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faderiftooc2023-03-24 06:02 pm
cozen) wrote in faderiftooc2023-03-24 06:02 pm
Entry tags:
WAR TABLE: Landsmeet!
ASSIGNMENT: Landsmeet!
WHO: Anyone with relevant skills (diplomacy and sneaking). Maximum five participants. Diplomacy Division and Jeshavis members get preference if there are more sign-ups than slots.
WHAT: Queen Anora has been under pressure for some time to marry, and Riftwatch has previously acquired evidence–via semi-prophetic dreams, nothing they can actually tell her about–that her chosen husband, whoever he is, may be allied with the Venatori. She seems likely to come to a decision after the upcoming Landsmeet, so Riftwatch is heading in to acquire solid proof of which of these would-be prince-consorts–who include a charming Rivaini, a familiar Fereldan, a pious Ostwickian, a too-clever Orlesian, and one of Byerly's awful relatives–is secretly in league with the enemy.
WHEN: Sign up by March 28, and we'll distribute information and put up the discussion log on March 29! (And huge apologies to Hope because we were supposed to do this in, like, December, and I have been MIA.)
WHERE: Denerim.
HOW: Participants will each be given one or more candidates to investigate–some by sneaking around sneakily, some by talking, etc. You'll get a write up of what your character will find out, including one or more choices they'll have to make along the way that might have fallout for them later. You'll be entirely welcome to pair up and RP the investigations or general hobnobbing/Denerim tourism if you choose to do so, but you can also handwave it; the required log will be everyone reporting back about what happened and deciding which of these potentially evil men deserves to be the focus of final bout of investigation to confirm their suspicions. If that log hits a minimum number of tags, the team will have a bonus diplomatic achievement on top of just averting disaster.
no subject
Prior knowledge: He was a prominent suitor and the only one that Anora seemed to actually like a couple years ago (we did some news about them seemingly getting closer back in 9:44 that's on the Ferelden page in the wiki). Anora liked him but he's a fair bit younger than her and the court didn't think Rivain's was that useful an ally so it ended up breaking down at the time. Kind, well read, an accomplished naval captain, would be a responsible and interested administrator, asset in terms of military policy and has some reasonably progressive economic ideas.)
Further investigation: The Queen of Rivain's baby brother is easy to find; he's a friendly man (with an enormous smile), and joining him for a drink a round of cards at the Gnawed Noble is a simple matter of showing up and saying hello. Any conversations there happen within earshot of his various companions, including an obvious sword-wielding bodyguard and a less obvious unmarked mage bodyguard. He comes across as well-read and kind, and he genuinely admires Queen Anora with the sort of respectful glow that could turn into love instead of a purely political marriage with some time and privacy.
Finding anything disparaging at all requires you to follow him more discreetly (and dangerously) to hide in his rooms or nearby in order to eavesdrop on his conversations with his mage companion. They can be overheard in a heated conversation about whether or not João should tell Anora something. The details will be difficult to pick out, as they alternate Trade and Rivaini–but you will be able to discern that João has a young bastard son with Bella Avonal, a notorious smuggler who's been a problem for Rivain, Ferelden, and most everyone else in the past. João's sister has forbidden him from acknowledging this, but he's supporting the child under the table and constantly on the verge of being discovered. He's very sad about not being able to be a proper dad. He also wants to tell Anora, to get ahead of any scandal that might result if it surfaces later and maybe open up the possibility of connecting openly with his kid, but his companion is extremely opposed and would obviously narc to João's sister if he did.
Unfortunately, at this point–through coincidence entirely out of your control, like a young couple stumbling in to try to use his hiding place as a hook-up location and making such a commotion that the prince's people come out–you will be discovered. Fortunately João is way too nice to let his bodyguards kill you. Really, he seems sort of relieved to have had something happen to break his deadlock with his bodyguard. You have a choice:
a. Promise not to tell anyone.
b. Promise not to tell anyone but say he ought to tell the Queen.
c. Say you're definitely going to tell.
d. Say you're not going to tell now but whether or not you continue not to tell will depend on Rivain's cooperation in Riftwatch's future endeavors.
If a: He'll seem grateful, though oddly resigned. He'll ask what it was you were trying to find out, if not that. If you spin a story, great! He'll let you go. If you confess you're trying to identify a Venatori among Anora's suitors, he'll first think it's very funny that he's a suspect, then get more serious and try to provide some information about the other candidates, unfortunately none of which will be helpful or anything Riftwatch didn't already know.
If b: He'll agree he ought to, and it will seem to be the last boost of courage he needs to go against his sister's orders and tell Queen Anora everything. (Of course, as with Option A, he'll still want to know what the heck you were doing.) His bodyguard, however, will be furious, and will follow you out of the tavern to berate you for meddling and threaten to make your life difficult in the future.
If c: He'll authorize his bodyguard to bribe you with whatever sum of money they have on hand, though he'll seem very unenthusiastic and not particularly concerned about whether or not it works. His bodyguard will pay you…. some number of coins, equivalent to a months' pay with Riftwatch, and say you can come back and triple it if no one has found out about the child by the time the Queen makes her decision.
If d: João will seem very unimpressed with you and leave discussing that any further to his bodyguard, who will start off by threatening to squash you like a bug (with magic) but simmer down into some actual conversation. He'll say that the Queen would not go along with any agreement made under duress, so she can't be blackmailed, but João could likely be persuaded to put in a good word for them at some point if they needed it.
Additional Notes: The choices and outcomes described can be taken exactly as they are or used more as guidelines for the Realm of Possibilities. You're free to combine the potential outcomes–start with A before going with B instead, etc.–or personalize them a bit depending on your character's behavior/rapport with the target. If you want to instead do something that's utterly unaccounted for here (like headbutting your target and running away), drop us a note and we'll give you further info.
We're going to put up a log shortly. The only required thread in that log will be everyone meeting to discuss what they've learned about their targets and to decide which of these men is the likely Venatori, as well as what to do about the information they've learned about everyone else. If we hit a minimum of 20 tags in that long (amongst all of us, not each) the team will also get to say they were sufficiently charming to earn Riftwatch some good deals on a few Fereldan exports and permission to occupy or otherwise use a small fortress on Brandel's Reach, if they can evict the raiders currently living there.
You'll also be able to RP other aspects of visiting Denerim and hanging out on the edges of the Landsmeet, if you want to do so! But that's optional.
no subject
However, he will also be sliding a request for Bella Avonal's phone number in there too /bats lashes.
no subject
For the second, he'll laugh again and say he's barely able to keep track of her himself, but she's frequently in Afsaana when she isn't at sea. (Though it is important to know OOC, and perhaps easy to assume IC, that this isn't where she is most frequently when ashore; she's most frequently with their kid, and João isn't giving up that location.)