To boldly go, annnnd monsters.

SoL-2

Jordy:

I have scryers on Sakki to keep tabs on his explorations, we’ve had some artists sketch the map as he relays it. There is good news and bad news regarding his finds. The good news is that he found another mana-rich lake like our own. Easily worth twice as much as the one nearby. Bad news is that means we’re idiots and should have just walked slightly north before we set all this up.

Though the reason we didn’t do that is we thought we still knew enough about the layout of the land. The lake of Jämsä was the former most bountiful lake in the empire that was within survivable walking distance from the tomb. This indicates we definitely have been away for awhile, and also that these must be capable of forming post-creation of the world as we originally believed.  I gave the subject to some students for a thesis, doesn’t matter if its never been proven or studied much before. They’ll either figure it out or fail, we’ll see.

For now, Sakki is camping out in the mountains near the other lake observing who comes and goes from it. Cataloging monsters and their behaviors. Up to you if you want him to continue his journey and perhaps send an actual team of scholars to take up the role of observation, or if you want to leave Sakki to it as he has obviously shown himself capable of surviving out there. Do not ask me how in this world he managed to find it, its a really dumb story.

In the meantime I trust you don’t need my overpaid advice to tell you to begin plans to build the stupid colony there right? Good, I’ll have the orders sent along the way, just put your seal here.

Oh and I got you a new agent and governor as requested. The first is Jonne-

He is young and unproven but among my students he shows good potential for some wandering work. Since you were looking for agents I figured his youth might be of advantage, as he carries all the energy of an unproven runt desperate to make his mark on the world. He’s a solid wizard, specializing in necromancy with a proficiency in evocation and one or two other cantrips.

He’s generally buried in his books trying to find the secrets of arcane power, though he’s not necessarily the most observant when it comes to people. Thinks I don’t know what he does in his lab off campus, thinks its just good luck that the corpses he steals are buried shallow.

Don’t ask him about his work unless you have a meal handy, given half an opportunity he will talk for hours. Maybe don’t tell him secrets you don’t want revealed in a villainous monologue delivered to some farmboy.

As for your governor, Ylermi used to be a guard, then a captain, then retired eventually. Good detective, he’s old but we live long so a desk job suits him well. He’s got enough experience with people to act as governor. Though his back has gone bad since his duties, don’t ask him to lift anything heavy. Great pyromancer though, evocation specialist obviously, strong study of abjuration. Kind of fit into his prior job. He’s friendly, friendlier then me at least, has a weird love of rice cakes we get from the Oda. Probably gets along with them well enough. Also I’m told by the Katara that we tend to look a little creepy, Ylermi doesn’t look like us so much since his wrinkled face always seems to be squinting and they can’t see his eyes too well. So maybe that’s a bonus if you give him a job in a border area.

That’s all I’ve got to report, I’ll be in my office if you need anything. Please don’t need anything. You can think for yourself don’t worry I have faith in you.

Sam:

Greetings keeper! It is a fine day for the Oda people. I’ve received word that our scouting ships found a new island already. I am not sure how we didn’t find that before now actually…currently they are exploring its shores from afar and attempting to sail around it. There have been signs of native life, so they are cautious of setting foot upon it. While not inept at the task, we may consider sending someone better suited to traversing inland in the event that it isn’t exactly safe. With evidence of natives, it is hard to say if they will accept our hand in diplomacy or if they will need to be dealt with in less savory methods. I’m sure more reports will be forthcoming upon the completion of their scouting its shoreline.

In the meantime Shime and our scouts report the discovery of a village along a lakeshore. We estimate a population between a thousand and two thousand, seems to be a fishing village. Shime took some time to assist them with a matter and ensure smooth relations should you wish further interaction with them.

In regards to inviting our allies to train at the monastery, I caution the risks of that. Merely because if we do so it will set a precedent, and I am wary of allowing the Katara to learn the secrets of the monastery. Who knows what those foul witches might do should they unlock the potential of ki, and if ever we should exit their good graces we will have little response. They have been eyeing Kazehaya with a little too much interest as of late and it concerns me. The last thing we need is for the Nalkas to develop a taste for ki. Mana can be harvested, but there is only one way to get ki… Though if you should decide to allow for it anyways, the monastery could easily train anyone I imagine. All living things have ki within, the monastery just teaches them to wield it.

As per requested we have gone through the finest of the monastery to find a fit commander for the armies.  Inaba has been there almost his whole life and has seen to the training of the younger students, I feel that makes him fit to command the troops even if not exactly the same kind of training, at the very least we can hope the discipline of the monastery will rub off on them.

He’s a wise man, and carries himself well despite his age, though he hasn’t relented to give me a clue as to his age but his hair is a bit of a giveaway. But just look at that glorious mustache!

 

Also in regards to the mines, we aren’t positioned well enough to exploit them. We live within the valley near the coast. It was more prudent to exploit the bounty of the seas then the wealth of the mountains when first we settled here. The mountains have provided us safety but we’ve yet to fully exploit them. I will see to it that as our reach expands that we move further inland to reach them.

 

Tess:

The shipyards, and by association the docks, would cost about fifty gold to bring to working order. Building ships themselves would be costlier then the scaffolding though. The shipyards fell into disrepair since we had little to no use for them, we rarely go onto the sea. If you wish to see to us doing so once again, we will need to properly train naval forces and perhaps just buy the boats from our neighbors for the near future as we haven’t had the need nor opportunity to work on these ourselves. Though, we are in a forest, so perhaps we have enough material to experiment with in the short term. I visited the docks personally, there are actually quite a few people who utilize the safety of the docks within our walls for fishing that provides a good amount of food to the market. Even if we weren’t to build a navy, there is value in at least making the docks safer and more accessible to our people.

As requested the prisons have been cleaned up and their security measures inspected and repaired. We’ve also begun construction of the highway along the coast, though it will take some time to complete thanks to the dense forests and difficulty of removing the obstacles that presents.

As your advisor I feel it pertinent to mention that for now they are building the roadways close to our cities, but there are a few gaps between our respective territories that the road is intended to cross. These are dangerous places, with the army departing to the fabled Badlands, I would caution finishing the road’s construction without some measure of protection for the workers. We can’t afford to lose our people to simple carelessness.

For another matter, I am not sure how long you dreamed of becoming the Witch Queen, but it is desirable by our people for you to produce offspring as well. As queen you will be able to choose from any prince you desire, for the daughters of queens are powerful indeed. Even though you are new to the position and pregnancy might leave you vulnerable so early, should any get the idea to try and usurp you so hastily I will act on your behalf to ensure their challenge is a doomed one, just as I ensured your success in taking the throne as well. With less need for a show of strength taking power, you will find any challenges against you to be…futile.

Johnson:

With the direction we are currently moving, it is inevitable we might reach these fabled “Badlands” that the Nalkas spoke of. It has been poorly mapped though I am to understand the grand bazaar lies within should we be willing to brave the perils….hehe like we’re turning around now. Where there’s great trade, coin will be made. The Katara have also sent an army towards it with good haste, with any luck we’ll catch them on their return trip to Sybaris and they can tell us what to expect. In the meantime I should say we stockpile the exotic goods we can in case there is something of interest to trade for within. The nalkas man, firebeard I think they called him, returned with fabulous items and spoke as if there were more to be had. The caravan has prepared to split but I would hold off on that until we are within the badlands, that way we can cover the important ground and find these trade outposts that we are sure to find.

As per requested, I found some people for those jobs you wanted fulfilled. Even haggled them down a little, hehe.

His name is Take, he’s done well for himself through his suave tongue. He’s a decent wizard all things considered, evoker as well. Perhaps he can defend the other caravan a little, they won’t have the advantage of numbers we usually enjoy. He has his mind on the things that matter, and with him in charge the split is sure to be a profitable venture given time.

As far as I know he was born with the caravan, his parents left him some wealth which he turned into a modest fortune. I believe this is the value we want out of a leader.

 

Ryo Soo-Yeon, he hasn’t accomplished much to warrant the promotion but I say he has potential if nothing else as an experiment. He’s not as strong as our usual commanders and his numbers modestly unimpressive compared to Kaiba’s, but he has a different outlook on handling the monsters that lurk out there. Utilizing one of those…projectile toys he acquired some while ago and keeping his distance to lay traps. If nothing else he is likely a safe investment, providing stable results for a long time could be a useful pawn. Those like Kaiba have an inevitable day of death approaching them.

 

You didn’t quite specify what you had in mind for the agent to do, so I found someone cheap. His trade is that of the mercenary, he isn’t a native of Fukuchi but he found work plentiful here and followed us around. Since he isn’t from around here, he works for a bit less then our normal people’s going rate. I think he just hits thing with sharpened metal objects, primitive but historically effective.

Unfortunately that is all I really know about him, I find him too uninteresting to look deeper into and he isn’t the most talkative type anyways.

 

A new adventure (again)

Be sure to notice there are 3 sheets in the player actions sheet this time around that covers standing economics as well as the buy list. Will probably add more things to the buy list as requested. Beta.

Also Sam’s characters in the SoL have nothing going on yet because I had to work on all this other stuff and his faction doesn’t have much I need to introduce yet. So I just gave a quick cutaway of his character everyone seems so interested in.

SoL mini, its session 0 i don’t have enough ideas yet.
Sam’s Handout

Mezzy Handout

Tess Handout

Jordy

YOU RIIIIIIISE! To a desk job with a fancy title of King. You’re a bit younger then most around here and were not there during the long slumber, but that’s okay. Your people have a knack for long lives, you got time to acquire more experience at this job.

Your royal advisor, Heseli, brings to you the current status of the kingdom. The Nalkas people live out in the frozen north where mana is most plentiful, but plentiful mana means big damned monsters are a bit more common. Your predecessor had initiated studies on this and managed to prove they feed on it to gain their supernatural abilities and sizes. While they can live off of regular meat, Nalkas people are glowing beacons of nourishment to them. So be wary of that.

The society has finally managed to reach a point of stability though, hence the change of leadership. Your predecessor had been so focused on reaching a point of safety and security that once it was achieved, it seemed he might be too set in his ways to bring in a new age. The walls are strong, the people are fed, and the roads are paved. He was hailed for his successes in bringing the nalkas from the brink of extinction to a thriving populace. But now that he succeeded it was time for a fresh perspective, he’s actually still around and gets to live in a fancy mansion in retirement. All hail the new king, may your rule be wise and prosperous.

Due to the sheer stability of what he created, Heseli points out that the people have actually not ventured particularly far since the long slumber ended. The world has been reborn in our time away, and it might be time to consider some new expansions and explorations. Be wary of the monsters though.

Sam

The mountains nearby have done a good job keeping the Oda people safe from a lot of the problems the neighbors are having, as well as the lack of mana-rich deposits. Though the other problem is the lack of mana-rich deposits. As such despite the safety of the capital, there is a bit of a need to find some new resources. Fortunately, we have a kick ass port, so we can travel around the seas a bit easier then most.

Not much going on here since the faction didn’t start with any major ongoing problems or politics just yet.

Tess

YOU RIIIIISE to power by murdering your predecessor in open combat. Even people not affiliated with you are pretty aware of the shift in power. Most notice when one of the most peculiar kingdoms has a shift in power for whatever reason.

The most immediate problems are nothing new for the Katara people. Winter is quick to remind you the reason the path to taking power was tied to your predecessors inability to keep the population growing at the rate a warrior culture needs, an especially important problem given the curse that afflicts your people. Currently the kingdom has a population of 200,000 and only 20 men in the whole place. They also won’t live that long, people will be expecting you to find solutions. Given that the curse of Katara is famous, not many take the bait of just being offered to live a life of luxury and endless sex here.

Your population growth rate is staggeringly slow compared to everyone else and the number of delinquent youths is also extremely high since the mothers work and the fathers are kind of busy in an environment unsuitable for children. No one really has stable parental figures, just rotate between caretakers throughout the week.