faderifting | War Table (Defunct)

Priority will be given to members of Diplomacy or who are working in relevant diplomacy projects (Chantry Relations or Other Powers), but anyone can sign up to these. In instances where I've noted "at least one member of Diplomacy" etc this is just for ideal scenarios rather than strict requirements.

There are also some collaboration efforts here between different divisions. Hurrah.

BITTER CETUS SYMPHONY (Diplomacy & Research collaboration)
WHAT: Previously in CSI: Chantry Relations:
The team went off to Brandel's Reach at the behest of Revered Mother Grana to investigate strange markings in sea caves that required documentation, as well as to locate a Chantry brother gone missing who had been looking into this previously. Whilst recording the markings, they discovered markings, almost like glyphs that pointed to them being unlike any other language, close to a code in need of deciphering. They also managed to discover the source of rumours of shapes in the water as well as a storm that had claimed a fishing boat.

The mysterious shapes turned out to be an adolescent cetus which had migrated strangely far south. Mysterious.

Revered Mother Grana was very grateful for the Inquisition’s assistance, and has done some research of her own to try and learn more about the strange glyphs. She found out from a member of the congregation that the sea caves go farther into the island than is commonly known. She does not mention the individual’s name, as they are reportedly very ashamed of their ancestral history of smuggling, but she has obtained a map from them revealing a network of caves near the glyphs and symbols previously found that used to be used for hiding away goods and individuals.

She has asked the Inquisition to return to collect the documents she has found, as she is worried about sending them by messenger in case something happens to them. As Revered Mother Grana is a good ally, the Inquisition is going to collect the records both for the sake of knowledge and to further curry favour. This mission will be collecting records, and then going to the caves to try to investigate the possibility of further cave networks and symbols.
WHERE: Brandel’s Reach.
WHEN: Harvestmere.
WHO: At least one person from Diplomacy and one person from Research, who will then be able to put together a team for a total of four to six characters. Members with interest or experience in codes and cryptography would be useful, as well as those with skills related to boats.

BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST (Diplomacy & Scouting)
WHAT: It has been established by scouting operatives that Lady Aurelia Pentaghast, a cunning politician, made arrangements with the Anders ambassadors for cooperation from Nevarra that would help the Anderfels gain a foothold in Orlais with greater efficiency. In return, Nevarra gets to sweep in and "reclaim" Perendale from the Anders and look really good doing it to The People.
The Inquisition also has a list of the nobles who agreed wholeheartedly, those who were more resistant, and those who fell into line despite their concerns. Thankfully, no connection has been made between the missing documents and letters and the Inquisition, but there is reason to believe that engaging will still be a risky endeavour and could put Inquisition members in danger.

The Inquisition will send representatives from Diplomacy to engage with Lady Aurelia, and from Scouting to gather information, and take out potential threats against the diplomats that may be in danger from the supporting nobles and Aurelia.

Aurelia is a strong contender to become Nevarra’s ruler with King Markus’ ailing health, and the Inquisition’s position with Nevarra remains extremely fractured after the events in the Necropolis. Perhaps leverage can be found, relationships can be made, or more brash actions taken. Perhaps there will be assassins to take out.

Some decisions will need to be made; more information will be available to the participating team once assembled.
WHERE: Nevarra.
WHEN: Harvestmere.
WHO: At least one person from Diplomacy and one person from Scouting, who will then be able to put together a team for a total of four to six characters. Characters skilled in negotiations, sneaking and murdering encouraged.

Dove Shack
WHAT: A particularly intense conversation between two diplomats came to blows - or rather, a thrown chair, broke the cage door of aviary, setting free a dozen prized doves. But in particular, Lady Featherfoot, Mother Appollonia’s favourite bird of the set, escape in the commotion.

Lady Featherfoot’s disappearance is especially concerning, since she was a gift from the late Divine Justinia, and the diplomats who had their volatile outburst were debating the nature of rifters, leaving a rather unfortunate association.

Once Inquisition members reach the Seleny Chantry in Antiva, this mission is two fold: repair the aviary without more birds escaping, and hunt down, retrieve, and present beloved Lady Featherfoot back to her fretful owner. And don’t forget: the Nightingale is ever watchful of how respectfully beloved pets are treated.
WHERE: Seleny, Antiva
WHEN: Harvestmere.
WHO: One to four characters. They do not need to be from Diplomacy, however if someone from Diplomacy signs up they will be given preference. This is a mission for improving Chantry Relations and potentially perception of rifters, so rifters are especially encouraged.

If I Could Churneau Back Time (Diplomacy & Scouting)
WHAT: In a previous mission to Churneau, Malcolm Reed, Colin, The Priest, D'Artagnan and Daniel Jackson made a surprisingly positive impression on the severe Mother Riccarda. Riccarda has been for some time a vocal opposition to the Inquisition and especially to rifters. However, when darkspawn began to attack Churneau and in the wake of the Wardens seizing power in the Anderfels and all that has followed, Riccarda felt she had no one to turn to but the Inquisition. The result was certainly reduced hostility, but she has even begun to speak of how rifters can be a positive influence in Thedas, especially when guided and nurtured by the devout.

The situation in Churneau has become more dire, both because of the invasion from the North, and because Mother Riccarda’s shift in a more positive direction for the Inquisition is seen as a betrayal by those in some quarters. While all civilians have been evacuated, Mother Riccarda has remains behind to minister to the troops, lend aid to the sick and injured wherever she can, and look after the Chantry.

The Inquisition has received whispers of a possible attempt on the Mother’s life, which could further destabilise matters and leave Churneau even more vulnerable in this time of war. It would also cost the Inquisition a respected voice that has begun to support their cause.

This is a stealth operation. Try to get to Churneau in time to stop the assassination attempt on Mother Riccarda, and maybe even gather some intel regarding the southward push of the Anders forces. The success or failure of this mission will be rolled for, with a 60% chance they’ll fail to save her life, and 30% that they’ll not get the surveillance information.
WHERE: Churneau, Orlais
WHEN: Harvestmere.
WHO: At least one person from Diplomacy and one person from Scouting, who will then be able to put together a team for a total of four to six characters. Characters interested in Chantry Relations and those skilled in sneaking and murdering especially encouraged.

Nothing Qunpares 2 U
WHAT: The Inquisition performed well in a recent test that the Qunari requested before commencing diplomatic relations with them. Now they ask for a favour.

One of their non-Qunari members of the Ben-Hassrath has been taken captive in Antiva. The dwarven man, Armat, has not been identified as a follower of the Qun by the nobility that have had him arrested. The Qunari believe that he has managed to obtain information regarding merchants who have been smuggling people from Tevinter into Antiva, however he was captured before the information could be passed on.

The Inquisition must secure Armat back safely through means of diplomacy, and then return him safely to the Qun. He is currently held in the dungeons of the de Talaveras, a low-tier family with connections to mercenaries and weapon trade.

Will the team cultivate the relationship with the de Talaveras for access to their weapons, and undermine the orders to get Armat in favour of having an Antivan contact? Will they sour the potential relationship and supporting contact within Antiva to secure Armat’s safety and strengthen ties with the Qunari? Or are they diplomatic stars who can work out a way to get Armat and secure weapons trade?

THE CHOICE IS YOURS.
WHERE: Treviso, Antiva
WHEN: Harvestmere.
WHO: At least one character from Diplomacy, who can then choose one to two others to accompany them. Knowledge of Antiva or the Qun cool but not required.

Shaperate of my Heart (Diplomacy & Research)
WHAT:The Shaperate has been recording lore and history in Orzammar for many hundreds of years. As such, there is a great deal of knowledge held there that cannot be accessed anywhere else, and with a unique perspective. The Inquisition would like a chance to speak with the leader of the Shaperate and perhaps access records to research history regarding the Tevinter Imperium, and possibly ancient paths in the Deep Roads that could provide other means to access to Orlais, Antiva and the Imperium, even if they need to be cleared and repaired.

Following the recent visit to Orzammar and confrontation with the glowing slime adversary and successful rescue of miners by Alexandrie, Lakshmi & Yngvi, there has been a positive shift in the Inquisition’s relationship with Orzammar, but the relationship still needs to be built upon.

The Inquisition’s diplomacy and research teams will send a small group to appeal to the Shaperate. The diplomats will be focusing on strengthening diplomatic bonds and trade with Orzammar, and secure more good will to further ease the work of the researchers if they succeed in getting access to the memories. The success or failure of this mission will be rolled for, with a 40% chance of failure. These odds can be improved if more diplomacy members join the mission.
WHERE: Orzammar
WHEN: Harvestmere.
WHO: At least one person from Diplomacy and one person from Research, who will then be able to put together a team of three to four people.

Sign up by October 10 by replying to this comment with the form below. I'll pick ASAP and give you the details you need to run the assignment. Anything that isn't claimed will be available afterwards on a rolling basis.

For assignments with a chance of failure, I'll roll on Discord. For things with a chance of failure that changes depending on the team composition, I'll roll and give you the outcome after you tell me who else is on your character's team. And when something has a chance of failure, it means that the main objective will not be successful, but there will still be room for you to handle to that in different ways!

Edited 2018-10-05 19:58 (UTC)

CHARACTER: Araceli Bonaventura y Castell
ASSIGNMENT: Nothing Qunpares 2 U
DIVISION & PROJECTS:
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Small sneaky bard this will potentially cause zero problems at all when all of naval presence want to hide a qunari dreadnought from the qunari that'll be chill. Also did the sort of dealio back before at home in the job she doesn't speak of.
OTHER NOTES: Speaks fluent Antivan, basically looks like an Antivan with an anchor if people shut their mouths around her.

Your character has been assigned to NOTHING QUNPARES 2 U
You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

No character will be given lead.
You can bring up to two more characters if you’d like. The mission guideline was two to three characters, but if you’d like Araceli to do a solo mission then that’s fine.
If you should choose to bring more characters, coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
I am available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
Araceli will receive directions to attend an inn in Treviso called The Dancing Moonlight Inn, overlooking the bay. Here she has accommodation, and there will be a letter awaiting her, an invitation to dinner with de Talaveras to discuss matters, and a bouquet of lilies that are the colour of the sunset, with a few white flowers amongst them. These flowers, some say, are symbolic of wealth, fortune, and friendship.

The orders for the mission are to strengthen the diplomatic relationship with the Qunari by fulfilling their request for a favour and having Armat released by the de Talaveras, but there is a choice.

It will be possible for Araceli to secure a meeting with Armat, by being very persuasive and charming towards Gennaro de Talavaras, the eldest son of the family, who is trying to navigate this negotiation, and is eager to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss trade for weapons and information with the Inquisition.

If Araceli wishes to speak with Armat, she will find out that he does have intel, but he will refuse to share it unless he is released.

Negotiations to free Armat can succeed, but there is opposition.
The matriarch, Gennaro’s grandmother Nereza, is convinced that Armat was spying on their trade and business, and intends to keep him imprisoned indefinitely. Securing Armat’s freedom may involve corroding the positive relationship Gennaro was eager to secure as a potential resource for the Inquisition, considering the respect that the de Talavaras still have for Nereza.

Leaving Armat imprisoned would undercut the efforts to gain the Inquisition more support at sea and a positive relationship with the Qunari.

If an attempt is made to free Armat by stealth, he will be executed, and all correspondence with the Inquisition will be ceased. They do, after all, know that the Inquisition is interested in securing his freedom.

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach I haven’t thought of, please run it past me so I can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider and if need be we can brainstorm. If there's any further assistance you require or questions you have, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

CHARACTER: Jehan
ASSIGNMENT: Shaperate of My Heart
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Diplomacy, Chantry Relations & Other Powers
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: He's a diplomat—probably a real one now, I guess, since he's been doing this for three years and I should stop feeling imposter syndrome on his behalf—and also a scholar with previous experience in Orzammar and with bargaining with other cultures for access to information in general. His specific brand of cheerful gentle handling might not go over the best with dwarves, though.
OTHER NOTES: He's a side character, so last priority if there are more sign-ups than slots!

Your character has been assigned to SHAPERATE OF MY HEART.
The characters assigned to this task are: Ilias and Jehan. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

No character will be given lead.
You can bring up to two more characters if you’d like. (Herian is also available for padding out numbers, just let me know in the next few days.)
Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Bella and Kate are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
You rolled a 7 out of one hundred, against 40% chances of this mission failing. These odds can be improved if you get more diplomacy division members to go on the mission. In order to succeed with this mission, you need to take 3 more diplomacy members along.

It can be safely deduced that travelling into the Frostbacks with winter approaching is the easiest part of this journey, and perhaps the most pleasant.

Although the Inquisition has had positive interactions with Orzammar in the past, things get off to a rough start, and the Shaperate is a particularly sacred and closely guarded cultural treasure. Perhaps it’s because Jehan is of the Chantry, or perhaps it’s because neither of them have beards, or perhaps it’s just bizarre to think of these surface dwellers being able to talk any sense at all, when they need to put so much energy into making sure they don’t fall into the sky. Whatever it is, things aren’t going well.

There are three possible avenues, depending on what you would like to do/what is possible to wrangle oocly.
1. Ilias and Jehan are the only agents sent: they do not/cannot send for support from Kirkwall.
2. Ilias and Jehan are the only agents sent: they do send for support from Kirkwall/additional diplomats arrive.
3. Ilias and Jehan are not the only agents, they have more diplomats already, no need to panic.

In option 1, the assignment fails. In options 2 and 3, it may succeed, but it’s still a struggle, and they’d probably really like more time and manpower to research. Let us know which option you go with once you know the final team and it’s determined if it’s a success or failure, we can let you know what information may or may not have been found.

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach I haven’t thought of, please run it past me so I can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

CHARACTER: Teren
ASSIGNMENT: Blast from the Pentaghast
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Scouting, Hostile Powers
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Sneaking! Murder!! Don't have her do anything diplomatic, everyone will regret it! She has a vested interest in Perendale remaining Nevarran as well and might be kind of a pain!
OTHER NOTES: stab??

Your character has been assigned to BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST.
The characters assigned to this task are: Adasse Agassi, Herian Amsel, James Flint, Jester Lavore and Teren von Skraedder. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Ema and Bella are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
The Inquisition are not alone in recognising the potential value of Aurelia Pentaghast. The Venatori have also come to the conclusion that Aurelia is the strongest potential candidate to rule Nevara, and probably the most formidable military mind Nevarra could have in that role. They are interested in using the deal she made with the Anders to either ruin or control her.

A Venatori-hired rogue (spy, poet, and stealer of valuables and hearts) is also present at the negotiations, trying to secure proof of the deal in the form of correspondence or signed and sealed statements from nobles who collaborated in the bargain.

The bad news is that he definitely gets the documents he’s after.
The good news is that the team can stop him, with the excellent scouting members present and snooping during all the diplomacy.

The good news is also cursed.

The team must make a choice. The spy, Vel Ruso, will inform them that the Venatori are only honouring the deal Aurelia made with the Anderfels and leaving Perendale intact because they think they can use it to control the Pentaghasts. If the Venatori don’t receive proof, they’ll have no reason not to make the Pentaghasts look weak. Perendale will be attacked, and it is currently undefended.

If the Pentaghasts look weak, Aurelia will become less likely to secure the throne. Instead the throne could very likely fall to an inexperienced, barely-not-a-teenager Van Markham lad. Aurelia will need to be advised swiftly for Perendale to have any hope of not being razed, and for Aurelia to have a chance of ruling.

If the team decides to let Vel go so the Venatori do receive the information, Aurelia Pentaghast remains easily the most likely to ascend to the throne. However, she will be at the mercy of the Venatori and their blackmail material. Perendale will be safe in the short term, but Nevarra’s future in the long term will be far more vulnerable to Venatori influence, and saving it from that fate will become far more complex, and the potential future for Nevarra as an ally to the Inquisition will become far murkier.

If they take the second option, the team can attempt to mitigate the impact - either by supporting someone else, or by encouraging Aurelia to do something right away to prove it's baseless or to withstand it when it happens.

What will you do, Inquisition?

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach we haven’t thought of, please run it past us so we can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

CHARACTER: Val de Foncé
ASSIGNMENT: Bitter Cetus Symphony
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Research & Naval Presence
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: WELL he was there to discover the glyphs last time so he gets academic dibs, right. also Val is a scholar and while he is a little too much of a dick to be totally pleasant and diplomatic for the document hand-off phase of this, he is usually charming enough to make up for it. he is also skilled with boats. and stuff.
OTHER NOTES: strikes an entitled pose

Your character has been assigned to BITTER CETUS SYMPHONY.
The characters assigned to this task are: Val de Foncé. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

You can take up to five more characters if you’d like. (We suggest a minimum three person team, but live your best life.)
Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Bella and Kate are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
Revered Mother Grana is grateful to see the return of one of the original team who came to her aid, and so despite Val being so Orlesian and so Val (or perhaps because of it?), the interactions with Grana go well. If he chooses to disclose he is from the Scouting division this will impress her all the more, as she will feel her desire to make sure the documents were retrieved and delivered safely was taken seriously.

(If Val were to choose do run this mission individually, he would have a tough time. It would also mean that some of Grana’s enthusiasm for his return was dampened by the documents not having more protection to ensure their safe delivery to the Inquisition.)

The documents are maps of the caves and research about the possible meanings of the glyphs. Grana has not been able to determine their meaning, but she thinks they can be ruled out as having Dwarvish origins.

The maps will help with investigating the caves, by Grana warns that they maps are old, and reportedly don’t cover the entire network, just the particular passageways used in the past. They have a number of symbols on them, as well - could these refer to glyphs, or something else?

In exploring the caves, Val will find that the symbols on the maps do not refer to correspondingly located glyphs, but to traps. Some of these have been disabled or have rotted over time, some have not. He will need to contend with an Indiana Jones style over-water boulder-chase, and spikes that dramatically stick out of the wall. Both can be disabled, potentially.

Intermittently along the way, there will be symbols. His experience with the historical will mean he’s able to deduce that while these look weathered, it’s more to do with the environment, and the symbols are not ancient. Exploring further in the tunnels, beyond the map that Val is provided with, will lead him to find more of the symbols, and eventually a path and cave area that looks like it was being used as a holding location. There are broken crates, and the remains of a Venatori gladiator that looks like he might have met a terrible fate at the jaws of the cetus some months ago.

It looks like the location was left in a rush, but there are some documents. They are water damaged from months in the damp, and seem to be written in a code using similar symbols to the ones through the cave.

CHARACTER: Jester Lavore
ASSIGNMENT: BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Forces, Rifts & the Veil. so like, totally just here for the free trip.
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: she is SO skilled in sneaking. like she has a blessing she can distribute to help and also a special pass without a trace spell. she can change the way that she looks (and will probably do so if asked so don't worry about a giant qunari). she can make a double to distract everyone! she is very good at forgery, and is weirdly charming for an excitable extrovert that draws dicks on every available surface. she will be the heart of the mission. but she is also surprisingly good at murder, so???
OTHER NOTES: give the people what they want: lizards and pranks

Your character has been assigned to BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST.
The characters assigned to this task are: Adasse Agassi, Herian Amsel, James Flint, Jester Lavore and Teren von Skraedder. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Ema and Bella are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
The Inquisition are not alone in recognising the potential value of Aurelia Pentaghast. The Venatori have also come to the conclusion that Aurelia is the strongest potential candidate to rule Nevara, and probably the most formidable military mind Nevarra could have in that role. They are interested in using the deal she made with the Anders to either ruin or control her.

A Venatori-hired rogue (spy, poet, and stealer of valuables and hearts) is also present at the negotiations, trying to secure proof of the deal in the form of correspondence or signed and sealed statements from nobles who collaborated in the bargain.

The bad news is that he definitely gets the documents he’s after.
The good news is that the team can stop him, with the excellent scouting members present and snooping during all the diplomacy.

The good news is also cursed.

The team must make a choice. The spy, Vel Ruso, will inform them that the Venatori are only honouring the deal Aurelia made with the Anderfels and leaving Perendale intact because they think they can use it to control the Pentaghasts. If the Venatori don’t receive proof, they’ll have no reason not to make the Pentaghasts look weak. Perendale will be attacked, and it is currently undefended.

If the Pentaghasts look weak, Aurelia will become less likely to secure the throne. Instead the throne could very likely fall to an inexperienced, barely-not-a-teenager Van Markham lad. Aurelia will need to be advised swiftly for Perendale to have any hope of not being razed, and for Aurelia to have a chance of ruling.

If the team decides to let Vel go so the Venatori do receive the information, Aurelia Pentaghast remains easily the most likely to ascend to the throne. However, she will be at the mercy of the Venatori and their blackmail material. Perendale will be safe in the short term, but Nevarra’s future in the long term will be far more vulnerable to Venatori influence, and saving it from that fate will become far more complex, and the potential future for Nevarra as an ally to the Inquisition will become far murkier.

If they take the second option, the team can attempt to mitigate the impact - either by supporting someone else, or by encouraging Aurelia to do something right away to prove it's baseless or to withstand it when it happens.

What will you do, Inquisition?

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach we haven’t thought of, please run it past us so we can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

CHARACTER: Herman Damsel
ASSIGNMENT: Blast from the P(entagh)ast, If I Could Churneau Back Time
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Diplomacy/Chantry Relations/Rift & Veil
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: it'd be really sad if the head of diplomacy was unsuitable for diplomacy assignments, eh
OTHER NOTES: hello yes self don't forget you'd like to do things

CHARACTER: James Flint
ASSIGNMENT: BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Scouting, Naval Presence
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Good orator, FABULOUS murderer. Not spectacular at stealth, but you can't have it all. Very committed to the lessening the complete chaos of everything being on fire in the interests of ultimately being able to take the fight to Tevinter-- uh I mean, to Corypheus-- and will lean on being less of a dick and more of a sensible tactician.
OTHER NOTES: Lol Herian would probably veto this

Your character has been assigned to BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST.
The characters assigned to this task are: Adasse Agassi, Herian Amsel, James Flint, Jester Lavore and Teren von Skraedder. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Ema and Bella are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
The Inquisition are not alone in recognising the potential value of Aurelia Pentaghast. The Venatori have also come to the conclusion that Aurelia is the strongest potential candidate to rule Nevara, and probably the most formidable military mind Nevarra could have in that role. They are interested in using the deal she made with the Anders to either ruin or control her.

A Venatori-hired rogue (spy, poet, and stealer of valuables and hearts) is also present at the negotiations, trying to secure proof of the deal in the form of correspondence or signed and sealed statements from nobles who collaborated in the bargain.

The bad news is that he definitely gets the documents he’s after.
The good news is that the team can stop him, with the excellent scouting members present and snooping during all the diplomacy.

The good news is also cursed.

The team must make a choice. The spy, Vel Ruso, will inform them that the Venatori are only honouring the deal Aurelia made with the Anderfels and leaving Perendale intact because they think they can use it to control the Pentaghasts. If the Venatori don’t receive proof, they’ll have no reason not to make the Pentaghasts look weak. Perendale will be attacked, and it is currently undefended.

If the Pentaghasts look weak, Aurelia will become less likely to secure the throne. Instead the throne could very likely fall to an inexperienced, barely-not-a-teenager Van Markham lad. Aurelia will need to be advised swiftly for Perendale to have any hope of not being razed, and for Aurelia to have a chance of ruling.

If the team decides to let Vel go so the Venatori do receive the information, Aurelia Pentaghast remains easily the most likely to ascend to the throne. However, she will be at the mercy of the Venatori and their blackmail material. Perendale will be safe in the short term, but Nevarra’s future in the long term will be far more vulnerable to Venatori influence, and saving it from that fate will become far more complex, and the potential future for Nevarra as an ally to the Inquisition will become far murkier.

If they take the second option, the team can attempt to mitigate the impact - either by supporting someone else, or by encouraging Aurelia to do something right away to prove it's baseless or to withstand it when it happens.

What will you do, Inquisition?

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach we haven’t thought of, please run it past us so we can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

CHARACTER: Ilias Fabria
ASSIGNMENT: Shaperate of my Heart
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Research / Rifts & the Veil
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Well he can read.... :|a No, uh. He's a competent researcher, with some familiarity with history & ancestry, and while he doesn't have much experience with diplomacy in formal contexts, he's good at being polite and respectful and not getting in diplomats' way.
OTHER NOTES: He's a side character, so lowest priority! Also I think the Wall of Memories is written in lyrium so if bringing a mage is BAD IDEA maybe leave him at home.

Your character has been assigned to SHAPERATE OF MY HEART.
The characters assigned to this task are: Ilias and Jehan. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

No character will be given lead.
You can bring up to two more characters if you’d like. (Herian is also available for padding out numbers, just let me know in the next few days.)
Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Bella and Kate are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
You rolled a 7 out of one hundred, against 40% chances of this mission failing. These odds can be improved if you get more diplomacy division members to go on the mission. In order to succeed with this mission, you need to take 3 more diplomacy members along.

It can be safely deduced that travelling into the Frostbacks with winter approaching is the easiest part of this journey, and perhaps the most pleasant.

Although the Inquisition has had positive interactions with Orzammar in the past, things get off to a rough start, and the Shaperate is a particularly sacred and closely guarded cultural treasure. Perhaps it’s because Jehan is of the Chantry, or perhaps it’s because neither of them have beards, or perhaps it’s just bizarre to think of these surface dwellers being able to talk any sense at all, when they need to put so much energy into making sure they don’t fall into the sky. Whatever it is, things aren’t going well.

There are three possible avenues, depending on what you would like to do/what is possible to wrangle oocly.
1. Ilias and Jehan are the only agents sent: they do not/cannot send for support from Kirkwall.
2. Ilias and Jehan are the only agents sent: they do send for support from Kirkwall/additional diplomats arrive.
3. Ilias and Jehan are not the only agents, they have more diplomats already, no need to panic.

In option 1, the assignment fails. In options 2 and 3, it may succeed, but it’s still a struggle, and they’d probably really like more time and manpower to research. Let us know which option you go with once you know the final team and it’s determined if it’s a success or failure, we can let you know what information may or may not have been found.

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach I haven’t thought of, please run it past me so I can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

Edited (werds) 2018-10-11 20:35 (UTC)

CHARACTER: Yseult
ASSIGNMENT: Blast from the Pentaghast, Churneau
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Scouting, Hostile Powers
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Great at the sneaking and murdering parts, not naturally a negotiator but capable of being a polite, calming presence in front of fancy people as needed
OTHER NOTES: idk just ONE MORE

Your character has been assigned to IF I COULD CHURNEAU BACK TIME.
The characters assigned to this task are: Herian, Lakshmi and Yseult. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

No character will be given lead.
You can take up to three more characters if you’d like.
Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Ema and Bella are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:

You rolled an 83 out of 100 to save Mother Riccarda (against 60% chance of failure), and a 58 out of 100 to gather intel on the southward push of the Anders forces (against 30% chance of failure), meaning you succeed in both of these tasks.

Gather Intel
The trio will notice that patrols going west are coming back with more people than they left with in discrete numbers of reinforcements, then going east and coming back with fewer people, that have presumably been left elsewhere.

If Yseult and/or Lakshmi, stealth specialists supreme, move closer they will be able to determine that the Anders forces are loading weapons and supplies into false bottoms of carts that otherwise look empty or barely occupied, so they can disguise how much is being moved. If they take the time to stay and watch the movements for a long while, they will realise that the quantity of supplies is far beyond that which is necessary for the troops they have noticed being moved, and indicates a far larger army is being supplied. The direction of travel suggests that all these things are headed towards the Fields of Ghislain. It is also noteworthy that even though these movements are happening, the Anders line at Churneau is not weakened or compromised.

Saving Mother Riccarda
When they arrive in Churneau, it is dark, although a light flickers in the windows of the all but abandoned Chantry. Shadows can be seen drawing close, and they must move fast to save Mother Riccarda. One of the would-be assassins was posing as an injured soldier who Mother Riccarda had been tending to, although when interviewed, none of the other soldiers would recognise him. It would seem Churneau is a greater risk to Riccarda than first thought, and she is encouraged to leave by the people she has stayed to support.

At one point during the escape, Mother Riccarda suffers an injury (non-fatal, obviously). This could be an arrow to her calf during a horseback escape, an assassin almost reaching her before the heroes take them out (but not before Mother Riccarda’s forearm gets caught by the knife in the struggle), or Mother Riccarda narrowly avoiding drinking poisoned water before it is slapped out of her hand (or something else suitably dramatic and cool, whatever).

Though she is unhappy to leave her Chantry and her people, she listens to reason, and departs from Churneau, although her leaving safe rather than dead means that matters in Churneau will not destabilise further.

This is the second time that the Inquisition has saved the life of Mother Riccarda. If Lakshmi should make it known to the Mother that she is a rifter, Riccarda will reflect on this also being the second time rifters have come to her aid, as well, thank Lakshmi for her help, and acknowledge that while she does not wholly understand what rifters may be or whence they come from, she owes much to their willingness to offer aid. She only hopes they willing to offer a little more, to see Orlais through these dark times.

Traditionally a more conservative member of the Chantry, saving Mother Riccarda and winning further support from her is a boon, despite her current displacement. Although she needs time to recover, she stands firm, and is all the more determined to advocate for what she believes is right, even if there are those who wish to silence her.

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach I haven’t thought of, please run it past me so I can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

CHARACTER: Adasse Agassi
ASSIGNMENT: Blast From the Pentaghast, Churneau
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Scouting
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Adasse is a sneaky thief of sneaking who has also learned how to stab blades into people from the sneaky shadows. Considering the mission includes the need to gather information - he would probably just want to steal whatever they need and then use that to help Lady Aurelia take the day. He will, however, get in line with whatever the others vote on. He
OTHER NOTES: Nevarran is actually a language he speaks.

Edited 2018-10-11 03:13 (UTC)

Your character has been assigned to BLAST FROM THE P(ENTAGH)AST.
The characters assigned to this task are: Adasse Agassi, Herian Amsel, James Flint, Jester Lavore and Teren von Skraedder. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Ema and Bella are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:
The Inquisition are not alone in recognising the potential value of Aurelia Pentaghast. The Venatori have also come to the conclusion that Aurelia is the strongest potential candidate to rule Nevara, and probably the most formidable military mind Nevarra could have in that role. They are interested in using the deal she made with the Anders to either ruin or control her.

A Venatori-hired rogue (spy, poet, and stealer of valuables and hearts) is also present at the negotiations, trying to secure proof of the deal in the form of correspondence or signed and sealed statements from nobles who collaborated in the bargain.

The bad news is that he definitely gets the documents he’s after.
The good news is that the team can stop him, with the excellent scouting members present and snooping during all the diplomacy.

The good news is also cursed.

The team must make a choice. The spy, Vel Ruso, will inform them that the Venatori are only honouring the deal Aurelia made with the Anderfels and leaving Perendale intact because they think they can use it to control the Pentaghasts. If the Venatori don’t receive proof, they’ll have no reason not to make the Pentaghasts look weak. Perendale will be attacked, and it is currently undefended.

If the Pentaghasts look weak, Aurelia will become less likely to secure the throne. Instead the throne could very likely fall to an inexperienced, barely-not-a-teenager Van Markham lad. Aurelia will need to be advised swiftly for Perendale to have any hope of not being razed, and for Aurelia to have a chance of ruling.

If the team decides to let Vel go so the Venatori do receive the information, Aurelia Pentaghast remains easily the most likely to ascend to the throne. However, she will be at the mercy of the Venatori and their blackmail material. Perendale will be safe in the short term, but Nevarra’s future in the long term will be far more vulnerable to Venatori influence, and saving it from that fate will become far more complex, and the potential future for Nevarra as an ally to the Inquisition will become far murkier.

If they take the second option, the team can attempt to mitigate the impact - either by supporting someone else, or by encouraging Aurelia to do something right away to prove it's baseless or to withstand it when it happens.

What will you do, Inquisition?

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach we haven’t thought of, please run it past us so we can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

CHARACTER: Kostos
ASSIGNMENT: Pentaghast
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Scouting, Hostile Powers & Elven Artifacts
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Native Nevarran who can deploy little wisp spies/guards for sneaky things. Or he can make diplomats look important enough to have moody but professional assistants by standing behind them, with the bonus of actually understanding people pretty well and being able to observe and give advice or insight afterwards or into their ears, as long as he doesn't have to do any talking to important people himself. He also was involved in the earlier legs of this plotline so he knows what's up.
OTHER NOTES: The major caveat here is that he's at least sort of exiled/the identical twin of a would-be Pentaghast assassin. However, that was like 12 years ago and no one would likely recognize them now that they're all grown up and hairy, so if it wouldn't cause anyone in Diplomacy to have a heart attack, he could go and use another name and put HP's new fake identity training to use and all of that.

Edited 2018-10-11 03:39 (UTC)

CHARACTER: Lakshmi
ASSIGNMENT: Pentaghast, or if you need her to fill some numbers, she'll go where she's told.
DIVISION & PROJECTS: Diplomacy
SUITABILITY & APPROACH: Lakshmi is a stealth creeper when she needs to be. So she's good for all sneaking about is required. She can also change on a dime.
OTHER NOTES:

Your character has been assigned to IF I COULD CHURNEAU BACK TIME.
The characters assigned to this task are: Herian, Lakshmi and Yseult. You're welcome to say they volunteered for this, or were ordered to do it as part of their Inquisition duties.

No character will be given lead.
You can take up to three more characters if you’d like.
Coordinate ooc to file a single report on the Diplomacy page by November 10th. Not filing a report will result in an automatic critical failure.
You don’t have to thread the whole thing, just RP about it in some capacity — ex: Logs before or after the mission, network threads, etc.
Ema and Bella are available for collaboration and brainstorming if you need any further assistance.

SUMMARY:

You rolled an 83 out of 100 to save Mother Riccarda (against 60% chance of failure), and a 58 out of 100 to gather intel on the southward push of the Anders forces (against 30% chance of failure), meaning you succeed in both of these tasks.

Gather Intel
The trio will notice that patrols going west are coming back with more people than they left with in discrete numbers of reinforcements, then going east and coming back with fewer people, that have presumably been left elsewhere.

If Yseult and/or Lakshmi, stealth specialists supreme, move closer they will be able to determine that the Anders forces are loading weapons and supplies into false bottoms of carts that otherwise look empty or barely occupied, so they can disguise how much is being moved. If they take the time to stay and watch the movements for a long while, they will realise that the quantity of supplies is far beyond that which is necessary for the troops they have noticed being moved, and indicates a far larger army is being supplied. The direction of travel suggests that all these things are headed towards the Fields of Ghislain. It is also noteworthy that even though these movements are happening, the Anders line at Churneau is not weakened or compromised.

Saving Mother Riccarda
When they arrive in Churneau, it is dark, although a light flickers in the windows of the all but abandoned Chantry. Shadows can be seen drawing close, and they must move fast to save Mother Riccarda. One of the would-be assassins was posing as an injured soldier who Mother Riccarda had been tending to, although when interviewed, none of the other soldiers would recognise him. It would seem Churneau is a greater risk to Riccarda than first thought, and she is encouraged to leave by the people she has stayed to support.

At one point during the escape, Mother Riccarda suffers an injury (non-fatal, obviously). This could be an arrow to her calf during a horseback escape, an assassin almost reaching her before the heroes take them out (but not before Mother Riccarda’s forearm gets caught by the knife in the struggle), or Mother Riccarda narrowly avoiding drinking poisoned water before it is slapped out of her hand (or something else suitably dramatic and cool, whatever).

Though she is unhappy to leave her Chantry and her people, she listens to reason, and departs from Churneau, although her leaving safe rather than dead means that matters in Churneau will not destabilise further.

This is the second time that the Inquisition has saved the life of Mother Riccarda. If Lakshmi should make it known to the Mother that she is a rifter, Riccarda will reflect on this also being the second time rifters have come to her aid, as well, thank Lakshmi for her help, and acknowledge that while she does not wholly understand what rifters may be or whence they come from, she owes much to their willingness to offer aid. She only hopes they willing to offer a little more, to see Orlais through these dark times.

Traditionally a more conservative member of the Chantry, saving Mother Riccarda and winning further support from her is a boon, despite her current displacement. Although she needs time to recover, she stands firm, and is all the more determined to advocate for what she believes is right, even if there are those who wish to silence her.

If you would like to propose an alternate solution or take an approach I haven’t thought of, please run it past me so I can think whether there are any major hurdles to consider.

War Table (Defunct)

DIPLOMACY

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Re: DIPLOMACY

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