faderifting | War Table

War Table

THE WAR TABLE

Operations

Characters may not participate in more than one war table operation at a time.
Sign-ups are first come, first served. After the minimum number of characters is reached, we'll wait approximately 48 hours to allow additional sign-ups before closing the operation and giving participants the necessary information.
Travel time for operations outside of Skyhold can and should be OOCly condensed/handwaved for the sake of not RPing weeks upon weeks of roadside camping, but you're welcome to set scenes along the way as well.
Operations will not be GMed, but we're always happy to answer questions or provide additional details as requested.
If you would like to suggest a war table operation--if your character is doing something other people should probably notice and investigate, their relatives are causing trouble, etc.--let us know on the Plot Request page.

Ferelden

The Secrets of Andraste: The team that investigated the ruins beneath and beyond the Temple of Sacred Ashes returned with ancient texts and artifacts. Adequately cataloging and translating these finds could help the Inquisition recover some of the political ground it has lost with the Chantry since the Herald's death. The texts, unfortunately, are written in an ancient runic script that no one in the Inquisition can fully translate. One scholar suggests that they are Alamarri, and the closest links are likely to be found among the Chasind Wilders. This operation requires four to six characters who will be absent from Skyhold for at least ten days. Those chosen will be told to equip for a fight but to try not to start one.

Orlais

The Chantry Remains: The Chantry's scattered condemnations of the Inquisition ceased--or at least ceased being publicly trumpeted--for a respectful period after the Herald's death, but the accusations of heresy and calls for the organization's disbandment have renewed. This operation requires three to five characters, with preference given to those who will not be immediately branded heretics as soon as they show their faces or open their mouths, who will be absent from Skyhold for at least five days.

Skyhold

Investigate Lyrium Theft: Small amounts of lyrium have been disappearing from the Inquisition's stores with enough regularity that it can no longer be considered a coincidence, and the Inquisition is looking into the problem. Those asked to help will need to be capable of discretion. This operation requires three to four characters who will need to remain in Skyhold for the seven days during the investigation.

INFO REQUESTS

If your character is investigating, experimenting, researching, normal-searching, organizing, exploring, polling, or anything along those general lines and you'd like mod input about what the results would be, ask us here! There's no form for this, just let us know what they're up to and what your question is and we'll get back to you. While requests and replies will generally be unscreened, please make sure to check whether results are IC public knowledge before assuming that your character is aware of them.

PLOT REQUESTS & IDEAS

We strongly encourage player plots, quests, missions, adventures and so on, especially ones that grow out of PC action. We are also always open to ideas if players have something in mind but feel for some reason that they can't run a prospective plot themselves. So that requests and answers can be screened, please use the form on the Plot Request page.

—NAVIGATION↠

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Cult of Andraste: The Temple of Sacred Ashes--now ruined--was built on an older ruined temple that was once guarded by cultists and a dragon, and many of the underground passageways remain unexplored. The Inquisition is sending a small team to scout the passageways for two reasons. First, there is a theory that Corypheus and whomever else was responsible for the explosion at the Conclave may have used these tunnels to approach unseen. Second, the Inquisition needs funds and resources, and there is a strong likelihood that the tunnels contain relics of value. This operation requires 2-4 characters who will be gone for at least three days.

Participants: Maria Hill, Nerva Lecuyer, Twisted Fate, Dorian Pavus

Characters may encounter deepstalkers and giant spiders, but otherwise the first half of the excursion into the ancient temple ruins will be fairly quiet. During the first half of the inward journey, they will discover signs that others had recently traveled through the passages, including a sizeable abandoned camp site in one open chamber with provisions, bedrolls, and other supplies left untouched. Some spare battlemage armor left at the site will bear Grey Warden insignia. It will be very stylish and probably in someone's size.

Exploring deeper--following strange breezes to their sources, wrenching or bashing open some ancient doors and hollow wall panels, that sort of thing--will reveal passageways that have been untouched for hundreds of years, with unintelligible runes written on the walls. The team will also find a number of ancient artifacts, including illegible texts barely holding together, jewelry and other personal effects of Alamarri design, and bones in the oldest and most delicate stages of deterioration. While exploring, they may glimpse ghostlike human figures at the edge of their torchlight; one in particular will stand and watch them for extended periods of time but vanish if approached. Should they choose to remove any of the artifacts, they will be attacked by eight ash wraiths on their way back out of the temple.

ICly, the characters cannot leave before Haring 5, when the majority of the Inquisition's forces will have returned from the Fallow Mire and had time to regroup. OOCly, you may begin before or after December 5 and back- or forward-date accordingly.

Edited 2015-11-29 18:45 (UTC)

would dorian be able to use some sort of necromantic (or perhaps perfectly normal) spell to bind the ghost-y figure watching them, and compel it to speak to them, whether by force or coaxing?

Dorian can bind the spirit, which will claim to be Havard, Andraste's first disciple. It will be willing to answer questions about "its" life and Andraste without force. However, every few sentences it will stop to ask Dorian or the others, in a very solemn manner, a completely nonsensical riddle--think combinations of multiple riddles that would have been easy if asked correctly, but jumbled as they are do not actually have logical answers. While bound, it will accept "I don't know" or any other response and move on with the conversation. But if at any point someone tries to provide a genuine answer (necessarily incorrect) (and sarcasm or flippancy do count as answers, Dorian), it will turn into a wraith and attack as soon as it's unbound.

In that scenario, the team will face only seven additional ash wraiths if it attempts to remove artifacts from the temple.

Edited 2015-11-30 06:02 (UTC)

(no subject)

liberalum - 2015-11-30 06:19 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

faderifting - 2015-11-30 06:58 (UTC) - Expand

Scout Emprise du Lion: Ser Michel de Chevin has brought the Inquisition news of strange Templars conducting mining operations in Emprise du Lion. The Inquisition is sending a small group of low-profile scouts to investigate the area and report back so the Inquisition will know what to expect before sending more forces. This operation requires 3-7 characters who will be gone for at least three weeks If Emprise du Lion is chosen as the next region, the scouts will be asked to remain there until Inquisition forces arrive rather than return to Skyhold. Characters are not required to be scouts in order to participate, but they will be expected to attract as little attention as possible.

Participants: Christine Delacroix, Merrick Ashara, Samouel Gareth, Korrin Ataash, Kain Highwind, Katniss Everdeen, Cremisius Aclassi

This group will initially travel with those doing the Scout the Western Approach operation, but the group will split in two after leaving the Frostbacks. Using Ser Michel's information, they will be advised to set up camp near Sahrnia, and will be instructed to pose as merchants and hunters rather than Inquisition forces until the situation has been assessed.

Emprise du Lion is a snowy, mountainous region, with a river that has been frozen solid. The locals are increasingly desperate, and now many of their number are missing. The scouts' best bets will be pretending to hunt--and in some cases actually hunting--in the wilderness beyond the village to get closer to the mines and Templar encampments. They will have been advised to look for signs of a demon as well. As they explore, they'll discover:

Suledin Keep, an old elven fortress, currently overrun by Red Templars. Getting too close without being noticed will be difficult, but at night the more agile of the scouts will be able to successfully sneak around the back of the Keep and scale walls or peer through gaps into the interior. Should they do so, they will catch glimpses of giants. They may also observe the Templars deferring to a man in plain clothes.
An extensive red lyrium mining operation to the south, heavily guarded, with villagers being held in cages.
An old Grey Warden outpost--Valeska's Watch, famously built on top of the darkspawns' primary entrance to the surface after the Third Blight so it could be perpetually guarded--with a locked door and no signs of activity.
A lot of snow.
So much snow.
Dragons in the distance.

Some of the captive villagers on the outskirts of the mining operation will be reachable at night. They will not know what the Templars are doing but will report that other villagers have been taken and never returned. Several cages will contain the bodies of those who have died from exposure in addition to living captives. Whether or not to free any of the captive villagers who are accessible on the outskirts will be up to the scouts, but doing so more than once is likely to alert the Templars that someone is watching and working against them and may have longterm consequences for the Inquisition's efforts in the region. Freeing those in the heart of the mining operation would, at this point, be a suicide mission.

Day to day, characters will need to contend with cold, aggressive wolves, and a few demon-producing rifts. They may also tangle with one or two red lyrium-corrupted Templars if they're discovered snooping too close to the mining operation. If so, it would be advisable to make their deaths look natural rather than potentially put the others on alert.

The group will be tasked with sketching maps and reporting its findings back to the Inquisition. They're welcome to communicate with Skyhold and individual characters via their sending crystals, whether to relate what they are seeing or to keep themselves entertained during slow periods, and they will not be asked to keep anything they discover a secret. Meaning: please disseminate this information!

ICly, the characters cannot leave before Haring 5, when the majority of the Inquisition's forces will have returned from the Fallow Mire and had time to regroup. OOCly, you may begin before or after December 5 and back- or forward-date accordingly.

Edited 2015-11-29 18:45 (UTC)

Will Krem be able to bring any of his men with him? (The stealthier ones, at least. The ones experienced in scouting, recon, maybe sabotage.) He can easily head out on his own, but having men to send ahead to estimate numbers of red templars or locations of dragons may come in handy for his party.

In general, the teams for any war table operation are meant to be as small as described and the tasks are meant to be performed by PCs. Since there would be no fair way for us to allow you to bring NPCs but not allow others to do the same, which could make the numbers for any given operation balloon, we'd have to say no.

However! We actually recently decided to add a few (3) NPCs to the larger scouting teams. The purpose of these NPCs will be to give players people to kill off if they want to underscore how dangerous something is or to otherwise have at their disposal. If your group is okay with one or two of the team's three allotted NPCs being Chargers, that's fine with us. But in turn you would have to be okay with allowing other players to control them and possibly kill them like traditional NPCs without needing your permission or input.

(no subject)

kremdelacreme - 2015-12-02 19:46 (UTC) - Expand

In addition to the player characters, you can choose to have up to three NPCs participate in this scouting mission. NPCs must be Inquisition members (or hired help) and cannot have any skills or information that would be remarkable for your run-of-the-mill Inquisition scout. The purpose of these NPCs is mostly to give you someone to kill off. (:D) They can also do grunt work (e.g., if it would be stupid not to leave someone behind to keep watch but no players want their characters to stand there twiddling thumbs) and advise characters who aren't used to scouting or stealth on any basic skills they may be lacking.

Whether you use the NPCs, what their names and personalities are, and what happens to them is up to the group.

Hi Mods!

I think we're all going undercover as merchants, guards, hunters, etc. on this so we don't attract attention. As such it would look weird for our mages to be carrying their staves with them. Is it possible that rather then a full sized staff the mages can have a short staff or some sort of foci on them to help with spellcasting and such?

Thanks!

Sorry for the delay! Mages can use shorter staves, staves that look like walking sticks, etc., as long as they're made of staff material, and with the understanding that shorter staves will do a proportionally poorer job of funneling magic.

(no subject)

el_tybs - 2015-12-14 19:54 (UTC) - Expand

Do we already know that the ruins are the Warden Fortress Valeska's Watch, or would it be required for us to have someone research about it?

What/approximately where Valeska's Watch is is common historical knowledge! If characters are unsure the villagers will be able to tell them about it.

(no subject)

el_tybs - 2015-12-17 00:53 (UTC) - Expand

Address a Nobleman's Concerns: Lord Kildarn, in Northern Ferelden, wrote to the Inquisition requesting assistance with troublemakers taking advantage of the chaos to occupy his lands. The Inquisition is sending a group to help him. This operation requires 2-5 characters who will be gone for at least four days and will have a group of NPC soldiers at their disposal.

Participants: Zevran Arainai, Maxwell Trevean, Pel Ashara, Salem Ghilan, Alistair

Lord Kildarn's initial request made it sound as if he was being overrun by looters and murderers, and it will not be until Inquisition forces arrive that they will discover the troublemakers are refugees who have set up camps on his farmlands--including elves and apostates, which is causing Kildarn considerable personal distress--but are only hungry and homeless, not criminals. Lord Kildarn is an older man, and he will house the Inquisition members and be for the most part a hospitable host. However, he will be insistent to the point of furious spitting that the refugees should not remain on his land.

The group's original orders, based on his first request, are to protect the region's villagers and farmers and help Kildarn clear the occupants from his land. If the group reports back to the Inquisition's advisors concerning the reality of the situation, they will be told they are in the best position to decide what to do with the refugees, but to try to avoid angering Kildarn more than necessary. If at any point it becomes apparent to Lord Kildarn that the Inquisition will not be assisting him in the manner he desires, he'll eject them from his home, but he lacks the manpower to force them off his lands.

Along with the player characters, the Inquisition sent a small contingent of foot soldiers who would prefer to follow orders. Whether the Inquisition drives the refugees off Kildarn's land, helps them settle there permanently, or looks for a third option will be up to the player characters.

ICly, the characters cannot leave before Haring 5, when the majority of the Inquisition's forces will have returned from the Fallow Mire and had time to regroup. OOCly, you may begin before or after December 5 and back- or forward-date accordingly.

Edited 2015-11-30 06:11 (UTC)

Scout the Western Approach: The Grey Wardens are up to something, and all available information suggests they're up to it in western Orlais. The Inquisition is sending a small group of low-profile scouts to follow the trail they've left and find out where they are and what they're doing so the Inquisition will know what to expect before sending more forces. This operation requires 3-7 characters who will be gone for at least three weeks. If the Western Approach is chosen as the next region, the scouts will be asked to remain there until Inquisition forces arrive rather than return to Skyhold. Characters are not required to be scouts in order to participate, but they will be expected to attract as little attention as possible.

Participants: Rachette Dakal, Salvatore, Dismas, Clint Barton, Fenris

This group will initially travel with those doing the Scout Emprise du Lion operation, but the group will split in two after leaving the Frostbacks. They will be able to track the Grey Wardens--who the Inquisition's Warden guests will report were previously in Montsimmard--using tracking methods and overheard gossip. They should follow the Imperial Highway south of Lake Celestine and then cut west to the desert. They will be instructed to pose as merchants and travelers rather than Inquisition forces until the situation has been assessed.

Upon reaching the Western Approach, the group will quickly notice signs of a Venatori presence in the eastern areas of the region, while they will have to scout further west to find the Wardens they were sent after. Rather than establishing a noticeable camp, they should set up in a cave along the canyon walls. Through observation, the scouts will find:

An old Tevinter palace nestled in the cliffs, guarded by Venatori.
Signs (sounds, movement to and from) of additional Venatori activity beyond an unbreachable door built into a cliffside.
Grey Wardens occupying Griffon Wing Keep in large numbers, apparently disinterested in the nearby Venatori and vice versa. The scouts may be able to get close enough to the keep to discern the sight--or smell--of bodies being disposed of on pyres. During the course of the scouts' stay in the Approach, the Wardens will begin to leave the Keep in groups and retreat toward Adamant Fortress.
Various mines, resources, water sources.
Sulfur pits rendering much of the area inaccessible.
Signs and brief sightings of a dragon.

Toward the end of their time in the Western Approach, the scouts may come upon a young, runaway Grey Warden recruit named Margot who will be able to confirm that the Wardens are performing blood sacrifices but not be able to explain why. She will ask the group--whether they tell her they're merchants or Inquisition members--if she can travel them. If they permit her to do so, they will later be discovered by a group of Grey Wardens following her trail. They will have to choose between maintaining cover as uninterested merchants/travelers and returning her to them, or defending her and killing her pursuers. The latter will likely alert the Grey Wardens that someone in the area is counteracting them and may have longterm consequences for the Inquisition's efforts in the region.

Day to day, characters may need to combat thirst, aggressive local wildlife, demon-producing rifts, and groups of highway bandits. They may also be discovered by small groups of Venatori and need to take appropriate action--either by talking their way out of it or by killing them. If the latter, it would be advisable to make their deaths look natural rather than potentially put the Wardens and Venatori on alert.

The group will be tasked with sketching maps and reporting its findings back to the Inquisition. They're welcome to communicate with Skyhold and individual characters via their sending crystals, whether to relate what they are seeing or to keep themselves entertained during slow periods, and they will not be asked to keep anything they discover a secret. Meaning: please disseminate this information!

ICly, the characters cannot leave before Haring 5, when the majority of the Inquisition's forces will have returned from the Fallow Mire and had time to regroup. OOCly, you may begin before or after December 5 and back- or forward-date accordingly.

Locate Missing Agents in Jader: A pair of Inquisition agents in Jader were trying to identify and locate a Venatori agent who was brokering trade deals to supply the forces in Emprise du Lion. After missing two scheduled reports, the agents are considered missing. Find out what happened without drawing attention to the Inquisition's activities. This operation requires 2-5 characters who will be gone for at least ten days.

Participants: Isabela, Beleth Ashara

Jader is a port city on the Waking Sea at the border of Orlais and Ferelden, though it is currently considered a part of Orlais. It's known primarily as a hub for trade between northern and southern Thedas. After arriving, the team will make contact with a local merchant who acts as an Inquisition informant. She will tell them that the agents are not missing: they have been arrested for the murder of Adelbard Bergling, a Nevarran trader of moderate wealth who had recently taken up residence in the city, and Jeanette, his young daughter. The agents are locked up in the central gaol, and the authorities are unaware of the prisoners' Inquisition connections and will be unimpressed if informed.

If the group reports back to the Inquisition's advisors, they will be told that the priority is learning what intelligence the imprisoned agents have gathered. Whether this is done by freeing them or through some other means is up to the judgment of the team. Any option will require somehow infiltrating the prison. If questioned in their cells, the Inquisition agents will admit to killing the child to keep her from alerting her father to their presence.

An escape attempt naturally carries higher risks to all involved, and will require killing at least a handful of guardsmen. If it fails, they risk exposing the Inquisition's activities and causing a political incident. On the other hand, leaving the agents in custody essentially guarantees that they will be executed for these crimes, and they will refuse to disclose what they may have learned from Adelbard Bergling before his death if they believe the Inquisition intends to abandon them. However, your characters may be able to learn something if they leave the agents behind and investigate Bergling's residence themselves.

When your characters have determined which route they would like to pursue, comment here to let us know so we can tell you what they'll learn.

Hello, lovely modlings!

OK, so, the two of us put our heads together, and we do have 1 question: Exactly how many agents are we trying to spring from jail? Because we'd like to attempt a prison break!

This is the general plan we came up with (please let us know if anything won't work/isn't feasible--we're willing to tweak, or accept the consequences of it failing):

-Arrive in Jader. Before leaving, Admiral Isabela calls on her underlings and so has at least one ship, possibly 2, with crew in the harbor, even if she and Beleth don't actually arrive by boat.
-Meet with merchant informant, who tells them agents are locked up because of murdershanking. Isabela figures that, assuming law enforcement hasn't confiscated it, whatever the agents were looking for is probably still at Bergling's house. ~~As is probably a worthwhile portion of his wealth.~~
-They send an initial report back to the Inquisition's advisors and learn the #1 priority.
-Meanwhile, they do an initial surface investigation of Bergling's house, probably not more than a couple hours if time permits. Isabela then sends in 2-3 of her crew members to actually clean out anything useful/valuable and take it back to the ship(s) in the harbor.
-Isabela and Beleth, learning agents are Priority 1, then disguise themselves somehow (kitchen servants, whores coming in for conjugal visits, whatever works to get them inside) and try to sneak in. They will use their ~~boobs~~ feminine wiles as needed to cause distractions.
-They kill as few guards as possible on the way down and do so with as little mess and noise as they can. They take out whoever they need to on the agents' cell block, though. Then, opening the agents' cells, they drag the dead guards inside and cover them in whatever serves as bedding to make it look like the prisoners are asleep inside, and have the agents don the guards' uniforms as disguises so they can try to get them out while attracting as little attention as they can. ...they will totally shank whoever they have to, though, don't pretend otherwise.
-Meanwhile they destroy/abandon any non-intelligence items that could link them with the Inquisition to minimize the risk of exposure. If anything DOES go wrong, they try to put the blame on the Raiders of the Waking Sea, saying that this is a Raider job and any seeming links to the Inquisition are because they're trying to get information to sell to the Inquisition, not because they're working for them, oh no!
-Make getaway. Use Isabela's ship if necessary.
-Return the agents back to Skyhold, if possible, so they can debrief what they know and answer for their actions.

Ta da~? ~~What could possibly go wrong? It's not the dumbest plan ever used in a prison break. Not like they're pretending to be circus performers or anything.~~

Again, we would like to be clear that, if it is determined something would go wrong, the IC consequences will be accepted.

Exactly how many agents are we trying to spring from jail?

Two!

Ta da~?

Ooh, ahh! And two notes:

First, Jader is not far north of Skyhold by land, so you're right that it would make more sense for Isabela and Beleth to meet with Isabela's crew when they arrive rather than traveling there by ship.

Second, while it's fine for Isabela to use her people for tasks outside the main mission objective, please keep them confined to the sidelines--we want to make sure that operations' main objectives (in this case, springing the agents) are performed primarily by player characters.

What could possibly go wrong?

While Isabela and Beleth are in route back to Skyhold with the agents, the agents will feel safe and grateful enough to tell them a list of the middle-men who had been operating between Bergling and the Venatori. It would be wise of them to relay this information to Skyhold immediately via sending crystal! When they do so, however, they will be instructed to execute the agents in the mountains rather than return them to Skyhold, and will be asked to tell anyone who asks that the agents attacked first.

Waking Nightmares in Skyhold: During the dim morning hours, a deep, bellowing laugh rumbles the ground, and shrieks and curses and prayers begin to score what's left of late night tranquility. The worst inevitability has finally occurred: a young mage, in the depths of sleep, has given in to demonic possession and transformed into an Abomination, scattering his panicked peers attempting to flee his path of senseless, maddened destruction. This operation requires 3-4 people to handle the Abomination directly, and will require they be present in Skyhold and responsive towards this emergency to participate. This event will trigger once all volunteers are selected. (Submitted by Samm.)

Participants: Vivienne, Cullen Rutherford, Adelaide LeBlanc, Sabriel Abhorsen

Your group will be the informal response team that sees through the Abomination's necessary defeat, gathering together when its trail of destruction is already underway.

The Abomination will have erupted in the garden area, where some young mages have taken to camping beneath the stars on clearer nights. Many will be hurt, a few beyond recovery, before the Abomination continues its destruction into the main hall, blasting open the interior entry way. The beast itself is at least seven feet tall, mage robes torn to stretch in tatters over muscle that misshapen forms that treats once-human flesh in much the same manner, gorily splitting over bony protrusions and raw flesh. The only true human part of it left is its eyes, which seem frightened, but when it opens its mouth, there is only deep maniacal laughter and drooling fangs.

Disturbingly, it seems intent to drag along the corpse of a young mage woman by the ankle. Should it drop her to focus an attack, it will try to retrieve her when moving on.

Battling the Abomination within the interior of Skyhold will result in further damage to its surroundings, including possible bystanders, although crowd control is up to your characters and many will be keen to get out of the way. The alternative is to drive it out into the courtyards, and even better, out through the gates and into the snowy wasteland. It is nearly impervious to fire magic, as that is its choice of weapon, as well as magics relating to nature and spirit, but it is vulnerable to other, harsher elements. It will also attack physically, with biting, scratching, and picking up tools (tables, swords, body parts) for bludgeoning.

This event will occur on Haring 11. While your characters will be the group that ultimately handle the Abomination and conclude the crisis, this event will also be open for Skyhold characters in general to react to the Abomination (and an additional open post will be created by the mods for this purpose). OOCly, you may begin before or after December 11 and back- or forward-date accordingly.

Do we know the mage in question's name, and the name of the dead girl he's dragging around?

The mage's name is Lauren Stouts; the girl is Gale Fleming. (Asking anyone about either of them after the attack will reveal that they were involved.)

Reparations for Redcliffe: Arl Teagan of Redcliffe has sent the Inquisition a politely irritated letter concerning the state Redcliffe was left in by the rebel mages, including damaged buildings, destroyed crops, and several injured villagers. The Inquisition has agreed to pay for repairs but would also like to send mages to the village to survey the damage and deliver the Inquisition's apologies in person. This operation requires three to five characters, with preference given to mages, who will be absent from Skyhold for at least five days.

Participants: Bruce ~~Banner~~, Adelaide LeBlanc, Salvatore

The group will find Redcliffe blanketed with snow and in exactly the condition described, although the villagers have made some progress in rebuilding. Several buildings on the outskirts of the village were partially burned or destroyed while the mages were using it as a stronghold during the war, and those mages who refused the Inquisition's offer and departed to join the Venatori did more damage as they retreated. The Inquisition's representatives will be offered a place to stay within Redcliffe Castle, which suffered minor internal damage and had some of its decor and valuable stolen.

Arl Teagan will be civil but suspicious and irate, partly out of irritation at having been personally ejected from his home and forced to go ask his older brother and the Crown for help, but the concerns he voices will primarily be about his people. He will be prone to referring to the Inquisition's mages and the former rebels/Venatori sympathizers as a single entity. However, like the Fereldan Crown, he is fundamentally sympathetic to mages and their desire for freedom, or at least fewer restrictions, and will not be overtly aggressive or offensive.

The villagers will be a mixed bag: the majority who remained in the village this long despite the rebel mages' presence have no fundamental problem with mages, but they will be tired, cold, and unimpressed with verbal apologies. Additionally, several families who left Redcliffe because of the mages' presence or the dangers of the surrounding war will have returned by now and be unhappy to see more walking around. Your characters may be directly approached by locals complaining about their lost animals, stolen belongings, and injured relatives.

Characters who play close attention may notice a boy following them whenever possible, watching from a distance, and averting his eyes whenever caught. If approached, he may be coaxed into admitting that his name is Calum, age ten, and he has developed magic. His mother, Annis, will attempt to intervene and stop the conversation. Your characters can choose to leave them be or pursue the matter further. Forcing the issue will confirm the boy is a mage and potentially dangerous, having already burnt one of the family's chickens to a crisp by mistake, but without the Circles in place, his mother does not know what to do with him.

ICly, since we've been horrendously late getting this information to you, you can time the mission whenever is most convenient for your characters. This can include forward-dating, backdating, or squeezing it into a pocket dimension that exists outside of time. (Please don't actually ICly create any pocket dimensions.)

If you have any questions or would like to know how NPCs might respond to particular acts by your characters, please reply to this comment to ask. When you have completed the Operation (and decided how to handwave the portions you do not RP), please reply to this comment with the following information:

This report can be written from either an IC or OOC perspective, whichever you would prefer. It doesn't need to be lengthy or overly detailed; its purpose is just to allow us to keep track of characters' actions and incorporate their effects into the world state and future plots.

OPERATION: Reparations for Redcliffe
PARTICIPANTS: Salvatore, Bruce, Adelaide
LOG: Log
REPORT:

Commander Cullen & Advisors,

Upon our arrival at Redcliffe we made our way firstly to Arl Teagan. The Mage Salvatore spoke with him, and as is his custom was respectful, contrite, and empathetic to the wrongs suffered by he and his people in what the Mages had done. Apologies were made and reparations offered beyond the funds for rebuilding. Bruce tended to those injured or ill that were not comfortable with magical healing, I myself treated as many as possible with magic and Salvatore assisted one or the other of us, going about to be present and pleasant. There was a young boy (Calum) that followed us at a distance for some time- at first we thought it mere curiosity but upon approaching him he admitted why he had been watching us. He had developed magic and without the circles to be sent to- he and his mother (Annis) do not know what to do. He had already burned one of the family's chickens to a crisp-

After some deliberation the best option we came to was bringing Calum and his family to Skyhold where he could be taught control and mentored properly. It has taken some coaxing but they will be joining us on the return trip and Calum shall be granted a personal mentor until he has caught up with the rest of the students and apostates in Skyhold. I take personal responsibility for whatever comes of him.

We hope these actions are to the Inquisition's satisfaction.

- Councilor LeBlanc

Rescue Waylaid Inquisition Caravan: A shipment of rare materials bound for Skyhold from Southern Orlais and several refugee families picked up along the way disappeared somewhere in the Dales, where Empress Celene and Grand Duke Gaspard's war currently rages. The Inquisition has managed to narrow their last location to a village east of the Emerald Graves. This operation requires four to six characters who will be absent from Skyhold for at least ten days and cautioned to expect a fight.

Participants: The Iron Bull, Malcolm Reynolds, Anders, Jamie McCrimmon, Lenneth

Scouts' information will point your characters toward Gironde, a small village located in the rocky Frostback foothills east of the Emerald Graves. Villagers will be able to point your characters to the remains of the merchants and Inquisition guards who were accompanying the shipment, now shallowly buried alongside the road.

The shipment and refugees are missing, but it will not be difficult to follow the trail of the wagons and families. A ledger left along the trail will detail the shipment's contents (lyrium, fine metals, and a stock of swords) and note the names and ages of the members of the four refugee families who disappeared with the shipment. They consist of three human families from the Exalted Plains and one elven family from Halamshiral.

West of the hills, at the edge of the forest, your characters will encounter an armed band in Orlesian military uniforms. The first group they encounter will attack on sight in an attempt to prevent them from proceeding. Beyond them, the group will find a crumbling ruin of a fortress with more soldiers holed up inside. Keen observers will be able to estimate their number to be approximately 16. Three of them will hold up their hands and come out to talk, with a handful of archers watching from the wall.

The Freemen will inform the group that the refugees are under their protection now, with no desire to leave, and the supplies have already been sold to pay for food and other necessities. If asked to, the Freemen will fetch two of the adult refugees from the Exalted Plains to meet the Inquisition group and attest that they are not being held against their will.

Let us know how your characters proceed from that point (call it a day and head home, insist on visiting the fortress to check for the shipment, kill everyone in sight, etc.) and we will provide you with follow-up information.

ICly, since we've been horrendously late getting this information to you, you can time the mission whenever is most convenient for your characters. This can include forward-dating, backdating, or squeezing it into a pocket dimension that exists outside of time. (Please don't actually ICly create any pocket dimensions.)

If you have any questions or would like to know how NPCs might respond to particular acts by your characters, please reply to this comment to ask.

So they plan on pretending that they accept the refugees are safe and leaving, doubling back and sneaking to try to find a way to actually rescue the refugees from being hostages, as well as potentially see what they can find of the Inquisition's resources.

(no subject)

faderifting - 2016-01-31 18:53 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

aintwejust - 2016-04-05 22:50 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

War Table

WAR TABLE ARCHIVES

THE CULT OF ANDRASTE

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

SCOUT EMPRISE DU LION

QUESTION

no subject

(no subject)

ADDENDUM

QUESTION

no subject

(no subject)

Valeska's Watch Question

no subject

(no subject)

ADDRESS A NOBLEMAN'S CONCERNS

SCOUT THE WESTERN APPROACH

ADDENDUM

LOCATE MISSING AGENTS IN JADER

no subject

no subject

WAKING NIGHTMARES IN SKYHOLD

no subject

no subject

REPARATIONS FOR REDCLIFFE

no subject

RESCUE WAYLAID INQUISITION CARAVAN

Re: RESCUE WAYLAID INQUISITION CARAVAN

(no subject)

(no subject)