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>Who are we?
Maka, an exiled noble recently Exalted as a Zenith-caste Solar. She's in the western city of Tianna as a guest of queen Amata (DB), an old friend. Abyssals are targeting the city for conquest, Lintha pirates have infiltrated it with spies and agents, and the Realm is probably planning to get rid of you. Enjoy.

>Solar? Zenith? I don't know Exalted...
This quest is as newbie-friendly as possible, and I want it to work as a newbie's intro to Exalted. If you have ANY question, ask in thread. For the setting, google "1d4chan exalted".

>Archive?
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=zenith

>System?
Dicepool-like system. When performing an action, everyone rolls 1d10 when posting. the first X rolls are considered, where X is equal to attribute + ability. Yes, this means that the more people are posting, the stronger Maka is, up to a limit of her attribute + ability.

>XP?
Attributes cost [current score x5] xp. Abilities cost [current score x3] xp, except Zenith costing [(current score x3) -1]. Charms cost 10 xp, except for Zenith-based charms (related to charisma and physical/mental fortitude) which cost 8 xp. At the end of every "session" (thread) you will be presented with a list of possible acquisitions.

>Twitter?
@exaltedfag

Asking again in this thread for more visibility: I've been thinking about making a thread where, rather than progressing the story, I'd be summing it up up to now, giving short NPC profiles and doing Q&A, mostly to let new people catch up, especially people unused to Exalted. What are your opinions? (Please reply by quoting this post so I can track them more easily)

>>31680306
>Let's go

>>31680306
>Wait, I have something to do first (what?)

Just make some introductions.

Ladies, Gentlemen. Meet Mikahil, professional mysterious stranger.

>>31680306
>Let's go

DAILY REMINDER: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/31510225/

>>31680306

>Let's go

We don't have any reason to gather everyone up to visit the twilight. I hope she know's wyld shaping on top of sorcery and other twilight things.

One of the things that the west has got is loads of wyld.

Rolled 5

>>31680306
>Wait one second

Give the people we're leaving behind something constructive to do.

>>31680306
>>Wait, I have something to do first
We should let Silk and the servants know what was on the boat, and that we're leaving for awhile

Rolled 9

>>31680306
>Let's go
Let's go see his waifu

File: Valeriana Kava.jpg (396 KB, 850x1420)

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After informing Silk, Regis and Millian, you cross the river on Mikahil's new boat, dismount, and proceed southwards, parallel to the coast, in no rush.

You take a moment to appreciate the weirdness of your group: there's you, Mikahil, Tia, Amata, Zareen and Swallow, just walking side by side in the empty countryside, chatting amicably.

It doesn't take long before you arrive at the Demesne, which is... actually a location you haven't visited yet, even though it's technically yours.
In the middle of this grassy flatland, there's like a miniature lake, barely twenty meters across, perfectly circular, with no rivers feeding to or from it. A short shoreline of fine white sand surrounds it all around evenly.
The water isn't really the pale blue, greenish, muddy, or transparent-ish color that lakes usually are, but is instead a deep, pure, unnatural ultramarine blue, almost glowing. It looks more like paint than water, given how colorful it is. It surfaces from the middle of the pond in a small geyser, producing small waves that expand radially until they hit the shore.

You can feel the flow of Essence in the air, like a current of cold water on your skin. The place is obviously magical.

"...Where is this Valeriana person, then?" You wonder. The Twilight Mikahil wanted to introduce to you is nowhere to be seen.

"...She should be here." Even he looks a bit puzzled.

That's about when you see someone emerging from the water of the lake. A blonde woman, not just fully clothed but wearing very elaborate, detailed, refined clothes. The water, however, doesn't seem to cling to them, or even to her hair, instead sliding off her and returning to the lake's surface. She's carrying a large book, which is, also, perfectly dry, and she opens it to read it as she walks towards the shore.

She sits on the sand, and producing a quill pen and a vial of ink, starts writing on it.

>>31680786
Well that's a cool trick.

Rolled 6

>>31680324
>Asking again in this thread for more visibility: I've been thinking about making a thread where, rather than progressing the story, I'd be summing it up up to now, giving short NPC profiles and doing Q&A, mostly to let new people catch up, especially people unused to Exalted. What are your opinions? (Please reply by quoting this post so I can track them more easily)
I'd be up for it, I'm really interested on those NPC profiles at least

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"Uh." You mumble.

"...Valeriana?" Mikahil asks.

"...Miss Kava?" Amata asks, a bit louder now.

She lifts her head from the book. "...Oh?"

And only now she notices you and stands up. "...Mikahil? You're already back?"

"I've been gone for three hours."

"Oh." She glances in the sun's direction to gauge the hour of the day. "You're right. Time flies."

"Ehm. I brought here Maka, the owner of the demesne and future spouse of queen Amata."

"I see." She looks in your direction, but seems to have other on her mind. "And who's this oversexed minx?"

"...Like I said..." Mikahil is about to facepalm.

>I'm not an oversexed minx!
>I'm not oversexed!
>I'm not a minx!
>I'm not... I'm Maka. Who are you?"
>Other

>>31680827

>"I'm not... I'm Maka. Who are you?"

Yep, she is one of those people who's not going to call us by name if we answer any differently.

Rolled 7

>>31680827
>Other
>I'm Maka, it's a pleasure to meet you
It sounds like she has that one artifact, collar of dawn cleansing light

>>31680827
>>Other
"I wasn't aware it was even possible to be oversexed.

Regardless, I'm Maka. Pleased to meet you."

>>31680854
Yeah, just politely ignore her remark.

Rolled 1

>>31680827
>"And who's this oversexed minx?"
>Too much sex?
Don't forget your dice people

Rolled 2

>>31680867
and the dice I nearly forgot.

>>31680827
>I'm not... I'm Maka. Who are you?"

>>31680827
>Other
"Oh my, you're just as direct and studious as Mikahil led me to believe. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Kava, I trust so long as your personal space is properly respected that my hospitality and sufferance will not be remiss?"

Rolled 3

>>31680894
Dice...

Rolled 10

>>31680862
Ha

I like this.

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Rolled 4

Turning on teh dice

Pic unrelated.

Rolled 7

>>31680827
>>31680862

this

Rolled 7

>>31680827
>Other

going with this>>31680862

Rolled 2

>>31680827
Pop talking to the heart for the social bonus. First impressions are important. Then go with >>31680862.

Rolled 7

>>31680324
>Asking again in this thread for more visibility: I've been thinking about making a thread where, rather than progressing the story, I'd be summing it up up to now, giving short NPC profiles and doing Q&A, mostly to let new people catch up, especially people unused to Exalted. What are your opinions? (Please reply by quoting this post so I can track them more easily)
As nice as this would be, You update rarely, and I'd rather have that time spent on new stuff than going over what I can learn just by rereading the archives
>>31680827
I'm gonna go with this >>31680862

Rolled 6

>>31681005
>Pop talking to the heart for the social bonus.
I don't have a problem with doing this no matter what we choose

Rolled 9

>>31680862
>"I wasn't aware it was even possible to be oversexed.

Regardless, I'm Maka. Pleased to meet you."

Pop talking to the heart.

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Social + Zenith = 7 1 2 3 10 4 7 = 4 successes
[Talking to the Heart]
[Essence: 4/5]

You decide to play along. "...Oh? I wasn't aware it was possible to be oversexed. Anyway, I'm Maka. Chosen of the Unconquered Sun."

You briefly light your castemark, and that seems to shake this Valeriana person out of her confused thoughts and back to the here and now. "...Oh, yes, of course. Mikahil told me about you."

"I JUST DID." He mumbles, exasperated.

Her own castemark lights up, a circle with its upper half filled, lower half empty. "Mikahil told me you pulled all this land out of the Wyld. And you have a captive Fae."

"Not really captive, and I didn't do all this alone, but yes." You explain.

"And he said that you're a naturally charismatic leader." She adds.

"If he says so." You smile.

"The new borders of Creation here have created not just a lot of new habitable land, but also seven new demesnes." Amata points out.

"Which is a fairly above-average concentration, though not unusually high." Valeriana nods. "And you want me to design Manses to fit them, and assist in their construction."

"Yes." You nod. "Will you?"

"That depends. There are some things I want, too. Maybe we can make a deal?"

"What do you want, then?"

"Would asking for one of these demesnes be too much?"

>Yes, I'm afraid it would
>No, you can have (which one?)
>(counter-offer)

>>31681028
Nah, there's really no need for that on a simple hello. Plus using a social charm right off the bat could send the wrong first impression, if she notices, which being a twilight she might.

Rolled 1

>>31681112
>Well, you can have a share in one, with some consideration
Flow only really wants theirs to be a temple, right? If she agrees to accept that and not change the alignment of it, we could allow her to use the two-dot on the island. Anything else and she'll have to negotiate with their owners, since we've already settled that and have no further say in their use. We certainly aren't giving up our three-dot.

Rolled 10

>>31681112
>You can't HAVE one, but you can use one
We could comp her with Flow's since they don't seem to give a shit about the actual power, just having their name on it.

Rolled 5

>>31681112
This one >>31681166

Rolled 4

>>31681166
>>31681198
>/tg/ dice

These sound OK.

Rolled 10

>>31681112
>No, you can have (which one?)
>(counter-offer)
I'd be willing to let her use the one we promised Flow, as long as she adhere's to the deal we made with them
If that won't do we could offer to talk to the Three Rivers tribe, make them an offer, a manse for her help in something, whoch we will help facilitate with Mikahil's help

Rolled 7

the 3-dot water was ours, the 2-dot water was Flows... who did the one-dot in the lake get ceded to?

Rolled 10

>>31681235
Three Rivers
They might be willing to make a deal in exchange for getting a Twilight caste's help with something, even if it's just designing their other demenses

Rolled 3

>>31681112
>Counter-Offer
Either a share in Flow's or negotiations on her behalf with the Three Rivers. We need ours and Tianna needs theirs urgently, so no deals that would weaken either.

>>31681235
>the 3-dot water was ours, the 2-dot water was Flows... who did the one-dot in the lake get ceded to?
The Three Rivers lunars.

Rolled 7

>>31681166
>share in one
You can't have a share in a Manse. Only one essence-user can be attuned to a Manse, period.

>>31681112
>(counter-offer)
We intentionally gave ourselves the smallest number of demenses. She'll either have to negotiate one from Amata or the Three Rivers. Failing that, we'll have to give her something else. She's not getting one of our demenses.

>>31680324
A Q&A thread sounds fine, as long as it doesn't turn into a UMI shitfit. NPC stats would be great so we know just how much we can rely on people. Up until the Tia thread we were much more worried about her getting hurt, then we realized just how badass she actually was. Getting a look at, say, Regis, would be neat.

Rolled 1

Right, well, I think we should have Mikhail facilitate negotiations for the one-dot, if possible.

That way we're not reneging on any of our territory and the Lunars can negotiate a fair price for the thing.

Rolled 4

>>31681288
This, we got 1 demense and access to a 2nd, which is 1 for us and one for Tia

Rolled 4

>>31681288
Seconded.

>>31681288
>You can't have a share in a Manse. Only one essence-user can be attuned to a Manse, period.
Yes, my point was that Flow doesn't intend to attune to their Manse, only use it as a temple. She can have the attunement and hearthstone for Flow's, as long as she concedes to Flow's design and use of the physical building.

Rolled 9

>>31681404
>Yes, my point was that Flow doesn't intend to attune to their Manse, only use it as a temple. She can have the attunement and hearthstone for Flow's, as long as she concedes to Flow's design and use of the physical building.
No, that's for Tia. The two of us, collectively, got two demenses. Enough for each of us to be attuned to one of them. Ergo, she can't have a share of either of our manses.

People, she is talking about all the Demenses.

Wasn't Tianna going to build Menses on them and that is why we let them have two?

Anyway we have squandered two much when we divided up the loot. There is no way we are going to do it again.


I like going with the offer of Three Rivers for the option and having ourselves in the payment for the negotiation get our part as well, for Tianna and our holdings.

Eh. it could be possible. No promises though.

>>31681424
>No, that's for Tia.
I thought Tia's was going to be one of the Three-Rivers sites?

If that's the case, then, I suppose all we can offer is to negotiate on her behalf with the Three Rivers for one of theirs.

>Wasn't Tianna going to build Menses on them and that is why we let them have two?
Yes, and Tianna is artifact-poor with a mess of essence weapons and next to no power for them, so there is absolutely NO way we''re going to let their already-poor supply be further diminished. Tinna's demenses are inviolate.

>>31681469
Forgot to quote, latter part was directed at >>31681449

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"That.. is a bit problematic. We split up ownership of the Demesnes, and, well, under my direct control I have only two. And one is supposed to become a shrine to the court of water elementals of this island."

"Even counting the ones we have, it's just two more, which... we really need." Amata explains. "Tianna has a cache of First Age weapons, but not enough Hearthstones to power them."

"You do? Interesting." Valeriana mumbles.

"The Three Rivers got three manses." Tia points out. "But since I left them, maybe they'd give us one back? Maybe the lake one?"

"Maybe." You nod. "I could talk to them about it. We could figure something out."

"Or." Valeriana seems to have an idea. "We could agree on a different kind of deal."

"Such as?" You ask her.

"Up to now, since I Exalted, I've been working around incognito. Wavecrest, Coral, the Neck. Been designing stuff. Ships. Buildings. Manses too. Inventions, a bit of sorcery for hire, things like that." She sits back down on the sand, putting down her book and paging through it. It's all handwritten, with schemes and diagrams. You can't really understand any of that. "But, of course, none of these places would let me stay, or let me express my full potential."

You have to wonder what her "full potential" is.

"What are all these drawings and notes for?" Amata asks.

"A lot of things. Buildings. Weapons. Ships. Inventions. This is a project for a boat that folds into a suitcase. This for a cape that can spread open and become a pair of artificial wings. This is for a small platform that can fly in the sky and lift a small payload. This is for a gizmo that keeps food fresh for ten times as long."

"Wait-WHAT?" Mikahil rushes up to her and drops down on the sand, staring at the book like it was a treasure trove. "That would revolutionize trade worldwide! You never told me anything! Why didn't you tell me anything?!"

(cont.)

Rolled 3

>>31681469
>I thought Tia's was going to be one of the Three-Rivers sites?
>If that's the case, then, I suppose all we can offer is to negotiate on her behalf with the Three Rivers for one of theirs.
What? I'm talking about the one on the island, built to be a temple to the Water Court and the one we're at right now, right next to our Wyld zone. The former is going to give its hearthstone to and be attuned by Tia. The latter is going to be attuned to and give its hearthstone to Maka.

As such, we simply do not have even a single hearthstone to spare.

>Yes, and Tianna is artifact-poor with a mess of essence weapons and next to no power for them, so there is absolutely NO way we''re going to let their already-poor supply be further diminished. Tinna's demenses are inviolate.
Then they can bring that up in their own negotiations. Point is, we're not giving her one of our manses. If she can negotiate one out of Tianna/The Three Rivers, that's fantastic. If not, we can figure out something else to offer her for her services.

Simple.

>>31681516
She wants minister of science and technology? Tenure?

She's fucking got it, holy shit.

We need to introduce her to Irene.

Rolled 2

>>31681516
She really needs to meet Irene
I hope she doesn't accidentally steal her from us

>>31681552
Pfft

Irene would probably just drag the both of us into bed with her.

Rolled 4

>>31681552
>I hope she doesn't accidentally steal her from us
Eh. Irene seems more into magical military shit. Non-military magical infrastructure might bore the shit out of her.

Rolled 4

>>31681556
I am so okay with that, I loop around into it being not okay, then back into it being an awesome idea that should have already happened

>>31681516
>. This is a project for a boat that folds into a suitcase. This for a cape that can spread open and become a pair of artificial wings. This is for a small platform that can fly in the sky and lift a small payload.
Order one of each please. Make it urgent. Thank you.

She ignores his outburst and continues: "Self-motivated autotresher, self-powered paddlewheel, all-terrain vehicle, a new formula for mortar and concrete, new design for screw pump water wells..."

"...Where did you GET all this?"

"...I have no idea." She closes the book. "Things keep coming to my head. Sometimes, i just see something, and an idea pops out." She nods to the sailing ship in the distance. "Like, a Guild's trading vessel. I saw one in Abalone and I just thought: What if we add more sails, and arrange them like this? And before I could control myself, I had filled ten pages and made a fool of myself all across Wavecrest by asking random strangers to sponsor me and work for me."

"Good thing I came across you and stopped you in time." Mikahil smiles. "You were being awfully pushy, and Wavecrestians don't like pushy people. Especially not when they're Solars and they don't make ANY effort to hide it. You were glowing like a bonfire."

"I had no idea what I was doing, okay? I just... wanted to get the idea out of my skull and into reality."

You start to guess the problem. "...It must be frustrating. To not have anyone you can rely on. To have all these great ideas, but no one trusting you enough to give you the support you need."

"Plus, many of your ideas, Valeriana..." Mikahil scratches his head. "They're... frankly, great, but sometimes you have no idea how to implement them."

"I said I was sorry, alright?"

That sounds like a story. "...What happened?" You ask them.

"...She managed to get a village elder in some island in the Neck I forgot the name of to build a waterwheel-powered loom?"

"That sounds like a great idea." You don't see the downside. Unless... "...Wait. Don't tell me."

Mikahil nods. "Introduced a new machine that put a lot of people out of a job without adjusting policies or doing any kind of work to mitigate, well. The societal friction you can easily imagine. Just plopping a revolutionary new invention out of nowhere."

(cont.)

>>31681685
Oh man

We're going to have to manage broad socioeconomic change.

This is gonna be fun.

That said, this is highly beneficial to us. We, personally, lack manpower. So labor-saving devices allow us to generate vast economic output disproportionate to our size.

Our two barbarian tribes could have an annual GDP equal that of all the three rivers with Nerd-chick's machines.

We *want* to give her fairly free reign to make all kinds of shit.

Rolled 2

>>31681728
>two barbarian tribes
That's... That's actually the ideal labor group to start building/exploiting those devices, ESPECIALLY if she has the Twilight training charm. They're already economically/socially dislocated, after all.

Rolled 2

>>31681756
Yeah

Basically, we've had the perfect nucleus for our new city-state drop right into our laps.

We need to take advantage of this to the fullest extent possible.

"How did it turn out?"

"Angry people torched the prototype."

"Ouch."

"With the village elder tied to it."

"Ouch."

Valeriana sighs. "Look, I... Let's just forget about that story, okay? Get back on track."

"Sure." you nod, but making a mental note to keep this lady under control. The people that mean well are sometimes more dangerous than outright villains.

"I... I want a place to stay. I want a laboratory and a workshop. I want to be able to work at whatever I want, however I want. People that will work with me, like assistants and apprentices that will not run screaming the second day and show up with a torch and pitchfork mob behind them the third."

"How many times has it happened already?" You ask.

She doesn't answer, but Mikahil counts to six on his fingers.

"...And a demesne would be good." She nods, concluding.

You glance at Amata for consent, and whisper her: "...What do you think?"

"I want to see what happens if you lock her and Irene in a room for a day." She smiles. "But, seriously now: I can't hand over those two demesnes, but other than that, full support. Up to you."

You turn back to Valeriana, who has stood back up and is patting sand off her legs.

>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.
>How about a trial period? You just work on designing the manses, then we'll see.
>You just sounds like way too dangerous for what I had in mind.
>What are you really after? I can't believe all you want is just to get your inventions made. Is there something more?
>(other)

Rolled 5

>>31681822
>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.
We're not giving her one of ours, though.

Rolled 3

>>31681822
>>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.

We can't explicitly guarantee the demense, but we can do what we can to negotiate with the 3 rivers on her behalf.

As far as everything else? Fukkin' sold, yo.

Rolled 2

>>31681822
>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.
We can talk to the Lunars about trading one of their demenses, but if it comes to it I guess we can give her Flows

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Rolled 4

>>31681822
>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.
Resident mad scientist, manses built on our demenses, and all it costs is giving her a workshop, assistants, and a city to reap her benefits?

I'm totally on board.

But she's not getting one of OUR demenses. We'll try to negotiate with the Three Rivers on her behalf.

Rolled 6

>>31681822
>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.
Can't we just share the hearthstones? A new one forms every 3 months, and every bearer counts as the proprietor of the manse.

Rolled 9

>>31681822
>like assistants and apprentices that will not run screaming the second day and show up with a torch and pitchfork mob behind them the third."
You know, that can be a legitimate reaction to certain experiments.

Rolled 10

>>31681856
>I guess we can give her Flows
It's not Flow's. It's ours on the condition that we build a temple to them inside.
Very different things

Rolled 5

>>31681866
>Can't we just share the hearthstones? A new one forms every 3 months, and every bearer counts as the proprietor of the manse.
No, that's not how it works. A new one forms only if the old one is destroyed or a new person attunes. A manse can only have one hearthstone and one attuned person at a time, and the attuned person is the only one who can draw Essence from either. The only benefit a hearthstone gives to someone who isn't attuned to the manse is the ability to powers hearthstone-requiring magitech, like essence cannons.

So, no. We can't share the single hearthstone, especially not with a non-attuned user.

>>31681822
>We will get you a lab, a place to work. We will see about the demesne later. I will try but i can not promise it.
You will be very valuable once you start producing your inventions. I think you have a very high chance of earning a demesne if you have a place to stay and work.

Rolled 2

>>31681822
>You have a deal. We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too.
Trying to get that lake demesne from the Three Rivers would be ideal. It would be close to our new territory but far enough removed from a likely settlement not to... incur undue damages from experiments. Plus, maybe Zaan would want to be a part of her work in exchange? Not an assistant, but fellow scholar and sorcerer.

>>31681955
This. Do not promise her the demesne people. What she wants more than anything is a lab and that should be enough to convince her for now. Once she starts shitting out legendary inventions, it will be easier for us to find her one.

Rolled 6

>>31681983
I support that line of thought. I voted for the first option because we said we'll try our BEST. Not a guarantee.

Rolled 4

>>31682005
>I support that line of thought. I voted for the first option because we said we'll try our BEST. Not a guarantee.
And THAT has been MY line of thought. Our main promise is the lab. All we're promising demense-wise is that we'll negotiate with the Three Rivers on her behalf.

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"We have a deal." You shake on it. "We'll give you everything you need, and do our best to get the demesne too."

"I can fly there and ask Zaan directly now." Tia proposes. "I'm also wondering if Talon feels better now."

"Yes, me too." You reply.

"And... I kind of wanted to get my tribe to settle here." She adds. Thinking of Tia as the chieftain of a barbarian tribe is so weird.

"So you're building a Manse here? In the middle of nowhere?" Zareen asks. "Who's going to build it."

"Um." Valeriana mumbles. She clearly didn't think about it.

"It's not like there's a city here." The dragon-blooded points out. "The closest one is literally on the other side of the island.

Yes, you definitely need some planning here. The idea of building here a city has been tossed around a bit, but is that really what you want to do? And HOW do you want to do it?

>Plan? (open answer: your ideas on what should be done here in this region. Be as vague or as detailed as you want.)

Combined with (any of the following):
>Yes, Tia, go and ask Zaan now if you can. And check on Talon.
>Feel free to bring your tribe here.
>Also bring a message to Tianna (what?)
>Let's also invite (who?) to the discussion
>(other)

>>31682096
Right, we're going to need to go over this in detail.

We need to organise what immediate resources we have, what obtainable resources we can get both easily and with difficulty, and we need a staged plan for growth and expansion from our start point.

Rolled 2

>>31682096
>"Who's going to build it."
We have at least 3 sorcerer on this island, the solutions should be obvious.
Demons and Elementals.

Rolled 10

>>31682096
>Plan? (open answer: your ideas on what should be done here in this region. Be as vague or as detailed as you want.)
I'm thinking we use the barbarian tribe as labor, have the manse be designed around providing large-scale bonuses to an entire region instead of being an unassailable fortress, and use training charms to augment them during the construction process. Some kind of supply chain from Tianna for the materials/food during this time, possibly using our pirates to ship the goods.

Basically, I want the manse to create, in the area, things like faster crop growth, better health, and other passive bonuses that manses can provide to a large area. Between the volcanic soil and the magic of the manse, we should get settlers in no time if we do that.

That's the general plan. Use the barbarians as both the first settlers and the crew to construct the initial infrastructure. I'm hoping to transition them into high-tech civil engineers/mad science assistants.

File: 1398344185404.png (989 KB, 2892x2420)

989 KB PNG

Rolled 3

>>31682096
>Yes, Tia, go and ask Zaan now if you can. And check on Talon.
>Let's also invite Irene to the discussion

From all my Civ 5 experience, I've been assuming the city would be best near the coast and away from the Wyld while still being fairly close to our 3-dot demense, if we put it on the red circle we could be near both of our demense and Silk's wyld and I think that might be far enough that no one that actually lives there would be affected

>>31682096

Plan:
If Tia's tribe wishes to come here, they'd likely make great guardians for the land in general for the time being.

A city doesn't grow over night, so perhaps we should start out with a small town/dock on the edge of the Wyld, or slightly up the river, if possible.

The town would act as a place for us to get building supplies toward this manse, a place for our little pirate navy to dock at times, and a way for Tia's tribe to begin integration or simply come to trade.

It would also be a focal point for the guys searching for resources upon our lands.

From there, the settlement can grow larger or we could just use it as a foothold to build a future city elsewhere.

>combined with

>We should speak with Talon and Zaan about that, Tia. As friends and allies, we must communicate and ensure that we are not unknowingly inflicting harm upon each other.

Rolled 1

>>31682096
I feel like we're going to need Orichalcum and Jade (and maybe some Moonsilver) if we want to make our city as fabulous as it deserves to be, though that's a bit more long term
I also like what >>31682134 and >>31682208 are saying
>Yes, Tia, go and ask Zaan now if you can. And check on Talon.
>Feel free to bring your tribe here.
>Let's also invite Irene to the discussion

Rolled 7

>>31682208
Putting it on the mouth of the river would be better, that way it's closer to irrigated farmland. Plus, manses can provide passive bonuses to the entire area around them, so we want it to be adjacent at least. Ideally, though, we want to build the city around the manse itself, with the manse at the palace/temple/forum/fountain/whatever in the dead center of it.

>>31682227
The demense is a miniature lake whose center is easily visible from the shore. The manse itself will be smaller still - the area tends to contract as construction continues. The town should be built around the manse, with it providing bonuses to everyone in the area. These hexes are fuckhuge, after all.

>>31682096
I think what we'll want to do is begin by using Tia's tribes to establish a city here.

They probably don't have a lot of construction specialists, but they *do* have a large manpower pool for labor.

We'll need materials and specialists to oversee construction; what I think we should do is arrange a Lend-lease/Marshall Plan deal with Tianna - They make an initial loan of resources and investment with minimal conditions, since they'll be benefiting in the long-term from the "repayments", and the considerable benefits from the fact that we'll be using those loans to purchase shit from them, stimulating economic growth.

Food might be a problem, initially, but again, the Tribes we're bringing in will have an adequate understanding of subsistence agriculture and a *very* good environment in which to be establishing large-scale farming. As part of our lend-lease scheme, seeds from Tianna will enable this.


Also, this is a bit of a wild idea, but something we could consider?
Why not transplant Freeport to the site of the city? They're essentially self-sufficient as far as skills and community goes, and we can pack away and rebuild the existing structures on the new site - or strip it for the materials to fabricate new, better buildings.

Just a thought.

>>31682096
>>Yes, Tia, go and ask Zaan now if you can. And check on Talon.
>>Feel free to bring your tribe here.

Well, let's start out slow. Build a village that can be expanded systematically. We should start with simple farmer folk, they can feed themselves and others. If you give people land, they will come readily.

>>31682258
Also;
>Yes, Tia, go and ask Zaan now if you can. And check on Talon.
>Feel free to bring your tribe here.

>>31682255
Agreed; we should utilise the manse as a focal point for the actual settlement, and expand our food production and farmland towards the river and volcanic runoff.

Rolled 6

Okay, so, how's this for a hybrid plan? We start a settlement around the demense. Initially, it will be populated by workers on the manse, who will be fed by shipments from Tianna, and helped by summoned elementals. Once the manse is completed, it will provide magical bonuses to everyone in the area which, combined with the volcanic soil, should attract settlers like crazy.

Does that sound accurate and good?

>>31682276
>>31682255

Note that all of Tianna is one hex, with multiple surrounding hexes for farmland.

Transplant a city tile on top of the demesne site, and surround it to the north and east with farm hexes, and we'll get an indication of the land area we're working with.

>>31682255
>Putting it on the mouth of the river would be better, that way it's closer to irrigated farmland.
Building settlement on farmland is not a good idea. You use the best land for farming and build the village/city nearby.

Rolled 6

>>31682292
Exactly. Make the primary settlement on the manse/demense tile - to give health/fertility/crop growth bonuses to everything in range - with extra farming to the North and North East along the river. Have it be initially built by Tia's barbarians and Earth/Water elementals either negotiated with or summoned with Sorcery. Invited Freeport's entire population to resettle here as the first wave of immigrants, followed by people from all over the west to come to this brave new frontier.

Does all that sound solid?

Rolled 1

>>31682255
>Putting it on the mouth of the river would be better
I was thinking that but I was worried about how close that would put us to the wyld, I assume people wouldn't want to live so close to it, but building the city around the manse seems good, but isn't living around essence heavy areas dangerous for mortals

>>31682276
>volcanic runoff.
I'm pretty sure the only place the lava hit tht wasn't the wyld is the hills to the east of us, around Azure Lake

Would it be possible to get a map with the actual boundaries of Maka's land claims? I know we gave some plains to Three Rivers for hunting, but by now we should be able to visualize the claim in-character.

I feel like I'm guessing at what land we actually have to work with. Does our claim go all the way to Tianna's and Three Rivers' claims?

>>31682319
The wyld was, like, most of the west of azure lake.

Lava went all over that.

Pretty much everything between azure lake and the sea is(or will be) fertile as fuck.

>>31682319
>but isn't living around essence heavy areas dangerous for mortals

It isn't radiation, bro.

Rolled 4

>>31682258
>Food might be a problem
That might not be an issue with the deal we made with the water court, they're going to make sure fisherman get a shit ton of fish

Rolled 8

>>31682319
>I was thinking that but I was worried about how close that would put us to the wyld, I assume people wouldn't want to live so close to it
That's definitely a concern, but its borders are small and obvious, so as long as we keep it in check, the worry should be minimal.

>isn't living around essence heavy areas dangerous for mortals
Not so much 'dangerous' as 'mutation-inducing,' and even then, only for uncapped demenses. As long as we cap it into a manse, there won't be enough ambient, uncontrolled essence to cause any dangerous mutations. What's more, we could cap it in a way that makes, say, everyone in the area heal twice as fast, be five times as likely to naturally manifest awakened essence, and have crops produce double their normals yields.

Building cities around manses is the number one recipe for success in Creation, followed closely by building them around ruins/magitech facilities, which is in turn followed closely by building them around places of magical power/resources.

We'll have all three, in the form of a municipal manse, a controlled wyld zone, and a resident mad scientist.

Tianna, for example, has at least one of those in the form of its First Age arsenal.

>>31682318
We're lacking a reason why a seafaring pirate town's population should abandon their port town and move in land.

At the very least, we need to have somewhere that will eventually bring ships into dock for trade and just to supply our ships when needed.

Ships will likely remain the fastest source of travel between Tianna and whatever city we build, short of inventing a railroad

Rolled 2

>>31682285
>>31682318
Yeah, I'm on board for these. It sounds really solid. However, we should ask if our new Twilight friend can change the essence from Water into Solar. It's a big fucking change, but, well, she's a Twilight. She might be able to.

And if she can, that would be PERFECT.

>>31682359
Fish is good, but health and morale will suffer without a more diversified diet; so while fish alone is a solid stopgap, we need to get field agriculture up and running ASAP.

Rolled 6

>>31682362
>Building cities around manses is the number one recipe for success in Creation
Okay so that's totally the plan then

Hey didn't Yaraon want to talk to us?
We should go check that out, especially considering he's pregnant with our future city god

Rolled 8

>>31682375
>We're lacking a reason why a seafaring pirate town's population should abandon their port town and move in land.
They're poor as hell and barely above starvation levels.

>At the very least, we need to have somewhere that will eventually bring ships into dock for trade and just to supply our ships when needed.
Oh, for sure. We want roads going to and from both the river and the seashore with docks at both. But that's a secondary concern at best because it's so trivially easy to do.

>short of inventing a railroad
I would say 'don't give her ideas,' but that might actually be a good idea to give.

>>31682096
We could use Barbarians as labor.
Also, invite farmers. Give them farmland with inviting conditions. For example, make deals with them so that they can pay for the land they work with the crops they grow. Give a certain amount to us each harvest and they will have the land in a few years. They will be well and fed for those few years and after that they will be well of farmers with good land.

When we have farmers and a manse, we will start to grow into a proper city. We can make decisions about it then.

>>31682375
>We're lacking a reason why a seafaring pirate town's population should abandon their port town and move in land.

All their pirates work for us now and we're offering a better long-term opportunity?

We can build a dock easily enough, or a riverine port.

>short of inventing a railroad
Give nerdchick time. And maybe some one-on-one brainstroming with Irene.

Rolled 1

So, I do have one big question. What do we want this manse to be? Considering the geyser, a fuckhuge magnificent fountain seems like the obvious choice.

>>31682433
That is what the labnerd is here for. It will be whatever idea pops into her head.

Rolled 3

>>31682208
that's sandy beach, though. We could run into problem with unstable ground if we try to build anything bigger than a hut there.

Rolled 2

>>31682458
Yeah, it's an all-around bad place to build something. Consensus is moving towards building the city around the demense/manse for its frankly-staggering potential municipal boons.

>>31682472
We can build a river port for Ships anyway, so moving around the demense is fine for that too.

Rolled 8

>>31682483
Exactly. There's going to be docks and ports all over our beaches and river, with a short bit of road going to the city proper.

Rolled 3

>>31682347
it causes mutations and can turn animals into monsters.
It's comic radiation

>>31682413
>All their pirates work for us now
>>31682405
>They're poor as hell and barely above starvation levels.

This is actually a critical point. We've just taken away Freetown's biggest economic asset - it's pirates. Without the pirates buying stuff with loot, the town won't have enough income to purchase life needs.

Basically, evacuating the town to our new location will be saving them, not inconveniencing them.

>>31682497
Only if it's uncontrolled.

Ours isn't because A) capped with a manse, and B) the wyld zone is being carefully managed by Silk for us. It's why we kept her, practically.

Rolled 4

>>31682501
>Basically, evacuating the town to our new location will be saving them, not inconveniencing them.
Precisely. We'll have better farming, better fishing, better trading, and, to top it all off, this is where the person who stole their pirates are going to live. This is literally their best - and possibly only - choice.

>>31682501
>Freetown

Meant Freeport, but who the fuck cares. It'll be Makatown soon.

Rolled 2

>>31682521
>stole their pirates are going to live.
Did we take all of them?
I thought we only took the ones that were their at the time, unless that was all of them
Woops

>>31682501

I thought that our solar buddy made it fairly clear that there was no way we'd recruit all of the pirates in port in a single night?

We recruited three ships, and there must be dozens more in the area or regularly passing through these waters

Rolled 6

>>31682537
>I thought we only took the ones that were their at the time, unless that was all of them
That was all of them.

>>31682538
We recruited the three biggest crews, and Tia kind of fucked up their low-level production by shanghaiing all their iron.

Rolled 5

>>31682538
>We recruited three ships, and there must be dozens more in the area or regularly passing through these waters
Nope, just those three. Those are the only three ships that regularly visit. Remember, they were the only ones ballsy to try to compete against the Lintha.

Rolled 1

>>31682533
>Makatown
I was thinking something more UCS-y

Rolled 9

>>31682576
I think [Something]'s Light would be a great name for a town that becomes a city ruled by a god-queen. Hope's Light?

Rolled 8

>>31682318
Yeah, sounds solid.

>>31682587
Beacon?

Sunrise?

New Light?

Rolled 9

>>31682318
I like it.

Rolled 1

>>31682587
I had been thinking it could be something that UCS told Maka back either when she exalted or when she talked to him later

Rolled 5

For the building of the manse itself, we could summon up some earth elementals to help with earthworks. Maybe add some water elements or ask Flow to help with properly channeling the water Essence?
Add in some demons as workers, maybe Silk can send some of her Goblins once she has some, too?

>>31682587
It should depend upon if we maintain the water mana or switch it to something else.

Light-based names would be best if we could convert it to Solar energy

Rolled 10

We'll probably end up getting most of our materials for building the actualy city from Tianna, but we might have to take care of that fucking Lintha ship to safely transport them, which we can totally do with an eclipse here to help

Rolled 5

>>31682690
>It should depend upon if we maintain the water mana or switch it to something else.
I really hope we can make it into a Solar manse. That would be ideal as hell. But Water/Wood are good for providing bonuses to locals if not.

Rolled 5

Are there any First Circle Demons that are useful for manse construction? I know there's a Third Circle one that instantly creates a 5 dot manse just from being summoned and can raise them in hours, but is there a lower version of that?

Rolled 8

>>31682756
>Are there any First Circle Demons that are useful for manse construction?
Yeah, the juggler one that likes to build/disassemble/reassemble buildings. They follow direction quite happily as long as they get to play with their legos. Alternatively, there's a Celestial Circle spell that instantly creates a manse to cap a demense. The downside of that is, of course, that we get to pick almost nothing about it - the manse ends up being as natural and organic as the demense it's now capping.

Once Valeriana has done all her on-site inspections, you return to Silk's tower to put together your plans in a more proper way.

Along the way, you discuss about a lot of ideas on how to manage your future settlement here with Amata, Valeriana and Mikahil, the three people who have more to say. Meanwhile Tia has flown away to run her errands.

Mikahil and Valeriana are especially impressed by Silk and her palace. Well, Valeriana complains a lot about her design not being ergonomic and a lot of nitpicky details. She also takes a sample of her "for further study" (not without a struggle, though). Mikahil seems more interested in her as a representative of Fae and fills her with questions on her kind.

It gets to the point where you and Amata have to remind them that you have other stuff to work on right now.

Your discussion last the entire day (with pauses for refreshments), and at the end of the day, you have decided on several things.

Valeriana will design the manse as the central point of a new city. She will lay out designs and plans for the city itself while leaving space for its natural growth, and a project for a road connecting it to Tianna and port and harbor facilities. Most of the discussion here is quite technical, and you aren't an expert city planner, but both Mikahil and Valeriana seem to know what they're working on. Mikahil is really an expert on the political and logistics ins and outs of this kind of work, and Valeriana has the technical know-how.

The people would settle here looking for work and opportunities, and attracted by your personal charm and charisma. Without its pirates Freeport is probably on its way to becoming a doomed city, that can best survive by returning to a simple fishing village. Your now town can absorb the excess workforce's emigration.

(cont)

Part of the problem is money, as you don't have a lot of that right now to sponsor the immense expenses required. You have enough money to START them, but without new revenues you'd probably have to stop halfway through.

Four ideas are being tossed around: taking a large loan from the Guild (the only ones with that kind of money). Winning big at the casinos in Azure. Starting a massive pirating/raiding campaign on Wavecrest. Or taking on the Lintha and conquering their secret base, the Black Atoll, which Tianna intelligence believes to hold the treasury of all their raids undertaken in these waters for the past few centuries.

Now, about workforce:

Tia (who has returned in the afternoon) might help with her tribe, which is a lot of workforce (and seem to regard her like less than a chieftain and more like some kind of minor goddess of war, slaughter and corpse ramp engineering), but not very skilled. It seems like they are mostly a tribe of hunters and gatherers, so perhaps they'd be best employed doing that and slowly letting them settle and become herders and farmers.

Zaan can summon demons with sorcery, as can Amata (a fact that surprises you, but not a lot), though neither has a lot of experience with that, and, in Zaan's case, he doesn't seem to like them very much (Tia mentions an "incident" in the past, but she doesn't go into details). Besides, having demons helping would probably be bad publicity, since this will be a high-visibility project. You conclude that the best option is still normal human labor, perhaps supported by summoned or contracted elementals. Besides, Valeriana has a lot of ideas for gizmos and inventions and time-saving measures for improving the speed of the constructions.

(cont.)

Rolled 10

>>31683029
I thought Valeriana was a sorceress, too? How does she not know the single most useful spell?

Rolled 10

>>31683029
>Or taking on the Lintha and conquering their secret base, the Black Atoll, which Tianna intelligence believes to hold the treasury of all their raids undertaken in these waters for the past few centuries.
Two birds, one stone.

>Tia (who has returned in the afternoon) might help with her tribe, which is a lot of workforce (and seem to regard her like less than a chieftain and more like some kind of minor goddess of war, slaughter and corpse ramp engineering), but not very skilled. It seems like they are mostly a tribe of hunters and gatherers, so perhaps they'd be best employed doing that and slowly letting them settle and become herders and farmers.
Does our Twilight have the Twilight training charm? If not, how long until she can get it? If she's going to have a corps of engineers and assistants, she'll need it either way, right?

Rolled 1

>>31683029
>Or taking on the Lintha and conquering their secret base, the Black Atoll, which Tianna intelligence believes to hold the treasury of all their raids undertaken in these waters for the past few centuries.
sounds doable. Do we have to share the loot with the Three Rivers if we get their help for this?

Rolled 7

>>31683029
>Or taking on the Lintha and conquering their secret base, the Black Atoll, which Tianna intelligence believes to hold the treasury of all their raids undertaken in these waters for the past few centuries.
I like this one, we promised Rajan we would think about it and it would clear up Tianna's trade routes too

>>31683029
Well, we want to take over freeport anyway so there is that workforce plus the other pirates that we did not take over to supplement our fleet and take over the lintha, ensuring our cashflow for the project.

But before we take on the lintha, and just after we take over Freeport that is going to be a fishing village/ naval support base and the pirates there we should take a trip to the underworld and figgure out what the hell the Abysals are up to.

Rolled 5

>>31683089
>Have a resident Twilight with training charms
>Develop a corp of naval engineers
>Deploy Essence-powered jadeclads to dominate the West

>>31683134
The Silver Prince is gonna come over here and fuck us in the ass. He had that idea first, and he's doing it with Soulsteel.

>>31683154
The very notion that anal would bother us makes me scoff at your concerns sirrah!

>>31683184
It is when it's with a soul-devouring implement.

Rolled 1

>>31683184
I'm sure Tia at least has drilled us in every hole possible, at the same time I bet

>>31683029
>Or taking on the Lintha and conquering their secret base, the Black Atoll, which Tianna intelligence believes to hold the treasury of all their raids undertaken in these waters for the past few centuries.
This is definitely the route we are taking. Earn money and make everyone happy.

>>31683225
We'll need to undergo a massive training program first. Tiger Warrior for all the sailors under our command, at the very least.

Rolled 4

>>31683029
>the treasury of all their raids undertaken in these waters for the past few centuries.
WE MAKIN' BANK

Rolled 7

Does our DB Dancer get along with Silk now? She refused to be touched by Silk when they first met, but then they were both part of the orgy so she should be fine, right?

Of course, there's an alternative: delaying the construction of the city itself and everything else until the manse is completed. This would let you rush the construction of the manse with a demon workforce.

Valeriana admits she doesn't know Sorcery, and has never been interested, but she could try and learn it, having two teachers available. Then, she could help out.

But, in general, these are the plans. You'd of course need the blessing of the local land god, which... you're not sure if it's Yaraon or someone else, you'll find out later.

In all this, your job will mostly be that of being the "face" of the operation, to get the deals done so that the people under you can do their job properly, and to persuade people to come and settle. In short, one of your specialties: being social.

You're starting to get the hang of this entire "Circle" thing. It's really nice to be able to leave the technical details to people who can handle them.

Of course, nothing comes for free. While Valeriana is scribbling on her book like mad, Mikahil takes you aside for a talk.

"Listen, Maka. I don't know if you realize what an opportunity what you're doing here is."

"What do you mean?" You ask him back.

"Redemption." He points out. "Here, we can prove that we Solars can be a powerful force for good in Creation. We can build. We can help shape Tianna, from a small island kingdom, into a powerful, prosperous nation. And I want to be a part of it. You have a great occasion here. You, Amata, and, I guess, Tia rule the nation. Make Valeriana minister of science. And make me minister of trade."

"You sound like you have something in mind." You catch on to.

"You ever heard of something called the Order-Conferring Trade Pattern, Maka?" He asks

(cont.)

>>31683239
Not only will we need to make ultra badass tiger warriors out of our crews but we're going to need some serious hardware improvements. Perhaps a fleet of new ships designed by Valeriana that will be superior to a bunch of triremes with slapdash essence cannon hardpoints bolted on.

Rolled 1

>>31683257
>Order-Conferring Trade Pattern
wouldn't that mean changing the currency to jade? That would be pretty hard to pull off.

>>31683257
>"You ever heard of something called the Order-Conferring Trade Pattern, Maka?" He asks
No, but based on the name it sounds like some kind of Charm.

Rolled 1

>>31681516
>a bit of sorcery for hire
>>31683257
>Valeriana admits she doesn't know Sorcery

so, which is it?

Rolled 1

>>31683257
>Of course, there's an alternative: delaying the construction of the city itself and everything else until the manse is completed. This would let you rush the construction of the manse with a demon workforce.
We might want to go with this, get the manse as fast as possible, take out the Lintha and then build the city

>>31683289
I'd imagine EF is going to have a standardized currency be basically whatever we want it to be.

>>31683257
No but I like the sound of it.

Rolled 1

>>31683298
Speaking of Charms, who named them in-universe? The UCS and Luna?

>>31683289
>>31683316
>>31683317
Also fuck these rolls.

Rolled 5

>>31683318
The Trade Pattern only works with Jade

Rolled 7

>>31683325
The hell? One moment, testing dice.

>>31683325
>All these 1s
Time to have another Ditz Moment!

>>31683316
She meant thaumaturgy, sorry. (sometimes called by some "lowercase s sorcery" while Sorcery is "capital S Sorcery", since many mortals don't know what's the difference)

Rolled 6

>>31683325
It's a good thing it weren't doing anything super important

Rolled 8

>>31683325
>Speaking of Charms, who named them in-universe? The UCS and Luna?
No-one did. They don't even have official names, the names they have is just the most common ones for them. OOC they are of course used to prevent confusion

>>31683239
That is already in the plans. We would've started it by now but they weren't all together. So, yes, we will train them before then.

Rolled 1

>>31683257
>In all this, your job will mostly be that of being the "face" of the operation, to get the deals done so that the people under you can do their job properly, and to persuade people to come and settle. In short, one of your specialties: being social.
>You're starting to get the hang of this entire "Circle" thing. It's really nice to be able to leave the technical details to people who can handle them.
Now Maka can concentrate on her specialties, sex and punching

>>31683337
This is true but we've also been playing a bit fast and loose with other charms for the sake of quest expediency and ease of use.

No reason to assume this one can't be finagled in some way that doesn't completely hamstring the local economy.

>>31683388
>>31683325
>>31683317
>>31683316
>>31683289

We dumbass now.

Rolled 4

>>31683424
I thought the Pattern only works because jade is infused with stabilizing earth Essence or something. It wouldn't work with paper money or the stuff they use in the west

>>31683388
>Now Maka can concentrate on her specialties, sex and punching
And Queening.

Wait, that didn't come out right...

"Not really. Should I?"

"I would be surprised if you did, actually. It's really ancient history. First Age."

"I don't know much about the First Age, actually. I know we Solars used to rule the world, but we fucked it up and were wiped away by the Dragon-Blooded."

"It's probably true, from what I've seen in my travels." He nods. "And the research I've done. It seems to have been a golden age for some time. I don't know how long. But it didn't last, and got really horrifying." He muses. "Anyway, the Order-Conferring Trade Pattern was a concept of that age. Basically, it's... what the name says: a particular way of trading, sealing deals and making coin that helped make Creation more stable against the Wyld."

"You want to adopt that again?" It doesn't sound like a bad idea.

"It'd be hard. It required jade coin to function. to start. And we're not exactly rich in jade. Plus it requires also a lot more resources. But no. The First Age is long gone. Stealing ideas might work, but I don't think we should just rehash their ideas. The times have changed, the world has changed, and besides, they collapsed REALLY hard, so I wouldn't be following too much in their footsteps." He flashes a smile.

"That makes sense."

"What I meant is that I have some plans of my own. Of establishing a trade network designed along some design rules I'm working on, and trying to experiment on. But my idea is to create a trade paradigm that will improve quality of life in Creation, especially in its poorest, most troubled areas." He explains. "War, famine, rebellions and a lot of general, human-caused strife usually stems from a lack of resources, and that would help in recovering from natural disasters too. Especially including gods and elementals in the picture. And this kind of disasters that cause loss of population also erode Creation in favor of the Wyld or Shadowlands."

"So you want to do this. that sounds like a very long-term project."

(cont.)

Rolled 8

>>31683257
>"Listen, Maka. I don't know if you realize what an opportunity what you're doing here is."
>"Here, we can prove that we Solars can be a powerful force for good in Creation. We can build. We can help shape Tianna, from a small island kingdom, into a powerful, prosperous nation. And I want to be a part of it. You have a great occasion here. You, Amata, and, I guess, Tia rule the nation. Make Valeriana minister of science. And make me minister of trade."

That was what I was thinking.
Just one thing, we should focus on having as much stuff as possible independent of essence. I think that was the problem of the fall from the first age to subsequent ones. Constantly lower amounts of users and available essence.

That is why I so love this ship and the things Valeria is thinking about.

And while being essence independent of most thing it provides two benefits, one that we can concentrate our essence on first age weapons as a arsenal of defense, and two we can promote this new society as one for everyone who is willing to put his fair share in.

Its not like we will have a overabundance of essence users, or create a society of or for essence users. If we get them that is a bonus but not the end goal. They will come in due time. Lets focus on the basics. Prosperity, and relative Stability and Security.

stop freaking out about the dice when it doesn't matter at all.

>>31683470
>and besides, they collapsed REALLY hard, so I wouldn't be following too much in their footsteps." He flashes a smile.
I like Mikahil. He's the good kind of Solar.

>>31683470
>"What I meant is that I have some plans of my own. Of establishing a trade network designed along some design rules I'm working on, and trying to experiment on. But my idea is to create a trade paradigm that will improve quality of life in Creation, especially in its poorest, most troubled areas." He explains. "War, famine, rebellions and a lot of general, human-caused strife usually stems from a lack of resources, and that would help in recovering from natural disasters too. Especially including gods and elementals in the picture. And this kind of disasters that cause loss of population also erode Creation in favor of the Wyld or Shadowlands."
This all sounds right up Maka's alley.

I assume he wants us to help play intermediary to said gods and elementals, considering our track record so far?

Rolled 6

>>31683470
Is this what he didn't want to talk about in public?
It seems like a good plan, a great one even

Rolled 9

>>31683471
Alternatively, make getting enlightened essence as easy and ubiquitous as possible. If our entire island's population ends up with enlightened essence and able to pass that on to their kids, that would make essence-using options MUCH more effective.

Also, let's assume we're going to be around for at least a few centuries. Making the society independent of essence users assumes we aren't going to be around for centuries or millenia. If we get killed before then, our society is almost certainly fucked either way.

>>31683525
>Alternatively, make getting enlightened essence as easy and ubiquitous as possible. If our entire island's population ends up with enlightened essence and able to pass that on to their kids, that would make essence-using options MUCH more effective.
Is that going to end up with any weird metaphysical effects?

I mean, "Creation could get devoured by Wyld or Shadowlands if it doesn't have trade routes metaphysically stabilizing it" was news to me.

>>31683509
A trade reform plan is no big deal, it CAN'T be the thing he wanted to talk about.

It's probably something about concerns of increased Realm scrutiny when we create a solar led and/or tolerant society on Tianna.

Wavecrest is a Realm satrapy and after that dinner we can be assured that there are Wavecrest spies reporting everything that happens regarding us.

And if there's one thing that will really get the Realm going, it's the notion of a nation controlled by anathema with an arsenal of first age weapons. They'll respond in force inevitably

Rolled 3

>>31683470
>Long Term Project.
"Mikahil, we need to talk to Talon of the Three Rivers. Have you ever heard of the 'Thousand Streams River' project? A large portion of Lunars are planning something big. Remaking all human society so that it can stand on its own without needing Exalts to guide or protect it. I don't know the details, but I think their project and yours can work in harmony. You want long term broad-stroke improvements to creation? They're already laying the groundwork.

Rolled 6

>>31683548
>Is that going to end up with any weird metaphysical effects?
Well, there will be a lot more people able to use supernatural martial arts and magitech.

>I mean, "Creation could get devoured by Wyld or Shadowlands if it doesn't have trade routes metaphysically stabilizing it" was news to me.
It's less that, and more that things like that can also be super beneficial to that end. You can basically apply that kind of Feng Shui to anything - that's what Manse creation is, for example.

"It is. But... after spending a lot of time thinking what to do with my Exaltation, I decided that I want to help the people of Creation. It would just feel wasted and wrong... spending this power and lifespan just pursuing personal interests. I mean, you'd satisfy them pretty easily after a while, and what's after that? Only getting more extravagant. I want to be a person who-"

"Wait, what do you mean lifespan?"

He blinks. "Well, by Exalting, our natural life span is vastly increased."

"Oh, yes, like Dragon-Blooded living up to three hundred years and more. I mean, Amata is almost a hundred and looks barely in her 30s."

"Actually, from what I read when I did some research on what little documents are left from the First Age... our life span, as solars, is somewhere between five and seven thousand years."

You drop on your seat, taking in the information slowly as your brain tries to cope with it.

That's a four-digit number. A HIGH four-digit number- on its way to being five digits, almost.

It almost feels fake, like you can't relate to it.

Another thought strikes you: In the last month, your powers have been growing at an alarming rate. If that keeps up... just what the heck are you going to become?

"So!" You hear Valeriana's voice intruding, from the table. "You two finished your chat? We have stuff to decide!"

"Oh, right." You stand back up, and Mikahil has to actually help you with that. Best to think about something else now.

"We'll also have to decide on your Manse. First of all... Are you aware that, other than elemental, they can be Solar-aspected as well?"

"Solar is an Essence aspect?" You ask instinctively, before realizing how stupid that must've sounded. "...Alright, that was a silly question." You admit, still a bit confused.

Everyone nods. "I can pull out some extra energy with some applied geomancy and rework your Demesne into a rank-four Water manse, or turn it into a rank-three Solar manse."

(cont, also sorry for being long)

Rolled 9

>>31683596
>turn it into a rank-three Solar manse
No question

Rolled 5

>>31683596
>"I can pull out some extra energy with some applied geomancy and rework your Demesne into a rank-four Water manse, or turn it into a rank-three Solar manse."
Whichever will provide bigger bonuses to the people living in the area. That's what's most important here.

Rolled 3

>>31683614
I do question. While Solar manse is in theme, a 4 dot water manse is quite something. I think we should discuss what are the benefits of each before we make a decision.

>>31683614
Let me remind you, that Paragon has the highest standards or living in the entire South and possibly the whole Creation. And is powered in its entirety by a 5-dot Manse. So, I'd vote for power here.

File: mlEgXcw.jpg (15 KB, 300x300)

15 KB JPG

"Uh, how do these rank work? Is a lower rank or a higher rank better?" You ask.

"Higher is better." She explains. "You'll also have to decide on a name!"

"For the manse, or the city?"

"Both."

Oh boy. Time to sort things out.

For money:
>Loan from the Guild
>Gambling
>Pirating
>Attack the Lintha

For workforce:
>Humans and elementals
>Rush the Manse with demons first

Circle:
>We're just working together for this one project, then everyone goes separate ways.
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.

Manse:
>Rank 4 Water Manse
>Rank 3 Solar Manse
>Ask more details

Name:
>Manse Name
>City Name

>(Other?)

Rolled 6

>>31683654
agreed.

Honestly, I'm tempted to just tell Val that the Manse must include a Court for us to manage the future city from, housing, and a small shrine to the unconquered sun, and the rest is entirely up to her.

>>31683596
>"Actually, from what I read when I did some research on what little documents are left from the First Age... our life span, as solars, is somewhere between five and seven thousand years."
I thought Solars were 3,000 and Sidereals were 5,000?

It's still an unreasonably huge number either way (and not one most Exalts live to see).

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
>Humans and elementals
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
>More details
>8 ball is murky

Rolled 8

>>31683596
>Rank-three Solar manse

>>31683596
>rank-three Solar manse.
this please

Rolled 9

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
>Humans and elementals
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
>Ask more details
>Fuck if I know

Rolled 7

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
Two birds, one stone.

>Humans and elementals
Get everyone acclimated, and build the foundations of the settlement in the form of housing for workers.

>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
Should be great for Tianna in the long-term.

>Ask more details
Whichever lets us get bigger, better bonuses for our populace.

>Name
Whatever everyone else wants.

>>31683704
>>31683713
>>31683614
Care to expand on your reasoning?

Rolled 7

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
Fuck the Lintha.
>Humans and elementals
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
Just... don't do anything evil or we're going to have to fire you.
>Ask more details

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
>Humans and elementals
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
>Rank 4 Water Manse

>>31683695
Silverclaws died at the age of about 3400 and as far as I know Solars and Lunars live about as long.
Anyway, Exalts tend to die of reasons other than old age.

>>31683725
>Just... don't do anything evil or we're going to have to fire you.
Out of a cannon

Rolled 7

>>31683677
For money:
>Attack the Lintha
For workforce:
>Humans and elementals
Circle:
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
Manse:
>Rank 3 Solar Manse
Name:
Hah, like anons have any sense for naming things

Rolled 6

So, can anyone with an indepth knowledge of canon Exalted give us a mechanical rundown on the Manse Differences?

Rolled 9

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
>Humans and elementals
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
>Ask more details
What kind of benefits would they give to the city and such

>Name
For the city people were talking naming it [Something]'s Light, going for a Solar-y name, which I approve of, but we should wait to name the manse depending on what we turn it into

Rolled 5

>>31683677
>Attack the Lintha
But leave a possible provision of Gambling, or even loaning from the Guild.

>Humans and elementals

>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.

>Ask more details

Names will need discussion. But some type of light and sun theme would fit.

>>31683677
>>Attack the Lintha
This one is a given. Train our men and lets go wreck them.

>>Humans and elementals
Let the people build and spread the word

>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.
this one is obvious.

>Ask more details
Let's learn more. I am tempted to both of them. I can't decide right now.

Rolled 3

>>31683677
>Lintha
They need to go down sooner rather than later. This project will make us a target anyway, might as well clean house before we start.
>Humans and Elementals
Need to get humans used to working with Exalts, especially Solars. Working side by side with them will help us all bond.
>Welcome to the team.

>Ask more details

>And welcome to the future site of Pearl.
Despite not being minerals, pearls are often considered a type of gem. We're from Gem. It's a theme. Roll with it.

Rolled 3

>>31683773
>>31683761
>>31683750
>>31683746
>>31683741
>>31683725
>>31683716
>>31683715
>>31683699

Well that's one hell of a fucking consensus.

Guess now it's just down to figuring out what the mechanical benefits of the manse types are.

Rolled 9

>>31683749
Solar manses tend to give bigger bonuses, but it being Rank 4 could easily make up for that. A Rank 4 manse also kicks out significantly more essence regen. Ultimately, our choice should depend on which one will give better bonuses to the region, rather than better bonuses to us personally - the bonuses to us will be fucking sweet either way.

Rolled 8

>>31683723
I'm changing my choice, other anons made a good point, let's see what kind of bonuses we can get to the surrounding areas before we decide, I do still want the Solar Manse, but I'm willing to go for the water if it's better for the city

>>31683677
For money:
>Attack the Lintha

For workforce:
>Humans and elementals

Circle:
>Welcome to the team, new ministers of science and trade of Tianna.

Manse:
>Ask more details

>>31683677
>City/Manse Name
How bout "Wild Sun" ?

Rolled 2

EF, I *think* we may have made a decision.

>>31683749
More dots = more power is available through the hearthstone. Also, more utility effects you can design into the Manse
Essense aspect manly affects the design of the Manse (and thus is limited to fiction instead of mechanics) and the natural effect of the hearthstone. Oh, and some utility effects are only available to certain aspects (portals to Malfeas for Infernal, shadowland generator for Abyssal... that kind of stuff)

Rolled 9

>>31683793
Agreed. We need to figure out how the future city and countryside will benefit from the essence. Any leftover we can use ourselves.

>>31683677
>>City Name
Sana.
I just wanted something with "sun" sound in it. This is simple and sounds good to me.

Rolled 2

>>31683793
>Ultimately, our choice should depend on which one will give better bonuses to the region, rather than better bonuses to us personally
Yeah i think this is what it should come down to

>>31683677
>Loan from the Guild
We can use the loan to not only jumpstart our new kingdom but to import jade etc via better armed guild merchant convoys that may or may not exist. We can pay it back with Lintha loot.

>Humans and elementals
Best not start on a footing that will send up red flags to immaculates on the island.

>Welcome to the team
Naturally

>Rank 4 Water Manse
Higher ranks are ALWAYS better.

>NEO NEW LONDO

>>31683850
Just googled a list of sun gods. Particulary liked this mayan one:
>Ah Kin, god of the sun, bringer of doubt and protector against the evils associated with darkness

Does anyone else think Ah Kin for town's name sounds good?

Rolled 1

>>31683885
Maybe, I definitely want something Sun themed, but more to do with UCS if possible

Rolled 7

>>31683525
That is only via Twilight. Or with sorcery to make us male and then spawning god blooded to every willing female in our cult.

Going with Essence independent as a rule is going to allow our essence users to have that much more effect.

I mean, that ship is without the need of essence and is in fact a ship of the line or something of the sort. It's the solution to crossing the ocean without essence and we can spam them as fast as we can get crews and support for them.

Going with essence ubiquity means that our growth is severely hampered as a choice, as we are going to have to invest from the start in spawning god blooded or going awakened essence in our followers.

We can do essence ubiquity as the final stage of essence independence since essence independence is going to allow us massive growth with mundane people and attract far more immigrants via our expansion and allure of profit for the common man right now.

Rolled 3

>>31683850
>>31683807
>>31683761
>>31683750

Wyild Pearl of the Sun?
Pearl of the Wyild sun?

>City name
New Gem
Very creative. It will become the Exalted New Yok in a century.

Rolled 6

>>31683919
Pearl of the Sun works alright.

Rolled 7

>>31683919
the Y's were supposed to be spoilered.

>>31683919
Shit. Too long. You don't name a city a whole sentence.

Rolled 3

>>31683918
>spawning god blooded to every willing female in our cult.

If we need a lot of god-blooded, we can just ask Tia to knock up a shitload of women.

Rolled 4

>>31683932
Maka's Pearl of the Sun gets a good workout, if you know what I mean

>>31683918
>with sorcery to make us male
Or a hearthstone of Gender Transformation. A water hearthstone (Old McDonald's Codex, p.97).

Rolled 6

>>31683942
Technically Half-Castes. And I think the Thousand Streams lunars are planning on doing that anyway, eventually. Repopulating Creation so that all 'mortals' have a trace of Exalt in them. One look at some of the 'beastmen' charms in the lunar book leads one to wonder....

Rolled 7

>>31683957
Can we make the 2-dot a genrderswap hearthstone?

We could use it to spice u p the water ceremonies.

>>31683932
Sunpearl?

Rolled 3

>>31683955
Har har.

>>31683971
Sunpearl, Pearl of Light, Pearl of the Sun, Dawnpearl...

>>31683970
It's a three-dot hearthstone, so it's made on 3+ dotted Manses and therefore 2+ dotted Demesnes

Rolled 4

>>31683983
Yeah, any name with Pearl in it is going to get endless clitoris jokes.

Rolled 9

>>31683918
As luck would have it, we have recently come into partnership with a Twilight who could give a hereditary enlightened essence mutation to willing mortals.

After deciding on pretty much every other aspect of your meeting, you start discussing the manse itself.

"...I don't really understand what's the difference." You explain to Valeriana.

"Well, mostly..." She points out. "...every Manse produces a Hearthstone. Or it can make more than one, but you have to split the power by doing so. Anyway, Water manses produce Water hearthstones which will grant Water-aspected powers, and Solar manses produce Solar hearthstones which will grant Solar-aspected powers. There are other details, of course, like the Manse itself having some minor - or major - powers connected to the element."

Mikahil nods. "Solar-type powers are usually about light, leadership, honor and oaths, law and order. Water is associated with adaptability, flexibility, understanding, and things like that."

"What about the powers you mentioned?" You ask the Twilight.

"Well, you can lower the power of the stone being produced on purpose, instead channeling the Demesne's powers into the Manse itself and granting it specific powers."

"Can those powers come to the advantage of the city?"

"Of course. Detection, defense, various enchantments on the area, but also just making the Manse as a building more effective as, say, a government center."

"One of our farming villages is built around an old Wood-aspect Manse that keeps the land fertile, for example." Amata says. "The hearthstone is almost useless, but that village never missed a harvest."

"Oh, also, a Solar-aspected manse would be more compatible with you personally, since you share its aspect."

>Ask specific questions
>Solar-Aspected
>Water-Aspected
>Another aspect (which one?)
>Rank (0-4?)

>>31683983
>>31683919
>>31683932
Why not just Pearl? Similar to Gem but it's a precious stone that you find in the water...

Like Tianna itself.

>>31684012
>Implying Maka wouldn't do that on purpose

Rolled 3

Well, looking at the 3 dot Solar Hearthstones. The only one that is of interest is

>CRYSTAL OF LEGENDARY LEADERSHIP (MANSE •••)
>This rounded, many-faced green triangle enhances the bearer’s ability to lead others. The bearer’s player gains one bonus success to any Presence, Performance or Bureaucracy rolls involving leadership or governance, as well as to any War rolls involving rallying troops

>>31684039
That's basically worth a Charm right there. Isn't that pretty much TGP?

Rolled 2

>>31684020
>Water-Aspected
>Rank 1

Channel all the power into the city.

>>31684024
Me rikey

>>31684020
Does a Manse have its own powers without reducing hearthstone potential?

Rolled 6

Is this the point where we start combing the books to find something suitable?

Also: Nova Pearl. Morning Pearl. [Insert word here] Pearl.

>>31684055
It's oriented towards governance not performance so our charms won't help much if at all

Rolled 10

>>31684024
Yeah, I don't mind this

>>31684024
I like the idea that Maka deliberately calls back to the name of her hometown like that.

Rolled 6

>>31684024
I'm 100% on board with naming our city Pearl.

Rolled 9

>>31684024
I do want to reference the UCS in some way. I guess we can do that with our one-dot demesne, though.

Rolled 10

>>31684020
>Water-Aspected
>rank 4
The points you get for downgrading the Heartstone are generally not worth it

>>31684090
We're naming the City Pearl. We don't know what we're naming the Manse yet.

Rolled 6

>>31684056
>Channel all the power into the city.
I'm willing to support that, but I would prefer if it was Rank 2. That would be high enough for us to loan the stone out to Tianna for powering its essence cannons, while still giving us two ranks to play around with giving the surrounding area big bonuses.

Rolled 8

>>31684020
>Ask specific questions
What kind of bonuses can we get our city from the if we change it to a Solar aspect, or if we keep it a water one

Rolled 1

>>31684055

Well, the only one that is really interesting is

>STONE OF INHUMAN BEAUTY (MANSE ••••)

>This iridescent white oval adds four dots to the wearer’s Appearance, raising it to a maximum of 7. In addition, the bearer cannot be made to look anything other than beautiful: nothing short of Solar Circle Sorcery can even temporarily reduce his Appearance. If dressed in rags and covered in mud, he appears handsomely disheveled; if disguised to look horribly scarred, he seems to bear noble wounds that must obviously have come from performing some grand feat of heroism. Other people always notice the bearer unless he uses stealth, Charms or the cover of darkness to conceal himself. This is good when giving a speech… not so good for a discreet meeting with an informant.

But as shown above. Its a 4 dot thing.

>>31684090
Well the City itself can be called Pearl but cities will still have boroughs, squares, and other such features. We can have the Forum of Sol Invictus that acts as the primary forum for law announcements and the like.

I mean it's not like everywhere in New York is just called New York

Rolled 1

>>31684020
>Ask specific questions
What kind of infrastructure are we talking here? I want to know exactly how many points we're going to allocate away to other effects.

>>31684020
>Water-Aspected
Give all, or at least most of the power into the city and the Manse itself. Manse should also include our home.

>>31684020
>adaptability, flexibility, understanding, and things like that.
Honestly that seems MORE useful to us than the law-and-order stuff.

Keep it Water. I'd also probably suggest downgrading the Hearthstone significantly to boost the land/manse/city.

Rolled 8

>>31684020
>Ask specific questions
what benefits could a solar or a water manse give the city
How much stronger would the water one be for being 4 dot?

>>31684090
Call the city Pearl and the Manse itself Sol's Benevolence.

>>31684020
>Water
>2

>FOUNTAIN-SUMMONING STONE (MANSE ••)
>This flawless, oval emerald always feels cool and slightly moist. It can call water from the earth to create a spring of pure, fresh water in any location, from the hottest desert of the Southlands to a filthy alley in Nexus. The bearer need only stamp his foot against soil, rock or worked stone in contact with the earth, and the spring instantly appears. The duration of the spring depends upon the location: In a desert, the flow of water continues for a few hours, while in a moister climate it might run for an entire season.
>A fountain-summoning stone cannot call a spring from a floor that is enchanted, made of metal or one of the magical materials, or above a basement, tunnels or other worked openings in the earth. No more than one fountain can be summoned in any area 50 feet on a side, and the stone cannot be used more than once a scene.