Scouting/Jeshavis Mini-Plots: Network Connectivity Issues

[cozen]

This is a joint effort by Project Jeshavis and the Scouting Division to expand Riftwatch's intelligence network by leveraging Riftwatch members' existing contacts and developing new ones. To that end, characters will be assigned a potential contact to connect with, or an existing personal contact to go reconnect with.

OOC, the point is to flesh out more of Riftwatch's intel-gathering apparatus and provide excuses for players to do CR-building mini-plots, to get characters out of the Gallows, to make characters go visit places or talk to people from their mysterious pasts with a witness in tow, etc. It is meant to be lowkey and not require anyone to do anything elaborate.

There are two options: using your own NPCs/ideas, or asking us to make one up for you.

GET AN ASSIGNMENT

Members of the Scouting Division can be assigned to a contact anywhere in Thedas. Characters from other divisions can assist with Project Jeshavis, so you can request contacts for them also, but they'll be limited to Orlais and Ferelden. If there are particular types of people you'd be most interested in having your character assigned to or particular places you want them to go, you can indicate that in the form.

The information and mini-plot we'll provide will be on the level of "Bob is the head of the Berry Gang. He's ambivalent about helping Riftwatch, but if you find his missing contraband berries, you could exchange them for information or threaten to turn him and them in and hold that over his head to make him work for you." Nothing super complicated.

There's no deadline to sign up, but once we give you a contact, you'll lose your dibs/sign-ups if you don't RP something and update us within two months.

<b>PLAYER:</b> <b>CHARACTER:</b> <b>DIVISION:</b> <b>REQUESTS:</b> If you have a preference for types of NPC (such as dwarves or mercenaries), specific geographic areas or cities, or mini-plot elements (such as wanting your character to have to blackmail someone because it'd make them sad), let us know, and we'll do our best. Remember that only Scouting Division members will be assigned contacts outside of Ferelden/Orlais. <b>WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?:</b> Say Yes if your character would volunteer or happily do this if asked nicely. Say No and give us an explanation if they would need to be ordered to do it (e.g., your character swore never to go back to Antiva City but you want them to have to) so we can talk that out. <b>ANYTHING ELSE:</b>

PROVIDE YOUR OWN NPC

If you have your own NPC to provide, members of any division might be asked to reach out to people they already have some type of inroad with. (Please be reasonable and make sure these are people your character is a logical fit for reaching out to--people they already know, places they're particularly familiar with, people engaged in a line of work they have experience in, and in all cases people who can reasonably be dealt with by someone with your character's skill set.)

NPCs can range from members of criminal organizations to servants in households it might be good to keep an ear on to members of court who might be persuaded to privately snitch on their fellows. The contacts we're establishing here should be firmly in scouting/spying territory, with a focus on building a pool of secret informants rather than on improving Riftwatch's reputation or making public friendships, and have some element of subterfuge or secrecy. We're looking at people who might provide information because they're being tricked, blackmailed, coerced, or in some way paid; people or organizations who Riftwatch can't be publicly known to associate with or who will provide information that authorities would not be happy for them to have; or similar. If you have an NPC in mind who you think could be convinced to be friendly to Riftwatch in a more general sense or by less underhanded means, that's awesome! But not in the scope of what we're doing here, so take those ideas to the Diplomacy Division and/or submit a player plot.

Characters will generally need to be willing to voluntarily reveal that they know or have ties to these contacts in order to be told to go talk to them. However, Yseult and Bastien are both spies, so if you want either of them to somehow acquire information about your character's secret past so they can be ordered/strongly encouraged to go deal with it, that's fine. Just let us know.

Using your own NPCs as contacts means you do have to consent to other people potentially mentioning them in a "this tip about Venatori activity that kicks off my plot is coming from Sue the Elf" or "we can go to Village and Bob will help us hide" way. If your NPC is someone closely connected to your character that you don't want other players making major decisions about without consulting you (e.g. it's your character's mom so if somebody got her arrested it'd be a big deal), please let us know so we can note that on the list of contacts we'll be compiling.

<b>PLAYER:</b> <b>CHARACTER:</b> <b>DIVISION:</b> <b>NPC NAME:</b> <b>NPC LOCATION:</b> If it's a place you made up that isn't on the map, also give a general geographic location please! E.g., "Bleufort, an Orlesian village south of Churneau." <b>ROLE & USEFULNESS:</b> Who is this NPC and why would they be useful? E.g., "Head maid for the family of a Merchant Prince who could eavesdrop on their conversations," or, "Member of a mercenary band who'd be willing to snitch when they take shady contracts." <b>CHARACTER CONNECTION:</b> Why is your character the one who's being sent to do this? <b>WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?:</b> Say Yes if your character would voluntarily admit to knowing or having an inroad with this person and easily agree if asked to talk to them. Say No and give us an explanation if they need to have their secrets discovered first or be ordered to go against their will, so we can talk that out. <b>ANYTHING ELSE:</b>

GO PLAY

Once your character has the assignment, they can go make contact whenever you want. They can take a partner or two or three with them for back-up/assistance. What you actually RP is up to you. If you want to get a little group together and play your NPC for them, that's fine, but it's equally fine to not actually RP meeting with the contact at all and instead just use it in the background as justification for sending your characters to a new setting, doing an "only one bed" meme thread in an inn, running into an old rival on the road, making your character pass through their hometown so they have no polite choice but to stop and introduce their friend to their mother, etc.

As long as the only significant plot-related outcome of your RP is that PCs make or fail to make a connection with the NPC in question, no plot request is required, since the plot request for "build a network of informants" has already been approved. If they do something in the process that could have a larger impact or affect Riftwatch's reputation in the public sphere, that does need a separate plot request submitted in advance.

Once you've RPed about it in some capacity, you can reply and let us know, and we'll put your contact on the list of informants we're making. You don't have to write a report. You can write a report if you want to, of course, especially if there are details about your character's life that you want them to have to reluctantly make a matter of official Riftwatch record. But this is technically our player plot, so we'll submit a report that sums up the whole effort, and it's not required for you to do your own.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[cozen]

Hi.

[murderbaby]

PLAYER: pel
CHARACTER: Mhavos
DIVISION: Scouting
REQUESTS: Mhav is familiar with a lot of elven servants and such in Val Royeaux, he just thinks he isn't and this mission would get him off his ass and contact them.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: He'd do it if asked, esp by Yseult, but that can be handwaved or not as needed.
ANYTHING ELSE: Go crazy.

[cozen]

Mhavos will be asked to make contact with an elven servant who's in a position to monitor—in particular, but not exclusively—the goings-on of a wealthy merchant who's suspected of some Venatori ties. Finding the best candidate for this will take some observational legwork on Mhavos' part, but he'll be able to pin down an elf named Symonet as a good choice. Symonet works across the street from the merchant's residence, in a good position to monitor his comings and goings. He's also a well-liked fellow who other elven servants in the area frequently come to with their troubles and quarrels and who they would be inclined to trust if he asked them for information.

Symonet is good-natured but suspicious of human-run organizations and wary of putting himself or others in danger of retribution if they're caught passing along information. As a show of good faith and commitment to keeping them safe, Mhavos can do him a favor: help a group of elves smuggle a crate of goods into Val Royeaux’s primary 10,000-elf alienage. He might be able to find out the crate contains weapons, in which case Symonet and the others will explain that they’re preparing for being abandoned to defend themselves if there’s ever a Tevinter attack on the city.

This is technically under Jeshavis, since it's in Orlais, but as long as you think it's fair-observation game for Yseult and/or Bastien to have picked up on the fact he'd be more responsive to her, the conversation can come from her instead!

You can RP about this however you want—take others along for the trip or have your character go alone, RP the meeting/favor or just something happening on the way there or back, or just have them talk to someone about it afterwards—as long as you RP about it somehow. Check in sometime in the next two months to let us know when it's done!

[murderbaby]

Mhavos alludes to the mission here. He does, ultimately, help get the weapons smuggled and secures Symonet as a contact.

[poleaxed]

PLAYER: pel
CHARACTER: Jone
DIVISION: Forces
REQUESTS: She has mercenary and nobility contacts all over Ferelden and Orlais. She would also happily act as a witness / bodyguard for anybody going elsewhere.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Volunteer. She needs to get out more.
ANYTHING ELSE: 🤘

[cozen]

Jone will be asked to find a contact within the Blackstone Irregulars in Ferelden. The company has eyes and liaisons across Ferelden and has been increasingly involved in some shady dealings under the leadership of Taoran Hawkwind.

If she's already known to him or any of the other members of the company, she'll have an easier time getting access. But even if she doesn't, she'll be able to get in with them by assisting with a contract they've taken to escort a small caravan of manufactured goods through the Brecilian Passage to Gwaren. They are in some way helping the manufacturer avoid taxes.

In the course of assisting the mercenaries, she'll have a choice of contacts: Laverne, who's enthusiastic about Blackstone's profit-over-principle practices and in good with the boss but will agree to report on anything funny she hears about in exchange for a monetary bribe, or Emmett, an idealistic newer recruit who seems a little uncomfortable with the Blackstone Irregulars' less savory activities. He'll agree to pass along information that seems relevant to the war for free, but he's less well-positioned to be in on secrets. Or she can ask them both separately.

You can RP about this however you want—take others along for the trip or have your character go alone, RP the meeting/favor or just something happening on the way there or back, or just have them talk to someone about it afterwards—as long as you RP about it somehow. Check in sometime in the next two months to let us know when it's done!

[poleaxed]

Jone takes Gabranth along to Ferelden here. They end up soliciting both Laverne and Emmett for information (separately).

[sohighandwild]

PLAYER: Ammmy
CHARACTER: Ket Perrino
DIVISION: Scouting
REQUESTS: Probably getting sent to Rivain is a bad idea, since she was arrested there and Riftwatch is supposed to keeping her out of trouble. (I mean, she is out of trouble, but Rivain would presumably prefer she's out of trouble elsewhere.) She is, however, fluent in Antivan and conversational in Rivani, if either is needed.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Yes
ANYTHING ELSE: This sounds delightful.

[hassaran]

Ket will be asked to make make an ally out of someone involved in the Antivan banking system, and she'll be able to find that someone in the Banca della Costa, Antiva City's largest bank. Nicola Belotti is a clerk whose primary job is copying transaction records for the bank's files and to provide copies to the bank's managers and clients on request, so while he has no real authority he is well-positioned to observe any unusual transactions. In his late 30s, Belotti has been in this role for more than a decade and is frustrated at his failure to advance up the ranks to a more interesting and prestigious role as he and his family had hoped.

He's currently competing for a promotion to the next level of clerk—which would involve similar access and slightly more authority—and will be willing to assist if Ket can contrive to get him that position. Belotti's chief rival is one Sandro Tonali, a much younger and less experienced clerk who he believes is likely to beat him out for the role because he has an uncle who holds a more senior role at the bank. Some observation will suggest that Belotti is correct, but that Sandro is actually on thinnish ice with his uncle due to his lazy and debaucherous lifestyle and this promotion opportunity is seen as a final chance to change his ways. It may be possible to eliminate him from the competition by further damaging his relationship with his uncle, inhibiting his interview performance in some way, preventing him from turning up at the interview altogether, or something else along those lines. (Or he could just be eliminated, but that seems unnecessarily extreme in the circumstances.)

You can RP about this however you want—take others along for the trip or have your character go alone, RP the meeting/favor or just something happening on the way there or back, or just have them talk to someone about it afterwards—as long as you RP about it somehow. Check in sometime in the next two months to let us know when it's done!

[sohighandwild]

Still ongoing, but so I don't forget, RP over here. Ket took a two-pronged approach of subtly drugging Tonali's wine while they were at a party to ensure he overslept the morning of the interview, after having previously engineered the loss of a bundle on a card game at the same party. The gambling loss ensured Tonali's uncle was in no mood to forgive him for the truancy or go to bat to get him another shot, clearing the way for Belotti.

[dinadhal]

PLAYER: dove
CHARACTER: Aenor Din'adhal
DIVISION: Scouting
REQUESTS: Aenor is most familiar with the Anderfels and with Grey Wardens, but it'd also be fun to make her deal with Dalish elves, since she'd rather not--and I'm really not fussed about who or where she might be getting deets from, haha. She's particularly good for fetch quests, but I'm into doing anything.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Yes, she'll assist with this if asked.
ANYTHING ELSE:

[hassaran]

Aenor will be asked to make contact with the Dalish Litwyn clan, which was recently chased away from Seleny toward the Hundred Pillars, where they may have a good view of both Antivan and Tevinter travelers/trade and mining operations in the mountains. The clan's former keeper, Yevlaros, was among a handful of clan members killed in the "chasing" away from Seleny; the new keeper, Fiomaya, is fairly young, in mourning for her mentor, and very serious about protecting the remainder of her clan.

Asking Fiomaya to pass along information will result in a ready agreement, of the sort that's obviously intended more to get Aenor (and anyone else she might have brought along) out of their camp as quickly as possible. But one of the other elves in the clan, Admet, will take a moment out of earshot to inform Aenor that they left behind a number of things, including a case of scrolls of historical accounts from the Dales, in the chaos of the attack near Seleny. He'll want their help going back to retrieve them—something Fiomaya is unwilling to sanction, terrified as she is of losing anyone else, but that she'll be very grateful for if they pull it off. If Aenor agrees, Admet will go along to help locate the scrolls and several more of the clans' belongings, which are currently for sale in the market or various shops. Buying them and stealing them are both options.

You can RP about this however you want—take others along for the trip or have your character go alone, RP the meeting/favor or just something happening on the way there or back, or just have them talk to someone about it afterwards—as long as you RP about it somehow. Check in sometime in the next two months to let us know when it's done!

[coquettish_trees]

PLAYER: Jasmin
CHARACTER: Alexandrie
DIVISION: Scouting
NPC NAME: Solvarin, Tessaria
NPC LOCATION: Vol Dorma, Tevinter
ROLE & USEFULNESS:

Solvarin: Elven slave, potential organizer of an informant network

Tessaria: Human slave, potential organizer of an insurgent network

CHARACTER CONNECTION: Prior knowledge of the NPCs/situation, connected to their previous contact (Kitty Jones). Familiar with Tevinter society.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Enthusiastically, even.
ANYTHING ELSE: It's a follow up!

[hassaran]

Approved! She can have taken up this correspondence, but while the slaves in question trusted Kitty Jones to some extent they remained distrustful of the Inquisition/Riftwatch in general and are still not exactly eager to work with them. Alexandrie's connection to Kitty might get her foot in the door, but they won't be inclined to trust her at all if they're aware she's the wealthy noble wife of an Altus mage and she'll have more success if she fakes a new identity (with the obvious drawback that they'll feel betrayed if they find out later). That isn't to say they'll refuse outright to provide information to Riftwatch if she tells the truth—they'll just be less likely to stick their necks out in any way to actually do so.

They'll still be reluctant to trust Riftwatch regardless, and they will not be subtle about the fact that it is a test when they write to request that she help free some friends of theirs who were smuggled out of Tevinter but are now being held in Seere and essentially enslaved again until they can buy their freedom from the smugglers. The smugglers in question will prove to be shrewd but not particularly big time, and can either be bought off at an extortionate price or dealt with by force. Bringing their half-dozen or so captive 'servants' safely to freedom (or at least the three that matter to Solvarin and Tessaria) will win Lexie and Riftwatch some credibility and potentially open up an avenue for Riftwatch to take over smuggling duties for the slaves in the future in exchange for information. (Buying off the smugglers rather than killing them won't win as many points with Tessaria, but will leave open the possibility of hiring the smugglers or making use of their knowledge of the region in the future.)

You can RP about this however you want—take others along for the trip to Seere or have your character go alone, RP the favor or just something happening on the way there or back, or just have them talk to someone about it afterwards—as long as you RP about it somehow. Check in sometime in the next two months to let us know when it's done!

[cozen]

PLAYER: MJ
CHARACTER: Bastien
DIVISION: Diplomacy
NPC NAME: Ines
NPC LOCATION: Val Royeaux
ROLE & USEFULNESS: A bard, and as of late a bardmaster with her own cell and underlings. She has an ear to the ground with the Game and is especially aware of other bards, who’s working for whom, etc.
CHARACTER CONNECTION: They’re old partners.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Yes, smadly.
ANYTHING ELSE: Signing up for my own plot always feels weird but whatever.

[tender]

PLAYER: eppy
CHARACTER: Derrica
DIVISION: Forces
REQUESTS: Derrica doesn't actually have a lot of contacts in southern Ferelden or Orlais, but she did bounce around the privateer scene for a while, so it would be interesting for her to have to draw on some of those associations to track down or influence a particular contact. Basically anything sea-faring adjacent would be fun for me.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Yes, Derrica would volunteer or she would agree to participate if asked.
ANYTHING ELSE: Go wild.

[hornswoggle]

PLAYER: still eppy.
CHARACTER: John Silver
DIVISION: Diplomacy
REQUESTS: Pretty flexible. Fereldan would be a harder sell than Orlais for John, but contingent on following answer, he'll agree to go to either place. Otherwise, anything goes. I'm in this more for a road trip + John having to talk his way into a meeting with someone, be that a Fereldan or an Orlesian.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: John will do this if he's asked specifically by Yseult.
ANYTHING ELSE: I'm not saying I want to trap Cass into a thread, but I might want to trap Cass into a thread.

[hassaran]

PLAYER: Cass
CHARACTER: Yseult
DIVISION: Scouting
REQUESTS: Something in Antiva probably, but if you have an idea for another place that's cool too
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: Where is the line between voluntary and ordering yourself to do it when you're your own boss?
ANYTHING ELSE: We can do our own plot it's only making work for ourselves

[heorte]

PLAYER: eppy
CHARACTER: ellis
DIVISION: forces
REQUESTS: either ferelden or orlais fine; generally it would be nice if he were sent somewhere rural/small town-sy. ellis icly would prefer to be sent to ferelden before he were sent anywhere in orlais, but i personally will be happy with whatever you have on tap. would definitely like a built in fetch quest or some scenario where he has to hit something with a mace to curry favor with the target.
WILL YOUR CHARACTER DO THIS VOLUNTARILY?: yes, ellis will go wherever he's asked.
ANYTHING ELSE: go big