faderiftooc | SCOUTING DIVISION ↠ War Table Assignments

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SCOUTING DIVISION ↠ War Table Assignments

SCOUTING MISSION: EYES ON

Scouting assignments this month are focused on the wide-ranging work Riftwatch is doing to keep tabs on things in the wake of the invasion of the Marches. These are somewhat similar in style to the Forces assign-o-matic, but a bit smaller so that there can be more of them at once. There are two assignment tracks:

Actual Scouting
For a change, there is work for actual scouts in the traditional sense! With Tevinter forces frequently roaming outwards from their base at Hasmal and camps at the walls of Starkhaven to harass the countryside, there's need for Riftwatch to keep eyes on their forces and learn what they can about them, track the routes they're using and any of the enemy's own scouts, and try to provide advanced warning of impending attack to communities or travelers wherever possible. Riftwatch agents will be assigned in teams of 2 or 3 to man watchtowers, overlooks, or other key observation points.

What: Assignments will include things like gathering information about enemy forces, tracking enemy parties overland, engaging small groups, or encountering other minor hazards along the way.
Where: Somewhere in the Free Marches in a rough radius around Hasmal and Starkhaven.
Who: Any Riftwatch member (including Rifters and others with anchors who haven't formally joined). All teams will be randomized.

Spying
With the enemy's incursion into the Marches, there's serious concern about the potential of Venatori agents in the region. Because the Free Marches have never really been a priority for the Inquisition or Riftwatch, they need to very quickly scale up their network in the region with a particular focus on identifying enemy agents already at work and any plans that may already be in motion. A secondary goal will be gathering information that could help Riftwatch to understand and influence the goings-on in the courts of the various Marcher rulers.

What: Assignments will include things like investigating suspected Venatori sympathizers, identifying or recruiting sources of information, following up on tips about potential enemy plots, or acquiring information about key players.
Where: Marcher capitals, mainly.
Who: Members of the Scouting division.

OOC Logistics

Sign up by end of the day Monday 8/23.
You'll get a brief write-up (about a paragraph) about your assignment. As usual, you're welcome to use these assignments as flavor for your RP, write about the lead-up or aftermath rather than the work itself, or to develop them into something bigger if you want by submitting a plot request.
The main aims are opportunities to build new CR and putting on-screen some of the legwork Riftwatch is running around doing in reaction to the invasion. There may also be some bits of information learned through these missions that can be built on for later missions.
You don't have to write a report, but you do have to follow up here within 1 month of receiving your assignment to let me know 1. that you've RPed something about this (even if you've only started the thread, as long as it's in progress) and 2. how your character handled it and if anything went notably wrong or right. ICly, characters would be reporting to Yseult, and if you'd like to play out a debrief meeting let me know.
If I don't hear back from you in a month, the mission didn't happen and I may recycle it.

Sign-Up Form

Character:
Division:
Assignment: Actual Scouting, Spying, Both, Either
OOC Preferences: Got any hopes and dreams for this? Keen to force your character to do a particular sort of task, showcase a particular skill, go to a particular place, make your character face some sort of moral or physical hazard, fail miserably, succeed ugly, etc.?
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses: No need to regurgitate your whole app, just the highlights relevant to the assignment(s) you've chosen and the hopes & dreams described. E.g., if you picked Actual Scouting and said your character needs a win, do they have any particular skills that would serve them well out there like tracking, wilderness survival, riding horses real fast? Or if you picked Spying and said you'd like your character to hit a moral hurdle and potentially fail in their task, are there any key weaknesses that might derail them?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Here.

Player:

Character: Aleksei
Division: Scouting
Assignment: Either
OOC Preferences: I am desperate to force him to give a fuck about literally any dang thing, squeeze some teamwork from this terrible man.
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses: Sneaky, great at breaking and entering, existing in spaces he shouldn't, quick on his feet. Weakness: bad at teamwork, bad at caring about things, quick on his feet also means quick to bail when things start going sideways.

Character: Derrica
Division: Forces
Assignment: Either
OOC Preferences: Let Derrica Clock Someone With Her Staff 2k21 aka opportunity for Derrica to play offense would be fun. Otherwise, anything goes.
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses: Barriers on point, has a face you can trust, plays nicely with others. Weakness: small, limitations to offensive magic, general lack of experience with spying/tracking

Character: Ellis
Division: Forces
Assignment: Either
OOC Preferences: As usual, I'm interested in Ellis having a less than great time. Messy, difficult decisions, any opportunity for some general violence welcome.
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses: Tanky, level head, brawny as all get out, generally plays well with others. Weakness? Full plate is generally bad for stealth + Ellis without full plate significantly ups his chances of being fuckin' murdered.

General note: feel free to double up assignments on any of them if you need to even out a team

Derrica and Allumin will be assigned to monitor enemy activity along a small tributary of the Minanter that runs through a forested region between Wildervale and Starkhaven. Their base will be an abandoned hunter's hide (a camouflaged platform in a tree, just large enough to hold two people lying down and a little bit of gear) that provides a clear view up and down the river for some distance. Their goal is primarily to record data about enemy travel on this stretch of the river, and over the first few days of their shift they'll spot a few small enemy parties traveling by boat downriver and then later back up, sometimes seeming to be transporting unidentified goods one way or the other. Around the end of their week, a pair of enemy canoes carrying a half-dozen or so will come ashore very near Derrica and Allumin's hiding place to take a break, and it'll be possible to figure out from overhearing their conversation that they're on their way to raid a village not far downstream. Whether Derrica and Allumin decide to prevent them is up to you.

Ellis and Emet-Selch will be assigned to pose as benign travelers (minstrels? peddlers? something like that) and make a discreet pass through the area between Hasmal and the ruins of Tantervale that is now unofficially under Tevinter control. An early stop on this patrol will be the village of Brackley, where they'll discover the enemy are preparing to execute ten men for having killed a scouting party. Ellis and Emet-Selch can take action to try to save the condemned from their fate, but doing so may mean further reprisals on Brackley in the future. Or, they can let the men be executed and wait for the enemy group to depart Brackley and attack them further along the road where collateral damage and the attack being attributed to the village are less likely. How long they have to make this decision is up to you, it can be that they arrive as the prisoners are standing on the gallows or that it's scheduled for the next morning, whatever seems most fun.

question: do derrica + ellis missions need a report filed?

Yes please! If they're not there yet, end of the month is fine. (I realize this is not what the post says up top, but I've changed my mind I guess. They can be short ones!)

Edited 2021-10-08 15:43 (UTC)

Aleksei is tasked with making friends around the Ostwick docks and trying to learn more about some shady characters there who might be working with the pirates whose attacks have been increasingly hampering trade in and out of Ostwick. The leader of the group is a crooked customs agent named Pau Viteri who's rumored to have a brother in the Felicissima Armada. Trying to get close to Pau will be tough, he's not a friendly person and doesn't much like company. But most of his gang aren't anything special in the brains department and it shouldn't be too hard to weasel into their company as a drinking companion and general kindred spirit. There's also Pau's girlfriend, an aspiring artist named Lorinda who works at the Egg & Bucket and is really not attached to Pau so much as his money.

Between tidbits from Lorinda (who lately has been getting nicer gifts than usual) and what the gang let slip, Aleksei will learn of a secret warehouse storeroom where Pau keeps the stolen and smuggled goods he takes as bribes from various malefactors, along with records that strongly suggest he's been tipping off the occasional pirate attack against merchants who don't want to pay him the extra cut he demands.

At this point it would be best to alert the Ostwick city guard, who can take the evidence collected and see that Pau Viteri and his associates face justice. But if Aleksei is tempted to first take a rifle through the treasure in the storeroom, he'll activate a magical security measure consisting of a glyph of paralysis and a trap door that will drop him into the pen beneath the wharf where Pau keeps his pet shark. Why does he have a pet shark? Who cares. The paralysis will last for at least 10 seconds and there is no obvious way to climb back up. Sure hope somebody's willing to help him!

Aleksei can bring one other Riftwatch agent along on this mission. Yseult will expect him to choose someone reasonable suited to the task. (If you'd OOCly like to choose someone that he would not pick IC, you can assume they were assigned to it.) The report is due October 8.

Player: Cobalt
Character: Astarion
Division: Scouting
Assignment: spywork!
OOC Preferences: I know this sounds unhelpful but I literally have none; he's admittedly been poorly behaved recently but it's been a process of acclimation, and at this point he's too genuinely invested in Riftwatch to screw around or risk a mission. AKA anything at all to start cutting his now confident teeth on would be welcome.
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses:

Strengths:
。charming/entertaining/sociable/experienced with parties and high society events
。adept at manipulation
。stealthy as the night itself
。skilled at seduction, has 0 qualms about feigning friendship or affection for results
。loves to stab, also good at it
。deft performer
。can pick locks and pockets

Weaknesses:
。an elf
。impossibly greedy in terms of risk and reward
。selfishly motivated, could be tempted to help himself before Riftwatch, though it'd be a steep mark to hit
。resentful and vindictive when slighted or disrespected, occasionally to the point of inflicting harm
。cannot take direct hits in a fight: needs either charisma to outfox danger, or a means for evasion, or just a tank
。thinks he knows best, always

Astarion will be tasked with heading to Wycome to gain access to the fashionable upper crust of society there to get a sense of how the Duke and his closest companions might be swayed to help the war effort and see if he can spot any potential enemy agents (or those with big enough gambling problems to be vulnerable, etc.). Wycome being a hedonistic casino city, he should have little trouble fitting in, though he'll need to be careful with his betting since Riftwatch can't afford to stake him much coin. If he chooses to reveal he's a rifter that will gain him some temporary novelty points that may help with entree into society, but will make getting near people with Tevinter leanings trickier since they'll assume his allegiance to Riftwatch.

Ultimately, he'll be able to identify the general shape of a potential cabal of upper crust folks with Tevinter connections or general sympathies. Some of them seem like they may really just be cosplaying Tevinter because they like the aesthetic, or pretending at support because they think it makes them scandalous, but it's possible that there may be actual Venatori allies among them. He can bring back a few names particularly worthy of future investigation:

Zuzana Ludis - in the thick of the suspected sympathizers and seems to enjoy riling them up particularly with anti-Orlesian sentiments, but unclear whether she's a genuine believer/enemy agent or just playing a game of some sort. May have money problems.
Abram Vanda - some kind of rich merchant, though nobody seems to know what his business actually is. Has a definite cruel streak.
Maris Iliescu - a cousin of the duke and an officer in Wycome's navy, he's one of Zuzana's lovers, though he's much more into her than she is into him and seems to worry about keeping her interest.
Jeno Kirilis - concierge at one of Wycome's most glittering gaming houses, Kirilis is originally from Tevinter, perfectly placed to track the comings and goings (and winnings and losings, and all sorts of other dirty laundry) of the elite, and seems to have a particularly cordial relationship with Zuzana.

Astarion can bring one other Riftwatch agent with him to assist in this mission. (Yseult will expect that he choose sensibly, someone reasonably suited to the work at hand. If you'd OOCly like to choose someone that he would not pick IC, you can assume they were assigned to it.) This is designed to be a relatively small first-stage investigation to get the lay of the land and bring back some targets for the future. If you'd like to have Astarion potentially continue this investigation deeper, I'm happy to talk about how you might turn this intel into a next-steps plot request. The report is due October 8.

Finally slides back in here 800 years later but I wanted to at least have the mission done (or in this case mostly done) before I came back to talk about furthering this investigation. No rush no hurry, etc, but I absolutely dig the idea of a next steps plot request, so pls tell me what I need to do for that/teach me how, I'm all ears!

also mission report is here fwiw I'll slap info into the wiki later today when I'm not passing out

great! I'll hit you on plurk later to discuss

Player: Oscar
Character: Allumin
Division: ~~None yet~~ Research!!
Assignment: Actual Scouting
OOC Preferences: I'd like him to have something constructive to do that isn't contingent on him being able to use magic (since he hasn't gotten a staff or learned how to use one yet and idk... when that will happen yet.) - also to meet people and form deep bonds of friendship or mutual dislike, who knows. Someone convince Allumin to take an arrow for them challenge. ~~Also someone convince him to formally join Riftwatch challenge.~~
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses:
strengths:
observant, great at taking notes from years of study towards professional scholarhood, can use misty step to zip zap zoop out of trouble real quick or mage hand to attempt to sneakily grab things like letters, books, or like-sized objects, does know how to use a dagger or rapier in combat if necessary, tall (for you know, seeing over things like tall walls or rocks)
weaknesses:
will absolutely bail if he thinks his life is in danger, will not risk his life to help/save someone if he doesn't like or trust them enough, squishy and easily hurt, only offensive spells he can still use are mostly useless, anxious, not great at sneaking (tall, also just inexperienced)

Edited (he's officially joined a division) 2021-08-31 02:47 (UTC)

Player: Teej
Character: Emet-Selch
Division: Research
Assignment: actual scouting!
OOC Preferences: I'm here to have him help contribute to things but I will take opportunities to knock him down a bit as well, given that he's still adjusting to not being overpowered and has to actually be careful about what magic he uses and how. Also info-gathering will definitely be his primary focus! That's the thing he is most interested in, moreso than tracking/fighting them.
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses: A pretty good amount of military/tactical experience that could be useful when it comes to gathering info, a good amount of general experience because he is Extremely Old, he knows how to fight both with and without his magic. On the other hand: these things can make him arrogant, especially when working with others, as mentioned above he is still adjusting to his new limits & can overestimate himself, and he is more used to working alone and/or getting other people to do things for him.

i think i missed this by a couple days i am so sorry BUT we do have it in progress over here; they're going with trying to pick these guys off further outside the village. i don't know yet how exactly that encounter is going to shake out but i didn't want to completely miss reporting back in at all, hopefully this is ok for now!

That's fine, thanks for checking in! If you can get the report in by the end of October, that would be great.

Player: abby
Character: Fitcher
Division: Scouting
Assignment: Either, though she'll complain if she has to sleep on the ground.
OOC Preferences: No strong preferences, but if you want to run her across some Templars or anything that involves awkwardly climbing out of a window and having to make excuses about it I wouldn't say no. Alternatively: anything where Fitcher can kill a man with a crossbow from 300 paces.
Relevant IC Strengths & Weaknesses:
+ Great at schmoozing, has all the requisite cat burglar/doing a murder skills. Weirdly good at killing mages? Wow huh that's strange. Okay at tracking, but more importantly great at finding a tracker to employ.

- Will not ride a griffon unless forced, exposed heights are for chumps who can't figure out how to talk their way up the inside of the castle, an abundance of nature is gross and it should be illegal to go for more than a few days without a warm bed, has a truly awkward series of affiliations with various Chantry figures

Fitcher will be tasked with getting close to retired Knight-Commander Oszkar Hendrik, one of the Margrave's cousins and close advisors. Having retired shortly before the Mage Rebellion, Hendrik has been a member of the Margrave's council for about five years and had been known as even-handed and steady, but has recently become more forceful in his advice to the Margrave and more alarmist and isolationist. (He's not the only force weighing against Ansburg getting involved, but his voice definitely counts for something.) A bachelor in his early 60s, Hendrik could be easily seduced if she chose, and will prove eager to complain about mages, and grudges, and mages unreasonably holding grudges, to a degree that makes pretty clear that he has a problem right now with a mage who is holding something against him. (And him a Templar, inconceivable!)

Snooping will uncover that Hendrik is being blackmailed by one of the rebel mages that defected to Tevinter at the Battle of Ghislain, who claims to have evidence of an affair between her and Hendrik when they were both at the Ansburg circle. An excerpt of an incriminating love letter written by Hendrik has been enclosed (gross). Knowing the Margrave would be appalled to learn of such behavior, Hendrik has caved to the blackmail and changed his stance on Ansburg's involvement in countering the invasion.

How Fitcher chooses to deal with this is up to you—she can attempt to handle the situation in some way, or can just report back about what she's learned and figuring out how to deal with it can be the subject of a subsequent plot (by you or otherwise). She can bring one other Riftwatch agent with her to Ansburg to assist. (If you'd OOCly like to choose someone that he would not pick IC, you can assume they were assigned to it.) The report is due October 8.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

SCOUTING DIVISION ↠ War Table Assignments

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