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↠

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Edited 2015-11-28 22:13 (UTC)

Dorian will definitely be listing his research heavily towards Corypheus -- perusing books available in the library, going to great lengths to obtain new codices beyond Skyhold, writing to any trusted scholars back in Tevinter for more information, and so on. An indication of how far he could get would be great, and any other notes you can think of!

I can also narrow this down if necessary, just Dorian's net being cast is rather broad, if biased towards his knowledge of Tevinter history.

Pel's continued research into veilfire runes was approved by Cullen, and now she needs to find other known locations of these runes around Ferelden and Orlais. She'll be requesting information, obscure sources including anything about elven ruins and veilfire runes, and asking about word-of-mouth from other areas of the map, writing to other Dalish clans. She's hoping to lead an excursion when she has some leads on locations.

Edited 2015-11-27 03:45 (UTC)

Dorian is welcome to find out everything he discovers in the course of Inquisition, including Corypheus' origins and connection to House Amladaris, through books recovered from the Tevinter Imperium or other leads. If you would like to turn this into a more complex endeavor with more RP opportunities--for example, off the top of our heads, having the books from Tevinter "mysteriously" stolen en route so they must be recovered, or being on the receiving end of more serious repercussions from House Amladaris--we would be happy to support a player plot of that nature.

Pel will be able to discover that elven glyphs made in a manner similar to those found in the Fallow Mire (which are not elven in design or message, only in technique) have been sighted throughout Thedas.

Should she write to Keeper Hawen, currently in the Exalted Plains, he may be willing to send her sketches of glyphs from the region, which his clan has examined but been unable to translate. However, due to the danger caused by the Orlesian war, she would not currently receive Inquisition support to travel there personally to investigate.

We would suggest having Pel talk to members of Skyhold's Tevinter contingent about securing books from the Imperium that have been banned by the Chantry elsewhere, such as Veilfire: A Beginner's Primer with Numerous Teachings, Exercises, and Applications by Magister Pendictus. The book includes an appendix of various partially-translated pieces of veilfire writing that may aid her in translating new glyphs.

Fully translating the runes provided by Hawen or discovered elsewhere will require the cooperation of numerous Dalish clans. Pel may wish to talk to other Dalish in Skyhold about whether or not their Keepers would be cooperative or willing to send their ancient texts to her for comparison. She'll also need to contact fully-NPC clans; after she's spoken with everyone and had time to send letters, we can provide their responses.

I would love to do something like that! I'll probably contact one or both of you once I've thought about it more/allow for quicker exchanges and plotting and see where we get to. Thanks for the suggestion, and also the notes!

She'll definitely be pulling strings among the Dalish, contacting as many of the Keepers as she can remember, and getting Tevinter acquaintances to pull other strings. I'm hoping most of this can be threaded rather than handwaved, but I'll keep you posted on progress there regardless.

If she cannot receive Inquisition support to investigate the runes Keeper Hawen writes about, how might things go if she requested leave, rather than support?

Pel wouldn't be prevented from leaving Skyhold but would be strongly cautioned against it, since the Exalted Plains are not presently the half-deserted, quiet ruin seen in the game, but the fully active primary front in the War of the Lions. Keeper Hawen's goal in sending her his clan's sketches of the runes would be to prevent the need for her to travel there in person; if she insists, the Dalish clan will allow her to stay with them but will not risk its members providing her with protection when she leaves the camp to explore.

She may be able to convince Hawen to remove one or two stone segments containing the runes that are safest to reach and send them to Skyhold with merchants, but they'll likely require some form of payment/trade for the effort, and the runes may be damaged in the process.

OOCly, we would recommend against it at this time because of the length of time it would require Pel to be away from other player characters. However, if you focus on other avenues of investigation for now--characters are always welcome to travel to the Hinterlands, for example, and she may be able to find veilfire runes and some ancient elven ruins there if she would like to take a team exploring--we'd be happy to see it run as a war table operation or player plot in the future. But our aim is to let Pel eventually get what she needs to translate the runes, uncover the location of one or more elven temples, and lead expeditions there (if you would like), with or without first visiting the Exalted Plains, since it may be some time before that area is fully available.

No that's all excellent, Salem-mun and I were just chatting about a small expedition in the near future. I feel like you've given more than enough avenues and I'm very excited about this pursuit of elven history that Pel is able to engage in. I'll keep you updated, and thank you so much for your help!

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)

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)

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)

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)

HOW GREAT. he will definitely sass the demonghost.

what about questions as to what happened at the conclave? i mean not to elbow past its significant and worthy knowledge of ancient history or the fact it might just be fucking with them, but will it give any indications as to corypheus's activities in the lead up to destruction?

Attaboy.

If asked about prior travelers, "Havard" will inform the team--verbatim, each time the topic is broached--that "they took nothing of hers," and have nothing else to add. He will only give this response when asked about groups or individuals who have at some point passed through the temple, however, and will honestly report that he has never seen those who have not. He will lack any sense of time.

The list of people who have passed through includes Brother Genitivi, other recent Chantry figures and sanctioned explorers, Corypheus, some number of Grey Wardens, a few treasure hunters (who took nothing because they became dead before they could), countless cultists, various ancient Alamarri, and now Maria, Nerva, Fate, and Dorian.

The Hero of Ferelden and Company passed through as well; Havard's response if asked about them will be that they took what they earned. If the team inquires at all into how to earn the right to take things, they will get more broken riddles in quick succession until they change the subject.

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.

hello. is the codex you refer to something Dorian will be able to secure via letters to former colleagues and known scholars in the Imperium? they can either trade some of their own books for it, or if the Inquisition is willing to part with some wealth as a token of gratitude.

Dorian can secure it through letters and so on, as easily or with as much difficulty as you'd like.

Being horribly human-centric and currently unaware that ancient elven history has any connection to Corypheus or future dangers, the Inquisition leadership on the whole isn't going to be willing to devote much time or any money to this endeavor. That said, no one but the ex-Circle archivist will fuss if Dorian trades some of the more useless books in the library for others, and Dorian may be able to charm and/or annoy a small amount of money out of Josephine in the name of building the Inquisition's library into an impressive and unique collection that will impress visitors and attract scholars etc. etc. etc. as long as no one mentions that any of the books at issue are banned.

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.

Understood, and that is completely reasonable. I just ask because it's likely that Krem would at least bring along a couple of his men to act either as a rear guard or reinforcements or generally be helpful while he's out and about with his party.

Simon is working on a treatment for River to make her a bit more stable, and right now is starting out small with herbal sedatives and the like. In the near future he'll start trying to make something more drastic, something to temporarily weaken her link to the Fade in order to quiet the voices she hears (hopefully opening one or both of them up to be able to participate in missions outside Skyhold). I'm imagining it would essentially be a weak and temporary sort of Tranquility in a bottle, and I wanted to get your input on whether or not that would even work or how long it would take, what sort of materials he'd need, etc etc.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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War Table

OPERATION SIGN-UPS

INFO REQUESTS

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WAR TABLE ARCHIVES

THE CULT OF ANDRASTE

SCOUT EMPRISE DU LION

ADDRESS A NOBLEMAN'S CONCERNS

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SCOUT THE WESTERN APPROACH

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QUESTION

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