The provincial capitals have major blood depots, and smaller stashes are kept in major district centers. Yes, these will be key targets in Game 2 and Game 3.
Only the Thaumatarch has the knowledge and capacity to sustain the simultaneous Changes that give ultra-speed plus holding your body together as you run around at those speeds and quickening your perceptual clock enough to make use of that speed. Other extremely powerful Theurges can accelerate their reflexes and perception to the point where they can e.g. knock arrows from the air, but they couldn’t run around while they’re doing it.
When Theurgically hardened weapons/talons meet similarly enhanced armor, the outcome depends on the effectiveness of each crafter’s work. Different Abhumans would take different animal armor as prototypical.
I think @idonotlikeusernames and other fans have over-egged this particular pudding a bit. The Laconniers are crazy about one bloodline – the royal one. That one, they believe, needs to be passed down by actual blood descent from the chosen monarchs of old. For noble houses, on the other hand, they’re perfectly happy to follow the Hegemonic cultural mainstream which accepts adoption etc. (Though that mainstream does not legitimate polyamory – the myth of the “other half” is a strongly monogamous one.)
Also, I don’t think I’ve ever said that Abelard or his family thought that he was the heir of the lost Laconnier prince. Don’t assume that he’s the one who will end up as monarch. If he doesn’t claim that role, there would be no problem for a childless relationship. Halassur rather than the Laconniers is the culture where reproduction is necessary even for people not normally inclined that way, and Erjan will be a source of information on some of the ways that works (or doesn’t).
The Leaguers do indeed include more and less oligarchic perspectives, though even the less-oligarchic ones would not readily accept helots as equals. You’ll have to wait and see which way Teren leans.
Marrying the Diadoch/e will definitely alienate a huge number of your followers, however you try to justify it; you would be trading much of whatever you’ve built up on your own for influence on Phaedrx’s faction. And don’t assume that Sarcifer and Phaedrx are part of the same faction. I won’t be sharing numbers, or details of what will be thinkable/possible for Sarcifer and Phaedrx to agree to.
Abhuman relationships may be monogamous or open, and last as long as the members want them to.
However you like!
We’ll see. Yes, the Keriatou are Laconniers.
The Archimandrite would consider the Inner Voice to be wildly heretical. He believes in the need for a centralized social order. Within his worldview, compassion is a genuinely Xthonic virtue that needs to be accommodated despite the potential threats it poses to social order; individualistic “prophecy” is not.
I agree that pragmatic unity between people from different belief systems (or uniting them against a common enemy) is more likely to be effective.
“Braintrust” was actually used in its normal metaphorical sense, and so is “crackup” – which is not to deny that there might be seismic problems resulting from mountains being dropped on things.
It is strongly discouraged, and requires proof of some fault sufficient to justify dissolution of the marriage. A divorce brings stigma, though some of the most powerful houses are able to shrug it off.
@DariaRF thanks so much for the amazing map! To add information you’d not had access to: the Southriding is rather smaller than shown here – Corlune is actually the port (and regional capital) of the Westriding, which includes a narrow strip on the west bank of the river and rather more of the plains to the east. The Coast region extends further west than shown, and borders on the Westriding rather than the Southriding.
The total amount of land under cultivation in Shayard is another of those numbers still in potential flux – sorry!
I quite frankly still don’t see how that would even be possible with a helot mc, as the mc would in that case not even be human to them.
Though the onus mostly falls on the women. The men can, if necessary “fire and forget”, particularly if the resulting kid is intended as a blood sacrifice anyway. No need to be a father to them then and for gay men also no need to develop anything more than a business relationship with the mother.
If Calea can do it, someone with a thing for nippletwisting could.
More seriously, there are plenty of nobles who, to a greater or lesser extent, are willing to bend or abandon the rules even if what they’re doing amounts to bestiality. Simon, for example, is a potential marriage candidate even for a helot despite the fact that he doesn’t at all know how to make it work.
Simon/Suzanne is also a pink unicorn and seemingly sincere. The Diadoch…not even a born noble would ever be viewed as a true equal…a helot would be a mere plaything to be slow harrowed the second he grows bored.
Oh, and @DariaRF, one more thought on the map – if you add “Rimmersford” at the juncture of the two rivers in the Rim, then all of the regional capitals will be on there. (Rim Square is just the district seat of the Outer Rim.)
We’ll see. I’m not 100% sure how the character will develop. Maybe, if you succeed in making a different enough world, they’ll find their perspective shifting.
Good to know, thanks! Here’s another follow-up question, by the way.
Will the following trickery-related options be available in Game 2 and 3’s respective blood depot heists?
Option 1: MC and his G2-trained Theurgic students impersonate a band of low-tier/middlemen Hegemony Theurges (after mugging the actual Theurges in a dark alley and then stealing their clothes/accessories) to make periodic (and seemingly innocent/routine) withdrawals from the blood depots (under the guise of “business as usual”).
Or is the Hegemony cautious/advanced enough to have already developed their very own “biometrics”-inspired security system?
Option 2: Instead of spending lives trying to seize well-defended depots through conventional raids, what if MC orchestrates circumstances that trick the blood depot quartermasters into thinking that the current blood depots are no longer secure? (and then chooses to raid the phials while they’re in transit?)
The Thaumatarch is definitely sounds like an intimidating, epic archnemesis to attempt taking down in a duel, but for the more pragmatic MCs, can he be anti-climatically eliminated through more non-conventional “off-the-battlefield” means?
Or will he always show up in every MC’s Siege of Aekos playthrough? (regardless of any MC attempt to kill him off sooner)
I see. And will dragon scale armor, wings, and fire-breathing be customizable options for an INT MC who later chooses to undergo auto-Plektosis?
How expensive (in terms of blood) would such changes be for our MC?
Quoting what you said back in Feb 2019, I am likewise impressed by “how much animosity @idonotlikeusernames has managed to build up toward this mystery faction about which almost nothing is actually known in-game ”.
(also, it’s been so much fun positioning my opportunistic “Laconnier ally (or usurper)” MC as the foil to @idonotlikeusernames’ idealized helot MC)
And speaking of puddings, on a very separate (and delicious) side note, the Hong Kong egg tart is a wonderful custard/pastry worth recommending.
Regarding the whole “save or sell out Nyryal” dilemma of later games, might it also be possible to take a third option here? (e.g. first secretly evacuate all of (or most of) Nyryal’s citizens, and then while the Halassurqs are preoccupied/getting settled in with their new Nyryal living quarters, MC and his army/allies then proceed to encircle, ambush, and firebomb the Halassurqs)
Do the Laconniers happen to have any mythical form of DNA/blood tests yet (at the time of the present day plot)?
I’m going to imagine that the current answer is “no”, since such an obstacle would immediately ruin a “helot MC disguises themself as an aristo” playthrough of G2, correct?
Ah, quite the intriguing clarification; thanks! So does this mean that the current generation of Laconniers are still on the lookout for the “elusive royal Shayardene heir” by the time of G2? (instead of having already selected a candidate of their own liking)
My MC will look forward to auditioning for such a “talent show.”
(or instead looking forward to extracting concessions from an ambitious aristo who needs my help rigging that contest’s outcome)
Could MC marketing his faction as LGBTQ-friendly be a good selling point for attracting Halassurq defectors to his cause? (particularly those who are going through the motions, chafing under the rules of forced heterosexuality, and are thus looking for a way out)
And building off of my earlier (and now recently-revealed-to-be-impractical) suggestion to mold Erjan into a prospective puppet emperor of Halassur, I’d now like to revise the scope of the suggestion into something smaller (and hopefully more reasonable):
What if, similar to my earlier-stated theory about the Laconniers hijacking the Kryptasts, MC likewise sought to co-opt the majority (or entirety) of the Halassurq intelligence network into his faction? (with Erjan and/or Carles serving as MC’s primary double agent)
I remember an earlier post saying that Erjan is especially friendly to MCs who are cosmopolitan, devout, and aristo; so maybe that build would likewise have the best chance of encouraging his defection?
Alternatively, if Erjan is deemed to be too loyal to Halassur (or is instead treacherous enough to attempt profiting from working for both sides, aka Halassur and me), maybe it would be easier to instead appeal to Carles (who perhaps still feels indebted to helot MC for having his life saved by MC during G1’s jongler backstory)?
An unfortunate obstacle, but not an insurmountable one (in the eyes of my determined MCs); if my MC could already persuade Simon/Suzanne to tone down their stance on nobility’s rights, then perhaps there is still hope.
@Ramidel’s earlier argument (about the yeomen and helots feeling more willing to accept aristo rule (in place of the Hegemony) if all their essential needs (including their basic rights/dignity) were met) still feels very compelling and applicable here.
And @Havenstone, what are your thoughts on the effectiveness of @Ramidel’s previous Nov 2017 suggestion:
To have MC reform the post-Hegemony caste system to include some limited amount of social mobility (e.g. promote the highest performing (and most cooperative/trustworthy) helots, e.g. Elery, to the aristocracy, so that we have “an escape valve that keeps the caste system from becoming a pressure cooker”)
And on another note, Simon/Suzanne mentioned having an older sister that they admire (per the backstory that MC learned about during the “attack the wealth of the Keriatous” subplot); can that older de Firiac sister be interacted with during later games?
(e.g. socializing with the Laconniers and/or Leaguers during G2, or perhaps she unfortunately starts out as one of the Hegemony loyalist aristos, prior to having her mind changed by her younger sibling)
And would an MC who’s seeking to formally court Simon/Suzanne need to win over the unnamed older sister’s approval? (assuming that Simon/Suzanne’s parents aren’t present in Grand Shayard during G2)
So then would it be more practical (and less costly/controversial) for MC to instead settle for a simpler, platonic alliance (or at least, a truce/ceasefire/nonaggression pact) with Phaedrx?
Or is any form of tolerance/cooperation/coexistence (no matter how small) with Phaedrx’s faction automatically a dealbreaker in the eyes of MC’s earlier followers/rebellion co-founders?
Quick other question: if MC’s early game love interest ends up dead, and then MC later remarries/“rebounds” to a new partner (or stubbornly stays forever single/widowed), will there be dialogue options/opportunities for MC to privately (or publicly) express their lingering grief for the lost love interest?
(especially if the lingering grief becomes the motivating factor that twists MC from meek pacifist into a single-minded, ruthless avenger)
Considering that Phaedrx was previously described as Sarcifer’s apprentice, that was how I previously came to (mistakenly) assume their shared allegiance.
Does this mean there’s some sort of backstabby, Sith Lord-inspired master-apprentice shenanigans between Sarcifer and Phaedrx to look forward too?
If so, I’m now feeling (even more) excited!
And will Aristo MC’s potential past romance with Hector have any relevance on how MC can approach their relationship with the Laconniers? (e.g. (still smitten) Hector vouches for his cousin, leading to a head start reputation boost with the Laconniers)
Similar to how the Leaguers can still have a “positive (but slightly uneasy) relationship” with a Homelander MC, can a similar description be applied to the hypothetical relationship between the Laconniers and a Cosmo MC?
The Laconnier’s devotion to (their perceived version of) Shayardene tradition and certain “Hegemonic cultural mainstream” aspects suggests a potential flexibility to start tilting towards a cosmopolitan direction, correct?
And does MC throwing in their lot with either the Leaguers or Laconniers “hard-lock” their G3-G5 approach? (over which places MC personally visits vs. instead sending deputies/ambassadors)
Or, will it be possible for MC to make a valid argument for the “counterintuitive approach”?
(As an example, why MC would like to prioritize focusing on Shayard, despite signing up with Leaguers)
“The other provinces that we want to band together with won’t take Shayard’s leadership seriously, if we can’t even secure our own affairs/stability. We first have to prove ourselves faithful with the little things, before the people of other provinces can trust us with the larger things.”
(Another example, why MC would like to prioritize Hegemony-wide diplomacy (over consolidating Shayard), despite signing up with the Laconniers)
“It’s frankly obvious that Halassur intends to backstab us in the long run (once Shayard is deemed to have outlived its usefulness), so perhaps it would be prudent to expand Shayard from mere kingdom into a truly formidable (and large enough) empire that can compete with (and deter) Halassur.”
OR
“The other provinces will be more likely to stay loyal to/content with a Shayardene royal family who can demonstrate (and provide) fair opportunities of prosperity/stability for people of all cultures/beliefs.”
Speaking of a centralized social order, how does an Archimandrite rise to become an Archimandrite in the first place?
Similar to the Syntechnia, does the Xthonic priesthood have a similar “internal promotion structure which (in a nutshell) relies on proving your reliability to the people in the level above you and contributing a certain amount of wealth/tithe to the common purse”?
And might there be some sort of Vatican-inspired election involved here? (with the Ecclesiasts/“College of Cardinals” being the ones who vote for the Archimandrite)
Really looking forward to blood depot heists as well as hopefully being able to take over organised crime in the cities to fund the rebellion. Plus that feels like an area a ruthless MC could really shine especially one who already set up protection rackets on the merchants.
“The Diadoch” is what Shayardenes call the heir to the Hegemony regardless of gender. The more proper Karagond version would be Diadochos Phaedros, Diadoche Phaedra, or Diadochon Phaedron.
I haven’t written any heists yet, so I can’t tell you. You’d definitely need more than a mugged Theurge’s clothes to get blood out of a bank.
If you specialize in INT, you’ll be as powerful as the average Ennearch by the end of Game 4. But even you plus Sarcifer plus a couple of other equivalent magi wouldn’t be able to take down the Thaumatarch. The “duel” option is just not going to be on the table, I’m afraid. He will always be there at the Siege of Aekos.
Fire-breathing is totally off the table for auto-Plektosis, and wings are pretty questionable. Sorry for all would-be dragons out there.
There will be a bunch of options. You can sell out Nyryal to the Halassurqs, or try to bring it under your own domain, or help it defend its independence, or abandon it and just try to keep any refugees from causing too much trouble on your side of the border.
But evacuating a nation the size of Peru will not be an option. Even evacuating the capital of Nyrnakan, while possible, would be a very tall order. The urban Nyr haven’t been pastoralists for a long time.
The Laconniers don’t have Theurges, and regardless you’re not aware of any Theurgy that would confirm someone’s ancestry. You’ll have the chance in Game 2 to try to figure out how the Laconniers do try to keep track of the key genealogy.
You can definitely attract some defectors by challenging the stifling gender norms of Halassur. But there will always be malcontents willing to defect, and they rarely are enough to tilt the balance of power. You’re not going to be in a place to coopt the whole Halassurq intel network – that’s an overambitious goal for a country at war with your own, when you’re simultaneously trying to overthrow your own country’s government.
In Shayard, the more you break down the social order, the more options you’ll have for promoting social mobility. There was significantly more social mobility in post-1979 Afghanistan than pre-1979, for example.
I’m afraid if you get the whole de Firiac story, they confirm that their sister was killed in a duel.
Any alliance of any kind with Phaedrx will be a deal-breaker for lots of your followers.
Calea would have something caustic to say about the likelihood of this outcome.
The Leaguers are soft nationalists as well as cosmopolitans; many of them like Horion think Shayard would play a special/leading role in the post-Hegemonic koinon. The Laconniers are hard nationalists, angry about the watering down of true Shayardene identity by the invaders’ culture. They will not have the same kind of relationship with a Cosmo MC that the Leaguers can have with a Homelander one.
Not at all – you’re quite right that an MC who leans one way may have good reasons to personally visit the “counter intuitive” territory in G3-5.
Selection by the existing Archimandrites from the upper echelons of the clergy. So yes, a bit like a College of Cardinals, but without any papal election equivalent – the Thaumatarch heads the faith, most definitely without elections.
There’s nothing resembling a “thieves’ guild,” but some forms of organized crime go on among both drudges and merchants, and you’ll be able to engage with that in Game 2. (As well as with smugglers and pirates if you spend time with the foreigners.)
Alya would like to remind all of her beloved comrades that a revolution never ends in a bloody purge of radical elements who won’t get with the program.
I’m looking forward to reforming the Hegemony with me and the Diadoch at the end, and potentially alienating all my followers in the process like a (hopefully far less bloody) Napoleon.
Goes well with a cosmo MC who isn’t very Shayardene nationalist. But I imagine it’ll make a lot of fierce enemies, not least the Laconnier and Leaguer factions but also within our own movements.
We don’t even know in what way the Diadoch wants to reform the Hegemony. It most likely going to involve keeping the helots around where they are right now so it’s not a path that I’m going to consider.
Ah, duly noted.
However, new random followup suggestion: in addition to a mugged Theurge’s clothes, what if the following, below-listed factors came into play?
#1: If my MC recruited Bleys (a Telones with considerable experience navigating the Hegemony’s bureaucracy), could Bleys be able to educate MC’s infiltrators? (so they could “talk the talk” more convincingly, if questioned by genuine Hegemony officials)
#2: And last I remembered, Cerlotta (if ideologically aligned with MC) seems very willing to train MC’s new generation of Theurges; what better candidates for impersonating Theurges than people who are diligently studying to become actual Theurges?
For INT-specializing MC’s who chose to ignore (or outright shun) Theurgy, what are their alternative payoffs/fields of expertise?
Engineering? Medicine? Cryptography? Some other entirely different major/subject?
(Definitely not forgery/musical talent, per past discussions )
Might @idonotlikeusernames’ dreams of a modernized air-rifle regiment someday come true in a later XoR game?
When it comes to Theurges, what exactly is the Hegemony’s hierarchy?
Per what I currently understand…
Regular unranked Theurge < Average Ennearch/“One of the Nine” < Thaumatarch
Is it limited to just those three tiers, or are there other ranks to consider?
And if Shayardene Wisards supplant (or at least rival) Karagond Theurges as the magical military power of the continent, is there a previously established/known Shayardene Wisard hierarchy for MC to rely on? (or will he instead have to start from scratch or copy the Hegemony’s homework, merely replacing the Koine titles with Shayardene ones?)
So instead of MC relying on the Theurgic prowess of himself and his faction’s top elites/allies, will the ability to beat Kleitos instead depend on MC’s accumulated “blood, food, textiles, precious metals, and other resources”? (and MC’s potential market manipulations of other faction’s access to those resources)
And if Kleitos is super-dependent on Talismans, might stealing several (or even merely one) Talisman be enough to disrupt his power (thus evening the odds)? If so, we’ve got a reason to plot (yet another) great heist here.
You didn’t say no to scale armor, so I’m happy to feel excited about the (now implied to be very plausible) consolation prize.
Building off of my earlier suggestion (about Alaine Leybridge being MC’s potential G4 ambassador to Nyryal), is Alaine Leybridge (by the time of G4) respected/trusted enough by Nyr’s citizens to become… #1: MC’s potentially appointed “Imperial Governor”? (if MC’s faction is an aspiring Shayardene Empire) #2: or MC’s fellow Oligarch? (if MC aims to instead establish a Koinon)
Or, is Alaine too invested in her current merchant endeavors to ever consider becoming a politician?
Reluctantly, I will also admit that perhaps the “governor or oligarch?” sales pitch might be better aimed at Nyryal’s existing leadership (instead of naively expecting them to meekly accept, “Okay, I guess we’re taking orders from Alaine now?”)
My Devout MC is worried about the Nyrs becoming (eventual) targets of discrimination/violence (from the more hawkish/hardline Xthonists).
How expensive/difficult will it be for a Devout Xthonist MC to peacefully welcome the Nyrs (as a whole) as loyal citizens (or cooperative foreign allies) of MC’s theocracy?
Can future Xthonist-Kenonist tensions be resolved (or at least mitigated) by the exact same “pragmatic unity” argument? (that we previously discussed with regards to Xthonists and Abhumans)
Or does the Kenonist’s lack of faith (in any deity) make them even less tolerable than the Abhumans? (in the eyes of the hardline Xthonists)
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that a Skeptical MC’s band can get literacy bonuses from his Nyrish skeptic newcomers; perhaps the urban Nyr could find new purpose/employment as MC’s bureaucrats, clerks, scientists, and researchers?
And another quick question/FYI, while we’re still on the topic of provinces, what are Erezza’s most famed nationwide niches/unique trait(s)?
Unless I’m mistaken, I vaguely remember Carles rambling/singing something about “Erezza and their games of political intrigue”.
What would a Erreziano (such as Cerlota) market as Erezza’s most shining points? (as a province/culture)
And might Cerlota be interested in becoming Governor/Archon of an Erezza (that’s part of MC’s post-Hegemony world order), or would the busy life of politics get in the way of her dreams of a simpler life of teaching/studying Theurgy?
If evacuating the entirety of Nyr’s population is not feasible, I will reduce my scope accordingly.
Would at least saving/evacuating Nyrnakan’s leaders (and their closest friends/family members) to MC’s side of the border qualify as a sign of good faith?
(thus, presumably giving MC more leeway/goodwill during post-battle negotiations (about possibly joining his faction, or at least form/reaffirm economic ties), after MC (and his army) presumably kicks Halassur’s ass?)
And for the Nyrish civilians who can’t (or stubbornly won’t) evacuate, can they be trained by MC’s forces into becoming makeshift militia/reinforcements on short notice?
(or perhaps might it be more practical to instead wield Nyryal’s citizens as spies/scouts behind Halassur enemy lines, assuming that Nyrs can still easily blend in with Halassurqs?)
How funny would it be if it turned out that the “grand spreadsheet of Shayardene royalty genealogy” was kept safe in something seemingly mundane/silly? (such as a cookbook or a diary)
The Laconniers don’t have Theurges yet? What a convenient job vacancy/business opportunity for my Homelander Eclect helot Wisard MC (and his patriotic congregation of student Wisards) to address!
Speaking of individualistic prophecy, a horrifying thought/speculation (that the Archimandrite may or may not address) just occurred to me.
What happens if (in stark contrast to MC’s original compassionate intentions), extremists/supremacists hide behind the “inherently open to interpretation” Inner Voice as their justification for discriminating against (or worse, target for Harrowing) MC’s non-Xthonist citizens/allies? (e.g. Abhumans and Kenonists)
Thus, might an Eclect MC (when compared to Inner Voice MC) be the “more manageable” path for instituting an attitude of religious tolerance amongst their flock?
It would be very bittersweet if my Inner Voice MC ended up admitting that the Archimandrite was right all along, and then reluctantly transitioned to Eclect (against his original, naive G1 wishes/convictions of everybody embracing individual prophecy for the common good) in the name of keeping the peace.
In general, I like to be playful with these sort of metaphors. (and may or may not have been teasing you)
But on a more serious note, how big of a seismic problem are we talking about here? Perhaps something akin to California’s San Andreas Fault?
Is the “challenge” metric primarily measured in terms of MC’s personal lifestyle, his interactions with LGBTQ characters, or a mix of both?
Because what if we have an MC who sticks to conventional gender norms in his/her personal lifestyle (e.g. my straight male MC), but still eagerly embraces/supports their LGBTQ comrades? (e.g. cheerfully endorsing Radmar and Poric’s marriage during Game 1)
Then once again, I shall reduce my scope accordingly.
If it’s not within my MC’s power to subvert the entire Halassurq intel network, then what about just winning over Erjan and the handful of spies/informants/agents who feel personally loyal to him? (rather than a general patriotic devotion towards Halassur)
Even though Erjan’s primarily attracted to other men, does he feel any lingering attachment/sorrow for the (presumably many) “lost firstborns” that Halassur’s policy forced him to breed and then hand over for Harrowing?
Or, is Erjan an emotionally detached sperm donor who sees his lost kids as routine business transactions who aren’t worth mourning?
Could MC find success appealing to the “(secretly) grieving/vengeful parents” angle when interacting with (potential) Halassurq defectors?
My version of @HughMyronBrough’s Savage Goete playthrough will certainly milk the anarchy for all its worth (and then hopefully uplift Kala, aka “Samena reborn”, to MC’s Shayardene Queen-Consort).
Ah, duly noted, and what a shame.
My aristo-friendly MC was looking forward to meeting his (potential) sister-in-law.
And what is the status of de Firiac’s other relatives? (e.g. parents, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents)
Minus the (now confirmed to be deceased) sister, will the older de Firiacs have a part to play in the aristo intrigue subplots of later games?
And while we’re still on the topic of duels…
In the same fashion that businessmen and clients mix business with pleasure (e.g. networking over a game of a golf), will a COM-specializing aristo be able to do the same thing with both Leaguers and Laconniers?
(by winning fencing/jousting matches against their leading members; assuming of course, that Shayard’s aristos partake in such traditions)
If Calea’s comment essentially amounts to “when pigs fly”, then my aristo MC will probably joke about soon acquiring the Abhuman self-transformation training/resources needed to make that metaphor become a reality.
How old/recent is the Leaguer ideology?
Has this always been a covertly-discussed idea of the Leilatou family’s oddballs (gradually refined/planned across the centuries of Hegemony rule), or did it only recently start gaining traction with Horion’s generation?
My current hunch is leaning more towards toward the latter (Horion’s generation), since long-term scheming feels more like a Laconnier trait than a Leaguer one.
And when you say “special/leading role in the post-Hegemonic koinon”, does this mean most of the Leaguers want to position Shayard as the USA of the koinon/NATO? (similar to what @P_Tigras suggested back in Sep 2020)
I’m feeling a bit confused here.
On one hand, we have Laconniers being happy to follow the Hegemonic trend of adoptive lineage (when it comes to their noble houses), but now you’re also telling us that they’re pissed off at Karagond culture for watering down “the one true Shayardene culture/identity”?
Unless I’m somehow comparing apples with oranges, I’d very much like to know how these two (seemingly contrasting) depictions of Laconnier behavior can be reconciled with each other; so far, I’m getting the impression that the Laconniers want to “eat their cake and have it too”.
And could this Laconnier “anger towards invaders’ culture” possibly escalate from anti-Hegemony resentment into xenophobic nationalism pitted against all other minorities/non-Shayard cultures? (especially the Abhumans and Kenonists, both of which my Devout MC would like to peacefully co-exist with)
If that’s the case, then my Homelander MC has (even more) reason to seek a leadership position amongst the Laconniers: wielding his would-be position of power to reform (or purge, in the worst case last resort scenario) the Laconniers’ xenophobic extremist elements (before the Laconniers end up devolving into XoR’s Nazi counterparts).
If my Homelander MC were to successfully tame the Laconnier cause into living up to its heroic, calmer, and more culturally tolerant potential (as above described in my recent suggestion), might that become MC’s opportunity for achieving his dream of a Laconnier-Leaguer union?
And on a separate note, I still fondly remember how Game 1’s Homelander dialogue option reaffirmed both MC’s commitment to freeing Shayard and MC’s warm wishes to one day help see Wiendrj freed (by Whendish nationalists/“brothers”) as well; it was a wonderful, nuanced reminder that being a loyal patriot of one province didn’t necessarily mean acting isolated/douchey towards other provinces.
Can a Game 1 “Many Shayardene priests secretly believe the Angels are on your side” status quickly lead an Eclect MC to be secretly promoted to Archimandrite (by the existing Shayardene Archimandrites) from the get-go of Game 2 Chapter 3?
Or will MC’s initial status (of starting out on the wrong side of the law) force him to first complete side quests for the Xthonic priesthood? (with the payoff/promotion manifesting in later games, similar to the “merchant prince” path)
Does this mean Phaedrx (as the heir of the Thaumatarch) is my Eclect MC’s natural rival for leadership of the Xthonic faith?
Or, are Phaedrx’s attention/energies focused elsewhere? (e.g. preferring to prioritize the success of their biotech project, rather than staking their alleged “religious birthright”)
A lowly Telone from the periphery like Bleys won’t be much help in raiding a blood bank – that’s well beyond his scope of experience. Cerlota on the other hand would be full of ideas.
Right now, I’m not planning for that to be an option. The way you get to the higher levels of INT is by studying Theurgy. Maintaining a high-INT non-Theurge path throughout the series would be too much additional work in a game already full of it.
I want to be careful about how “modernized” any military formation is going to get – even a military genius can’t completely transform the prevailing practices of their time – but arming a whole bunch of your followers with ventisputori should be possible, yes.
The Theurges have a fairly detailed internal hierarchy, beyond the simple “Kyklos” divisions known to the outside world – but you don’t know it yet. When it comes to Wisardry, there’s nothing resembling a hierarchical structure in the old legends, any more than with the stories of Merlin or Atlantes in our own world.
The ability to beat the Thaumatarchy will have everything to do with your ability to mobilize resources and people, and make/break alliances. As for Kleitos himself… he’d kill anyone who tried to steal his Talismans. You may need to rely on someone who brings even more Talismans to the battle.
About as much as an American who left the US to run a WalMart in Canada would be respected and trusted enough to be president. Which is to say: no, the first Nyr you met is not likely to be governor material.
Difficult! They won’t like being part of a(nother) theocracy, and you’re right to worry that hardline Shayardene Xthonists won’t be keen on having unconverted Neres in leadership. If your future realm stays beleaguered and under threat by a more powerful mutual enemy of one kind or another, then you may be able to hold together skeptics and zealots in pragmatic unity. But the more that you succeed in forging a strong new realm, the harder it will be to have both Nyrish skeptics and Xthonist hardliners in it without repressing one side or the other.
They are indeed famous for constant and lethal political wrangling; for their military prowess against Halassur; and for the many precious metals and alchemical salts mined in their mountains. Avezia/Aveche is one of the areas with the best farmland and many of the richest mines. Cerlota would no doubt add their literary, poetic, and artistic tradition, which the Erezziano consider superior to both Shayard’s and Karagon’s.
Cerlota would be absolutely unwilling to serve as governor. That’s work for a non-Theurge, from her perspective.
We’ll see whether evacuating anyone from Nyryal ends up being the way forward or not – at thtis point I’m not sure if it will make sense as a tactical priority.
That would be terrible!
Happily, the experience of individualistic faith movements throughout history (e.g. the modern global evangelical-Pentecostal movement of which I’m a committed member) confirms that giving free rein to everyone to interpret God’s will for themselves almost never results in intolerance and extremism. Like, almost never. Very rarely.
Excellent, I’ll be sure to take it that way in future.
Both. You may be able to inspire Erjan and/or his sister Dilek to challenge the system they were raised in whether or not you share their gender or orientation. I won’t say any more about what that would look like for now.
You will encounter the older de Firiacs again, and will have the chance to fence and box with other young nobles. The Leaguer ideology is more or less a product of Horion and his friends.
This is part of any nationalism. There’s no single true answer to the question of how much of a culture is indigenous and how much is “someone else’s.” Hardline nationalists draw lines and try to close their eyes to any arbitrary or ambiguous results. So the Laconniers would say here that the Hegemonic mainstream here is consistent with the historic practices of Shayard (and ignore whatever evidence there might be that calls that into question). As long as the evidence is small or debatable enough to ignore, this is a sustainable response.
The Laconniers are douchey nationalists. Whether or not you can influence them to change… we’ll see!
You will not become an Archimandrite in G2. That takes a whole lot of influence-building – not just being a charismatic backwater prophet. And I’m not going to give details on Phaed’s plans for their role and the future of the Hegemony because, well, spoilers.
I’m not bothered by the question, but it’s against the forum rules - FAQ - Choice of Games Forum - so if you want to ask it, check out the Facebook page for Joel Havenstone. My answer hasn’t changed from the last several times it was asked.
Love this idea and I think it is generally reflected by IRL geopolitics. There will be a tension for the MC between sustaining a outside threat to keep the various internal factions from eating each other and the need to establish some level of security on the new state’s frontiers.
Yes, the Keriatou are Laconniers.
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