faderiftooc | FORCES(+MISC) WAR TABLE: FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

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FORCES(+MISC) WAR TABLE: FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

WAR TABLE ASSIGNMENT(s): FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

WHAT: Over the last few years, Riftwatch has made connections or been in contact with a handful of anti-enslavement and reform groups within the Tevinter Imperium. The two most notable of these are currently:

VALERIANTUS' BROKEN BLADES - a network of spies and saboteurs actively operating within notable Imperium households and cities. Primarily composed of currently enslaved and a small number of reform minded citizens, the exact identities and number of which remain a mystery. Operates on a strict policy of 'no one knows everyone', but Ambrose Valeriantus, a Laetan mage, seems to be a key figure in the group. Unfortunately, the group also has ties to Calpernia/The Venatori that need to be discouraged.

THE PEOPLE OF THE SILENT PLAINS - A group made entirely of escaped slaves, mostly elves, who operate out of Southern Tevinter. Historically, they’ve worked to smuggle escapees across the border, but more recently they’ve been branching into assassinating slavers, and have gained a small reputation for ruthlessness. Pretty functional and impactful, considering their small size (no pun intended) and lack of resources; Tertia is a member of the group recently dispatched to Kirkwall to reconnoiter Riftwatch.

In the interest of gaining allies within Tevinter in the fight against Corypheus, Riftwatch will be making efforts to ally more closely to these two factions by assisting them in their work... or by sabotaging key efforts by Venatori-aligned individuals who might be looking to do the same.

HOW: A bunch of interconnected plots! These plots (6 in total) are fleshed out and available to claim and run for the next two plot periods (aka from now through September). The long lead time is an effort to make these accessible to everyone even if you're not ready to play in a plot right this second, and to allow for the opportunity to run interstitial player plots and/or assignments that might further effect the relationship building effort. Basically: someone might decide to claim and run Plot 2 of 6, and runs it 3 weeks from now instead of this weekend. Then, if they (or someone else) wants to do a spin off adventure based on that plot's outcome/themes/whatever, you should have time to squeeze it in before the whole string of six assignments is completed and we're done with recruiting allies among these two factions*.

These assignments will work similar to the Jobs Board. You can claim an available assignment at any point between now and the end of September, but assignments are claimed on a first come first serve basis.

Once you make a claim, I'll give you all the prepared info and/or mechanics to run it like a normal player plot. It will then be your responsibility to assemble a team (if you haven't done so already) and do something with the info provided. If your group doesn't do anything with the plot within 4 weeks or fails to file a report by the listed deadline, no harm no foul—the assignment just reverts back to the pool and is available for someone else to claim and run.

Anything that isn't claimed/run in the available time period will still produce a result, it will just be as if Riftwatch never had the opportunity to intervene/assist. This doesn't necessarily ensure a negative outcome, but since we're the main characters here it probably doesn't produce a very significant one either.

*I'm not the boss and there can be other plots focusing on this theme outside of this time frame; but this is building to AN EVENT IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, and are designed to lead in that direction.

WHO: Everyone! But mostly Forces; see the assignment description table for details.

WHEN: Now through September; the calendar is your oyster.

ASSIGNMENTS BOARD:
The below table gives a rough overview of the plots available to claim. This board includes an assignment description (a short, incomplete summary), tone (intended scope and vibe of the mission; you can ultimately do whatever you want with the info provided, but this should give you an idea of what kind of information I'll be providing to you. If it says 'action adventure', the stuff I have prepared is geared toward facilitating action and not stealthy backroom conversations. You can absolutely still thread the latter rather than the former, you might just have to read between the lines of the info you get to do so), the division requirements (only characters who are in the listed divisions can participate in those assignments), and a suggested character number.

To claim one of these plots, please comment in the appropriate thread below and I'll update this table. See the last assignment, 'SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE', and it's related claim comment in the thread for an example of how this will work.

Description	Tone	Division Req.	Suggested Character #	Claimed?
HIGHWAY ROBBERY: The Broken Blades have asked Riftwatch to waylay the payroll of a dawnstone mining operation in the Hundred Pillars. Riftwatch will be responsible for knocking over the (heavily armored) payroll delivery and making off with the cash before it can reach the mining operation.	Action/adventure; heist; point pool mechanics	Forces	3-6	Brooklyn - link; report due 9/30
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: PERIVANTIUM DRIFT: A clandestine meeting of key members of the Broken Blades is planned to occur in Perivantium following the height of the festivities surrounding the city's annual chariot race. While originally tasked to simply run interference to ensure that the meeting isn't discovered, Riftwatch's members instead must infiltrate and compete in the race themselves in order to ensure that a key member of the Broken Blades survives the race.	Action/adventure; dice roll mechanics	Forces + Scouting	2-4	Ammmy and Lor; report due 9/30
A BITTER PILL: A Laetan mage overseeing the distribution of war loot and captive would-be slaves coming in from the South is secretly a reformed minded abolitionist. Unfortunately, her effort to broker the freedom for many captives is contingent on her relationship with the Venatori as an artifact finder. Riftwatch has learned the time and place of their next meeting and now must intervene to ensure an end to the Venatori acquisition efforts.	~~Sneaky violence; moral quandaries; no fancy mechanics~~	~~Forces~~	~~2-4~~	Saved for Later
DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES: The manifest and schedule of The Ciconia, a merchant ship plying chattel cargo between Carastes and Seheron, has fallen into the People of the Silent Plains' possession by way of one of the slavers they've recently assassinated. They've now tasked Riftwatch with intercepting the Ciconia, seeing the slaves on her freed (and remanded to the People's care), and the ship's crew executed.	~~Action/adventure; moral quandaries; point pool mechanics~~	~~Forces~~	~~3-6~~	Saved for Later
THERE'S NO ETHICAL CONSUMPTION UNDER LATE-STAGE VYRANTIUM: Adelphus Kyrus, an Altus mage who has made his fortune in the slave trade will be traveling overland from Minrathous to Vyrantium for the summer season; the People have asked for Riftwatch to guarantee that Kyrus never makes it to his vacation home. To complicate matters, Kyrus is also a staunch anti-Venatori voice in high-ranking Tevinter circles and killing him may jeopardize the momentum of some anti-Venatori factions in the Magisterium.	(Psychological/Body) Horror; PvP; no fancy mechanics just bad vibes	Forces + Scouting	3-6	Cass - report due 9/30
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: An ex-Templar hiding out in the Rivaini village of Sanavo has volunteered to travel to Tevinter in order to join up with the People of the Silent Plains where he can act as a strategist/milita/anti-mage expert. Riftwatch will be smuggling the ex-Templar, and a pile of supplies to the People, and spend a brief stint in the People's company to relationship build and assist with their efforts on the ground.	Mingle log; choose your own adventure	All Divisions	No Minimum/Maximum	Various - link; report due 9/30

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

To claim an assignment, fill out the form below and reply here.

Player: Abby and Hope
Characters Involved: Flint and Tertia + Whomstever
Character Division: Forces (but it doesn't matter for this plot, per the 'All Divisions' note in the table)
Do you want a thread with Flint about this assignment?: I am Flint
If I don't use the assignment provided within 4 weeks, I'm cool with it going back to the claim pool and if I need an extension I won't be scared to ask for one because we're all friends here and it's not a big deal: Yes, we will give ourselves permission to do this thing.

Thanks for claiming an assignment, Myself! Below you'll find all the details you need to run this:

Here's some information that I haven't actually made up yet oops. Pretend there's like 100-250 words about the mission details, the setting, IC expectations and what might go wrong (or right!)-- basically all the things necessary to write a log about this stuff.

You'll be responsible for assembling your team (please make sure the characters meet the division requirement...which in this case is everyone), and posting the log/threading about it in some fashion, and returning here with a link to that within 4 weeks. You don't have to be done by then, that just lets me know I don't need to re-open the assignment to be claimed by someone else.

Please plan to file a report within 6 weeks of this claim; don't hesitate to reach out if you need an extension.

Edited 2023-06-18 00:45 (UTC)

Player: Brooklyn
Characters Involved: Marcus and I will find some party friends.
Character Division: Forces
Do you want a thread with Flint about this assignment?: Go on then
If I don't use the assignment provided within 4 weeks, I'm cool with it going back to the claim pool and if I need an extension I won't be scared to ask for one because we're all friends here and it's not a big deal: Ya

I'll blow up your inbox for a Marcus n' Flint thread here shortly, but as far as the ooc info dump goes:

At the request of the Broken Blades, Marcus (and company) will be sent to intercept a supply train transporting payroll to a mining operation in the Hundred Pillars. The intelligence available outlines the route the caravan will take, how well defended it's likely to be, an an exceedingly rough estimate of their traveling time table, and a rendezvous point with a Broken Blades agent where the agreement is that the recovered payroll will be divided 50/50 between the Blades and Riftwatch.

Marcus will be responsible for actually figuring out how to locate the caravan on the road, organizing the tactical approach of the assault, making the rendezvous, and transporting Riftwatch's half of the payroll back to Kirkwall. He will have the usual Riftwatch resources at his disposal to do so.

On paper, this all seems very reasonable. In reality, Marcus (and company) must locate a small wagon train across many days worth of road. To make matters more difficult, they'll find themselves beset by unseasonably poor weather. Heavy rain and flash flooding make surveying the craggy landscape challenging, and drastically complicate the travel estimate of the payroll caravan. Is the caravan playing it cautious on the road; or hurrying to keep ahead of the storm? Do Marcus and company miraculously spot the caravan early and get to choose their point of attack, or are they forced to post up in a less than advantageous position late on the route in hopes of guaranteeing that they don't miss the caravan in the heavy weather?

Once they intercept the caravan, they'll find that the payroll is split between two heavily armored wagons. Resistance should be respectable, although it's possible that the caravan has suffered some personnel issues thanks to the miserable turn of the weather. There should however be at least two moderately talented mages to contend with, in addition to various environmental hazards created by the less than ideal weather. OOCly, feel free to use these factors as a viable 'excuse' if it seems like you're not going to get the ideal outcome you're aiming for.

This plot is designed to use a point poll system, the spreadsheet for which can be found HERE. The point collection period starts whenever the log (or whatever) goes up, and should end in time for you to collect the mission results and file your report no later than four weeks after the assignment starts. While the mission info is action oriented, the bonus point pool is designed to be flexible and reward downtime threads as much as action adventure. Please write whatever you feel like in relation to the mission, be it the actual assault or getting caught in a downpour and having to cuddle for warmth, and feel free to make up NPCs among the caravan guards for your purposes. They're fairly normal mercenary, guards-for-hire types and not in any way associated with the Venatori (although some may be adamant supporters of the war).

THINGS I (EVENTUALLY) NEED FROM YOU:

Assemble your party. Please make sure all participants are members of Forces division. I recommend a minimum of 3 PCs (including Marcus) and a max of 6, but feel free to wiggle these numbers if it seems more fun to do so.
Start the thing; you have 4 weeks from today to get the ball rolling on this. Please come back here and provide a link once that happens. Otherwise, this will go back on the market to be claimed by someone else (and we'll just pretend whatever thread we do with Flint and Marcus was for something else/never happened/we can cross that bridge if we get to it).
File a report no later than 4 weeks after that, meaning that at the maximum there should be a report filed for this 8 weeks from now (unless you request an extension).
If Marcus and company successfully make off with the payroll, but fail to rendezvous with the Broken Blades agent then please include in your report what they did with the payroll cache. Feel free to get creative with this.

If you have any questions, need additional info, or need to file an extension then don't hesitate to hit me up.

The It's happening! link.

A+ ty for the link!

Edited (maybe not my most miserable icon) 2023-07-18 17:41 (UTC)

Just checking in since today is theoretically report deadline day, but I know that death plot has eaten a up a lot of tag time - did y'all want an extension? If so, let me know what you're aiming at for the revised report date.

Yes please, will return here by at least tomorrow with a date!

Np np!

If we may have two (2) more weeks for results/report fileage that'd be grand. I am aiming to get it done before, but, at a maximum.

Hey! Since I ended up swapping the organization of these plots around midstream and just doing signups/jamming in end of cycle report dates, go ahead and take until 9/30 to file the report. (This makes it easier on me so I don't have to track multiple deadlines/hassle anyone unnecessarily for their fantasy paperwork.)

Thank you though for volunteering to organize and run this/indulging my attempt to get weird with plot structure. I appreciate you!

Hi it's me again, your resident annoying fantasy paperwork wrangler.

Because I'm trying to make sure I don't lose sight of these plots in my next set (or so) or war table assignments—

Let me know if y'all want to:

Get an extension. No harm, no foul. If so, let me know what is a realistic due date for reporting so I can update my dorky tracking system. If possible to get the report by early November before mod hiatus starts so I can include the results in my next stage of plotting submissions, awesome. But if that's not realistic, then I can kick my own can down the road to January.

Stick by the original due date(ish) and get a handwaved report in sometime this week. If your plot had special mechanical elements involved that made it difficult to get off the ground and you don't want to say it was a total wash because arbitrary ooc boxes weren't checked, let's chat about what we think is the most fun middle ground result between total success and total failure (and if you have feedback on anything - would love to get it). If no report is filed by the end of the week, I'll assume we're retconning this assignment/any associated threads and either recycle the plot for later, or make a note that it was resolved without Riftwatch's assistance.

Thank you!

Because I didn't actually end up doing anything with this before winter break...... checking in one more time sorry. Let me know if you'd like to:

- Handwave a resolution and/or backtag a log for this; please file your report by no later than 1/31 so that I can work the results into the assignments to be published in February. IMO, the Flint+Marcus thread we inboxed is a more than acceptable 'I got this on paper' proof that this job was done. The point system mechanic is really just there to make logging action less tedious, and not a requirement for mission success.
- Retcon the mission (and its related threads), so that I can recycle or re-work the assignment for redistribution.

If I don't hear back or see a report by 1/31, I'll assume we're retconning this assignment and that it's good to go for rework and redistribution in the future.

Edited (NOT the overly dramatic default icon) 2024-01-19 20:39 (UTC)

Player: Cass
Characters Involved: Yseult + TBD
Character Division: Scouting
Do you want a thread with Flint about this assignment?: Already am
If I don't use the assignment provided within 4 weeks, I'm cool with it going back to the claim pool and if I need an extension I won't be scared to ask for one because we're all friends here and it's not a big deal: Yep

Grudgingly scratches 'force Cass into another thread with me depsite us having plans for like ten things already' off my to do list.

At the request of the People of the Silent Plains, Yseult (and company) will move to intercept Adelphus Kyrus en route to his Vyrantium summer home. The intelligence provided by the People of the Silent Plains has a very rough sketch of his traveling companions, and news that he will be stopping en route to Vyrantium in the coastal town of Thyrale. Thyrale is famous for its salt tide pools, its abundance of delicious food, and it's interesting coastal rock formations; and while Kyrus and his company are likely to be the definition of vigilance while traveling on the road, it's probable that his guard will be down while loitering in tide pool salt baths, eating his way through the local marine life, and suffering a daily massage.

The People have arranged for Riftwatch to make contact with one of the many enslaved members of Thyrale's Servus Publicus—a state owned slave—who will assist in smuggling the members of Riftwatch into the palatial proto-resort where Kyrus is staying under the guise of being fellow enslaved. This will require having the left ear pierced with a black stud (though, as with any pierced ear, if you get done with the mission and decide you don't want to be rocking an earring anymore then removing the stud will see the hole eventually close).

Once inside, Riftwatch is on its own to figure out how to get to Kyrus (who is very much an older, spry statesman type). Feel free to make up the Minrathous friends he's traveling with, how he spends his time, and the degree to which he's solitary. Notable companions include: a grizzled bodyguard, and a handsome woman named Cyrene who is respectably close to Kyrus' own age. Getting to Kyrus can be as difficult or as simple as you want, with the acknowledgement that you're in Tevinter and there may be some magical security measures in place to make things like sneaking through bedroom windows more complicated.

The important part is: at some point Riftwatch will be forced to grapple with Kyrus' lady companion who turns out to be his actual bodyguard. Using magic, Cyrene will take bodily control of various members of the party and turn them against one another. She can only fully control half the party at once (so if 4 people go, 2 will be subject to her control; if 6 Riftwatchers go to kill Kyrus, 3 will be), but can change who she's controlling with some alacrity. Line of sight isn't strictly necessary, but it does help and there's a range at which her ability to manipulate a body will fail. Being controlled by Kyrus' companion doesn't have any mind-altering effects; the subject is locked in while their body goes about attempting to murder their colleagues, intervening in the assassination attempt, etc.

While getting past Cyrene is the biggest obstacle, Kyrus is an able mage in his own right. That said, his talents are ward- and creation- based, so knocking out his offensive companion somewhat trivializes him if it does come down to a fight with both of them—which ideally, it doesn't! Since Riftwatch needs to skedaddle safely away after.

This plot doesn't require any fancy mechanics or spreadsheets, but if you do want to use dice to help with guiding the mage-controlled hostage situation then feel free to use as much or as little of the following as you like:

Puppetmaster - Establish Control: Roll a d20; 1-15, Cyrene successfully takes control of the most nearest person; 16-19, Cyrene successfully takes control of someone else; 20, Cyrene fails to take control of any additional party members, or (if she's at her max # of puppets) her control over a previously puppeted victim fails.

Maintaining Control: Once control has been established (up to half the party), roll an even-numbered die. On an even number, Cyrene swaps control to another person; on an odd number, she maintains her current selection(s).
Actions: If your character is currently being puppeted, roll a d20. 1-15, take an offensive action against a fellow Riftwatcher; 16-20, defend Cyrene from harm.

THINGS I (EVENTUALLY) NEED FROM YOU:

Assemble your party. Please make sure all participants are members of Forces or Scouting division. I recommend a minimum of 3 PCs (including Yseult) and a max of 6, but feel free to wiggle these numbers if it seems more fun to do so.
Start the thing; you have 4 weeks from today to get the ball rolling on this. Please come back here and provide a link once that happens. Otherwise, this will go back on the market to be claimed by someone else.
File a report no later than 4 weeks after this starts, meaning that at the maximum there should be a report filed for this 8 weeks from now (unless you request an extension).

If you have any questions, need additional info, or need to file an extension then don't hesitate to hit me up.

Hey! Just checking in since today is theoretically the 'proof I'm doing something with this' deadline day. But I know that there's a lot going on - did you want an extension? If so, let me know what day you're aiming for and I'll update my dorky check in calendar.

Yes, please. I held off given death distractions IC and OOC happening immediately after getting this, but as soon as that's dying down (no pun intended? I guess??) I plan to get this rolling. I'm not totally sure what MJ's timetable is but I assume a week or two?

Bangs gavel on 2 weeks. No worries/I totally get it. I'll make a note to check back in if we're still reveling in being not dead by then.

Extension, please. I want to do this soon but feel obligated to get my very late plot-running done before I can do any plot-playing of my own. I am hoping to get everything rolling again within the next week.

👍👍 Dorky tracking system: updated.

Let me know if anything changes/I can help with anything.

Hey there! Following up on this. Let me know if you would like to:

- Handwave a resolution and/or backtag a log for this; please file your report by no later than 1/31 so that I can work the results into the assignments to be published in February.
- Retcon the mission, so that I can recycle or re-work it for redistribution.

If I don't hear back or see a report by 1/31, I'll assume we're retconning this assignment and that it's good to go for rework and redistribution in the future.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

FORCES(+MISC) WAR TABLE: FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES

CLAIMS

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highway robbery.

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ethical assassination under late stage magisterium

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