Bay 12 Games Forum

Dear Urist McLegendaryGelder:

No.

Sincerely, The unpixilated man.

Dear unpixilated overseerer,

You must understand my struggles to be such a profession. Absolutely nobody appreciates what I do, and for some reason even the military fears me. I don't know why, I'm such a great gelder that most of my patients can hardly tell a difference! Perhaps you would like to come into my offices for a free examination?

Sincerely, Urist McLegendaryGelder

Meta comment: I'm really digging the set up turn order so far. It's getting me excited for how the grand story of the fort could end up play out.

Loyalists are deemed a threat after Einstein's rule, and the Mountain steps in to re-take order. Realizing that overseeing is hard work, and they're in the mountain because they don't like work, they try to scout the civilian populations for overseers, sampling different groups. Knowing they can't trust the civilians to keep the Mountain in power for so long, the Mountain reluctantly steps back into control, but by then the Loyalists are powerful enough to try to launch an attack on the Mountain through coordinated assaults. How the operations turn out, we don't know.

Of course, that's what could, not what will happen.

Dear Urist McDoctor,

Yes, yes, I know you're excited about the amazing new well in the Hospital. I am too! This the very first time I've ever ordered a seperate well all just for tbe benefit of better healthcare. See, I was worried some poor injured fellow would accidentally get knocked in. See, I had the brilliant idea to put it in its own room to ensure only the able bodied medics would bother with it.

My mistake was thinking you were able-bodied. You have proven, in spectacular fashion, I shouldn't have bothered with all the plumbing and time spent on it. I need a clean well. A clean well I can no longer have thanks to your corspe at the bottom of the well.

But don't worry! I've locked the door, and no one can follow or disturb your final resting place.

Your annoyed Overseer,
Jackie

Dear Jackie,

RETURN TO AUTOBOT HEADQUARTERS AND CEASE PLAYING COMPUTER GAMES ALL DAY.

Signed, Ultry.

I let out a slight grin, pleasantly surprised with Sionnach's sudden lack-of-hostility. Still, I didn't want to let Sionnach over-estimate my influence over the mountain, and there was a slight problem with that plan. "I will attempt to gain Kaladin's favor with the Mountain. However, I can't promise that the Mountain will act on its own childish whim the moment that I turn by back to it. You should be aware of how difficult that would be with our current situation, no? Kaladin means to the mountain a suppression of the dwarven wants, and less competition for the mountain's resources and living quarters by extension. It would be easy to turn this logic against the mountain, but I need more... leverage... over the residents. That's why I've asked you to bring Ral here, so that I may ask both of you for permission to take Ral into the gang under the presented guise of 'disciplining' him in order to gain misplaced favor with them."

I laughed in response before answering. "Don't be silly, you must have mistaken me for Skulls herself."
I my face straightened out back into a neutral glare immediately afterwards. I don't know how well I alleviated the situation, but it's time to actually get somewhere even if Sionnach is going to breathe down my neck the entire time. "For example, Skulls would have told the mountain about what you're wearing so she could have an excuse to take the hammer to your noggin. I currently have no plans to do that, because you strike me as someone who, at his core, believes in the same concepts of law as I do. Would it not then be in my best interest to help you in your struggle against the mountain?"

I think it'd be too easy to screw that up.  Attacks should be made in clandestine ways that don't risk full-on loyalty spirals.  Things like flooding a room with water, making a bridge over a pit suddenly "retract", "accidentally" building a ballista pointing the wrong way, "run-away" minecarts, spike traps "accidentally" left on repeat, ceilings that collapse "inexplicably", a cave ogre "suddenly" rampaging through the village, a crime "pinned" on an innocent yet influential person when there's only a hammerer working, etc.  Try to keep it at the level of political intrigue without devolving beyond what we can actually do within the game.

FTFY

From the Journal of UltraMagnus: Limestone:

Skulls would have been disappointed in me.
The gang in which Skulls had ruled over was allowed to be as tough and as brutal as they pleased, provided that they didn't attract too much attention from the mountain. We survived the water titan attack under her command, even with the disregard of our safety by the dwarves of the mountain. Now, we stand but at three members.

I can recall my conversation with Onul one day in the barracks exceptionally (by my poor standards)..
It began out as per usual, with the clanging of hammers echoing in the tunnels, creating a rhythm with our training. Almost complimenting us were the trots of horses towards the trading depot near our barracks.
"Onul," I told him, "I want you to peer at the merchants' goods, and tell me exactly what the mountain buys from them.
Onul reported back that the mountain bought a bunch of useless crap, but what's more is that Sionnach's goons were overseeing the trade. One of them glared at me when I peered around the corner to see for myself. How rude.

We resumed training half-heartedly until a song composed by the trotting of hooves were birthed in the tunnels again. We shuffled quietly to the Depot, where various slum workers were unloading goods. No weapons, and no armor were among them.

Onul and I glanced at each other understandingly, Sionnach wouldn't have taken such an interest in the caravans out of the goodness of his heart. I ordered Onul to retreat back to the barracks and resume training, so that I may shadow the rest of the caravan's travels.

Hmph... few things are smooth in this world, even with cloth covered over them. Breastplates happen to be one such thing, and Sionnach has been trying to get chummy with the local religious figures.

"In other words," Onul inquired after I explained my suspicions to him in the barracks, keeping a vigilant eye towards the entrance for eavesdroppers while half-heartily swinging my hammer, "...He's bringing his own police force to the slums."
I lobbied my hammer into the air. "Is he then any better than the mountain, or is all law good law?"
Onul shook his head. "You're the leader of this pitiful gang, you tell me if he's better than us at it."
The hammer's grip didn't let up any mercy as it crashed back into my palm, caught more precisely than the rumors of religious civil war in the fortress. I inspected the metal afterwards, noticing the puny amounts of light in the room reflecting off of the brilliant metal. "He's better at amassing an army, but he's not better at keeping order in the slums than Skull was or perhaps, if given the chance, worse than I could be."
Onul knew his place wasn't to speak up quite yet. "Sionnach sees us as a threat to his rising power, which is good. If left unchecked we pose direct competition for his military presence. If he kills us, he betrays the cause of his own Loyalists. Let him revel in the paranoia towards three dwarves, the rifts between the Followers of the Path and Worshipers of Armok don't do anything to help."

Onul started to sneer a coy grin at me. "Are you open for suggestions in how we use this?"
I snapped back, "I'm against anarchy or inciting chaos if that's what you have in mind."
Onul seemed a bit let down. "Not directly," he amended.
Perhaps he was on to something, but I already started to get an idea of what could possibly connect the two ideas. I didn't really like it. I ordered Onul, "Perhaps you may get your wish as a last resort option, but in the meantime let's play this one smart. I want you to loiter around the depot and arrange a meeting for me with one of the mountain pundits."
Onul grabbed some drink and food and made his lobbying known to the fort, leaving me to free-write in my journal before I forget my thoughts due to a history of alcohol abuse (not enough). Onul will keep his mouth shut about our findings, even when drunk, but that still doesn't make me trust him enough to take over the gang after my passing.
Our most valuable asset right now is that the civilian defense force smuggled the armor. No, I don't intend to tattle-tale to the mountain, and Onul knows better than to either, but as far as the rest of the fortress knows, the civilian defense force lacks armor. This could be huge for negotiation, and any past loyalty to the mountain has been tested and found.
Sionnach, I don't hate you, but somebody needs to take hold of this fortress before the religious rift becomes too much for the slums to handle, and you'd be a terrible leader to not address any major power void.

If she gets back to her native home and job cancel spams because she can't find baby, that's her problem. Worse case scenario: you need to reserve a slot in your corpse stockpile.