[HQ Ignorance] Re : Re : Re : Re : Scene 104: Results of the Seeker's Choice

[Loran]

> As you can see however there is some resistance.
Indeed, I see and I understand now better why Lei Tse gave the conception of the attack to a foreigner :-)
 
[IC]
Azhur breathed deeply to stay calm and polite. Ran Fushi’s poor and obtuse conceptions of the battle rules were now the main obstacle to the success of the Fellowship.
 - “Noble Ran Fushi, I was put in the position to study the best ways to take this Iron Fort for the glory of your master Lord Lei Tse. Something I never forgot during all the days I have spent under your generous hospitality, but today you showed up with an unexpected Serendipitous Seeker and blew away my all my prepations with a brilliant idea, but only an idea, if I may say...”
 
- “We have in the West a definition for the best General on the battlefield and we generally agree on three main roles where the General should excel. The first role is the Tactician, fast-thinking and opportunist, the Tactician is able to see the best way to achieve his immediate goal. Your plan shows me that you have a high merit in this role and your organization has certainly learnt a lot from the desert nomadic looters who are ready to take advantage of any new situation. This is a good point for the success of the mission given to each of us by our master Lord Lei Tse.”
 
- “The second role is the Commander. Charismatic figure, he is able to lead and delegate with control his objectives to persons he has chosen wisely and who will obey to his master plan. This not necessarily in the exact wording he gave them, just because they will have to adapt cleverly to the ever-changing situations of the battle. Most of all, he will be able to listen carefully to their needs because fulfilling their needs is the only way to give them means for his own success. Very noble Ran Fushi, if you delegate to me the action to neutralize the system defense of the Iron Fort, you also take the duty to listen to my errands. This is the condition for you to excel in the Commander role and to please our master Lord Lei Tse with your own success.”
 
- “The third role is the Strategist. After all, winning a battle isn’t enough if it leads to lose the war. Wise, gifted with a long-term vision, the Strategist has sometime to oppose to the obvious advantages found by the Tactician. He must discern between courage and rashness, between speed and impatience. He is able to lose ground if it gives him advantages for the rest of the war. Most noble Ran Fushi, as you said, the people of Lei Tabor are known in Kralorela as thieves and murderers who have been exiled for the nefarious crimes of their ancestors. After the battle you may be seen as great conquerors but would you have earned the esteem of your compatriots? Remember that our Lord Lei Tse will have then to find spouses and husbands for his - I wish - abundant descent to consolidate his social status and wealth position. Will the honorable kralorelan noble families accept to join alliances with thieves and murders? If not, will he be in a
 position to be thankful to his most dedicated servants like you and I? Will you then accept to condemn your own children to endure your ancestral crimes, even if it is in the middle of the empire? As the Strategist, the General should consider the war in its global nature. Winning the Iron Fort is only one step for your true goal which is your rehabilitation within the Empire. This battle should demonstrate that your exile has redeemed your blood but not wasted your honor.”
 
- “All I ask is a small delay, the possibility to act in plain sight to restore your honor instead of damaging it more and a mean to deal with the officers without violent termination. This is a very small price in regard to great advantages you will get after the battle. In fact, what I’m asking is just the humility to review slightly your plans to improve them.”
 
 
[OOC]
Some data, if it seems that my words aren't enough to convince even the dumbest conseillor of a degenerate exiled potentate  :-)
 
=> Convince Other 15
 
Possible augmentations:
- Castle Squire 18/+2 (for respecting the noble etiquette, perhaps with a minus for being in a foreign culture)
- Choose one between: Obey Superiors 17/+2 or Command Inferiors 18/+2 (depending on the relation between Ran Fushi and Azhur, one is the Duke's Conseillor, the other a king in slavery)
- Elected King Of Seshnela 17/+2 (as a status advantage of authority anyway)
- Dedicated to Talor's Fellowship 15/+2 (to find internal ressources to save everyone from a possible difficult battle, where they are meant to be sacrified)
- Military History 17/+2 (for military competency)
- Honorable 17/+2 (to adjust to kralorelan cultural values)
- Intrepid 19/+2 (to be bold enough to manipulate Ran Fushi)
- Try harder 17/+2 (to get the energy to convince Ran Fushi)

Could do a nice 15 (+16) = 11M1 with one HP if useful.

Loran



----- Message d'origine ----
De : Lev Lafayette <lev at mimesisrpg.com>
À : HeroQuest Glorantha <ignorance at mimesisrpg.com>
Envoyé le : Mer 17 mars 2010, 1 h 52 min 14 s
Objet : Re: [HQ Ignorance] Re : Re : Re : Scene 104: Results of the Seeker's Choice

On Tue, 2010-03-16 at 20:58 +0000, Loran wrote:
> Nice to have news from you Lev. I'm still hoping to see the fight with
> the Devil at the end of the third age thanks to your work and
> imagination ;-)
> 

Oh the Devil is getting very close indeed :)

> Here is my next move :
>  
> Azhur paused to be
> sure to catch Ran Fushi’s attention.
> - “First it is already
> evening and soon it will be dark, If you want to have the shining presence of
> our dragonewt master playing its full effect without any possible doubt, I
> would propose that we would wait until tomorrow when the light of the radiant sun
> will push aside any hesitation from the iron fort people. Just imagine the
> catastrophic impact on your brilliant plan, if a dumb sentinel refused to
> recognize the true nature of Serendipitous Seeker, just because he doesn’t see
> him in the dark of the night.

"That would be .. a problem. I see your point Westener, as much as I
doubt that the even the most stupid Iron Fort ruler would employ a
short-sighted sentry. We shall ensure that the Dragonewt's presence is
clear and obvious."

>  A second point, dear to me, is that by tradition
> as my familial motto indicates ‘in plain light, in plain sight’, I tend to
> despise trickery done under the cover of the night, leaving such acts to thieves,
> murderers and cheaters. I’m pretty sure that kralori customs dedicated to solar
> virtues will recognize the value of such behavior.”

"The Sun? You take us for Elves, weak in winter, strong in summer, and
trapped within the cycle of nature? You are poorly versed in our ways.
Yes, we adore enlightenment, and reverence for the dragon-kin, our
country and our ancestors. But this is no tea party. We are here to
conquer an iron fort, something that has never been done before!"

"If we succeed, our names will be recorded through the ages."  

> - “Second, if I had to
> deal with the subjugation of the opposing forces, I would point out the
> advantage to keep as much possible these soldiers alive… Imagine the importance
> they could represent for you during the following negotiations, especially if
> among the officers you discover some noble families members.”

"I did not specify what you do with them Westerner", a sneer barely
hidden from his bushy moustache. "Simply remove the effect of their
rulers and the key sentries and the rest will plead for their lives like
whipped dogs."

> - “Third, please now consider
> the impact on your reputation, thus on the quality of the later negotiations if
> you appear to deviate too much from the honorable ways of the kralorelan
> customs. By acting at night you will appear nothing more than devious and
> traitorous, to me not the right qualities to re-enter the Empire with dignity. By
> killing loyal subjects of the Kralori Emperor, you would appear to be tainted
> by the barbarian violence of the Wastes and thus unfit for joining again the
> glorious empire. By doing both, you would probably appear nothing more than
> trollish, thus just worth to be ejected into the Ignorance Empire…”

"Our reputation? The people of Lei Tabor are known as thieves and
murderers who have been exiled for the crimes of our ancestors. If we
retake a Fort, we will not lose that reputation, but gain another, as
great tacticians. That will be dignified enough."

"Perhaps we have learned something from the barbarians of the Wastes.
And perhaps..", he pauses to ensure that no natives are present, "..
perhaps the current Emperor is weak."

> - “If you have any
> interest on how we might change, without violence, a full iron fort garrison
> into prisoners, I have a few stories of past battles that can enlighten you,
> but to be short I would say it is feasible only with someone like Serendipitous
> Seeker who will have a great ascendency on the local officers. For example, now
> let’s imagine that the leading figure of a tailed dragonewt requests a shared
> drink with the most important persons of the place. Who would refuse and risk
> the contrariety of the visitor? What would then happen if the beverage was
> modified with a sleeping drug like laudanum or concentrated hazzia… Imagine, what
> is a body without head? Wouldn’t the rest of the petty soldiers obey to whom
> hold the life of their commanders?”

"How you neutralise the defenses is your own concern."


> Hoping that he would
> gain some time to develop the plot he just had conceived, Azhur wondered how he
> could reach in time and negotiate some help from the Yao Fune’s sect as he was
> planning to give the iron fort to the people of Lei tabor instead to their
> selfish rulers, in charge for city dwellers to negotiate a global improvement with
> either Lord Lei Tse or the imperial authorities, if not with both.
> If not, then… he would
> have to take the risk to trust the Lord Lei Tse, even if his instinct was
> against this notion.

Of course :)

As you can see however there is some resistance. You have the
opportunity for a counter, and then we'll resolve it by dice.

At this point however, the Kralorelean thinks that an invasion by night
is best...


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