ has a tendency to powergame and go for them at the first opportunity of given the chance
>>44316607
>Blackwater
>>44316598
Thanks had fun aspie
>>44316598
>Next thread on Saturday 26th December at 5:30pm EST. There may be a Christmas SoL thread if people are interested – let me know if you are.
AEQ or AEQ(r)? Also, do you have an ask yet? kinda hard to ask questions for people in the wrong timezone.
