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Hopefully nothing bad happens to the council!
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Apr 23, 2022 04:31
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wedgekree posted:How are folks thinking they want to expand here? Go for military options as they're available or for more economic ones? Just trying to get a feel for how folks are thinking of long term plans. For my part, I'm focusing mostly on our domestic economic policy and leaving expansion decisions to others, but I'm generally hoping for less bloody forms of conquest and ideally additional opportunities to wave our giant GDP around.
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Apr 23, 2022 04:43
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EclecticTastes posted:For my part, I'm focusing mostly on our domestic economic policy and leaving expansion decisions to others, but I'm generally hoping for less bloody forms of conquest and ideally additional opportunities to wave our giant GDP around. Well, testing it would involve using up our AP at the end of the coming update, but I'm getting a report of 'may accept' for the Lamb Clan voluntarily taking vassalisation at the end of next update. Which, my hunch, the 'may' involves the giant pile of money we've accumulated at that point between ordinary revenues and a massive pile of fines we've collected from new vassals to resolve charges against them. So we just might get to wave our giant GDP around for expansion.
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Apr 23, 2022 04:54
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nweismuller posted:Well, testing it would involve using up our AP at the end of the coming update, but I'm getting a report of 'may accept' for the Lamb Clan voluntarily taking vassalisation at the end of next update. Which, my hunch, the 'may' involves the giant pile of money we've accumulated at that point between ordinary revenues and a massive pile of fines we've collected from new vassals to resolve charges against them. So we just might get to wave our giant GDP around for expansion. Just as long as we don't overextend. I've played enough CK2 that expanding too much too quickly can be problematic unless you use the custom ruler creator to create a nigh-immortal god-king under whose children the continent-spanning empire will promptly collapse due to having non-broken stats, if said ruler ever actually dies of old age with his obscene Health stat. I may have had a game going over the past several years I revisit occasionally to see if I can actually take over the entire map.
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Apr 23, 2022 05:31
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EclecticTastes posted:Just as long as we don't overextend. I've played enough CK2 that expanding too much too quickly can be problematic unless you use the custom ruler creator to create a nigh-immortal god-king under whose children the continent-spanning empire will promptly collapse due to having non-broken stats, if said ruler ever actually dies of old age with his obscene Health stat. I may have had a game going over the past several years I revisit occasionally to see if I can actually take over the entire map. Well, we'll have our issues, but I think once we resolve the Lamb Clan and one other issue that we'll see as of the update, we'll have made enough expansion for me to say I'm happy with what Jane has accomplished and could cheerfully spend the rest of her life in consolidation and development. Star Dynasties can be a game of patience, where you wait for the right opportunities to present themselves, and other times work to resolve the issues you've bought for yourself. And all this major expansion you'll see we've done happened through one brief war where we cracked a border, and then had a diplomatic opportunity present itself as a neighbor was ready to disintegrate. Honestly, the fact that 'realms disintegrating from their own problems' is a thing in Star Dynasties is something I absolutely love about this game.
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Apr 23, 2022 06:13
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nweismuller posted:Well, we'll have our issues, but I think once we resolve the Lamb Clan and one other issue that we'll see as of the update, we'll have made enough expansion for me to say I'm happy with what Jane has accomplished and could cheerfully spend the rest of her life in consolidation and development. Star Dynasties can be a game of patience, where you wait for the right opportunities to present themselves, and other times work to resolve the issues you've bought for yourself. Something that happens too infrequently in Crusader Kings
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Apr 23, 2022 07:05
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Treaty of Fealty between the Weiss Guild and the White Federation posted:... hereby does House White and the Governor-General of the White Federation pledge unto House Weiss and the Director-General of the Weiss Guild support and loyalty, forming thereby a new League that is the WEISS LEAGUE. The Directors-General of the Weiss Guild hereby to be in perpetuity also Archons of this League, with the White Federation and its Governors-General to pledge unto this League the services of their fleets and peacekeepers and the regular payment of such taxes and tributes as are regular and lawful for a realm within this League. And in recognition of this loyalty, these services, and these payments, the Archons of this League which are the Directors-General of the Weiss Guild do pledge to execute true justice against those who wrong House White, to offer their protection against enemies from abroad and rebels from within, and to provide aid and strength to the White Federation as occasion demands. Hereby also do the Governors-General of the White Federation and the Directors-General of the Weiss Guild pledge that within this league of their sovereign realms bound one to another in duty and fealty, that there shall be no barriers to commerce between these realms, but rather that civilian traffic shall pass unimpeded and subject only to such tax as is standard at the spaceport of any colony where it makes dock. Religion in the colonies lacks a centralised hierarchy or clergy with significant political power, but is nonetheless pervasive. By far the dominant religion across the known colonies is a traditional variant of Christianity that has evolved since the Collapse, administered by local pastors and preachers; marriage is not considered lawful unless solemnised by a preacher and preachers frequently witness the swearing of oaths in the name of God. Traditional Christianity in this era has strict views on premarital and extramarital sexuality and is reluctant to solemnise marriages between relatives closer than first cousins, but has shed animus against homosexual relations and will perform same-sex marriages willingly. Marriage customs are strictly monogamous, and divorce, although it can occur, is considered dishonorable. The current marriages of those living in House Weiss have all been performed by the same pastor, the Reverend Jacob Worth, who has served as the Weiss family pastor since 2496, where he took the position in the place of his father at age 33. E: A note on the status of multiple marriage and divorce was edited in. Groetgaffel's extension to 'Fire Support' has been linked in the OP. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Apr 24, 2022 |
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Apr 24, 2022 05:41
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EclecticTastes posted:Personally, I don't see Internal Affairs as having a particularly large impact, as our exact reputation with our vassals isn't especially important as long as it's above the threshold for betrayal, which seems easy enough to maintain without spending such a precious resource on it. Spending five picks to get a +15% bonus to assignment results is a bit of a hard sell for me. I'd rather have the Diplomacy line, so we can more easily soak reputation hits from illegal conquest and the like. On the other hand, if we had the picks for it, I'd take Loremasters up to Skilled Educators. Intelligent characters are good, but being able to boost those childhood skill gains will lead to our characters' stats ballooning over successive generations (especially if gains are influenced by the stats of their guardian, allowing the benefits to compound over time). I managed to read a little more about how wards work recently. The guardian helps pass on some of their best two skills, and the ward will tend to accumulate similar personality traits (although they're also influenced by the traits of their parents and by chance). Honestly, this sort of makes me wish I had Jane acting as guardian for Rebecca, given how strong Jane's skills are overall...
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Apr 25, 2022 13:03
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I'm back home, but currently exhausted. I'll look into seeing what needs to be done with images for the next major update tomorrow. The cats are adorable and fuzzy, and I was happy to catsit them, but it's good to be back and able to focus on writing again.
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Apr 27, 2022 23:58
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This thread caused me to purchase the game. I can attest to the power of money and infinite mercenaries! Also, it's much easier to flip barons and dukes than CK2 trained me to believe, and I greatly appreciate that.
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Apr 28, 2022 04:26
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So unless I am grossly misreading things, which is possible because the hell do I know about this game's UI, does the Patton Quadrant have any kind of a military left, or did they all get mulched when you kicked in the door at Ross 128 with the dregs getting mangled at Haldus? Because if so, then I am obviously in favor of a "nice system you have there, be a shame if something happened to it" annexation. And if anybody objects, well you know, these installations aren't always great, sure would be a shame if one of the administrators accidentally tripped into an airlock that after falling backwards on some conveniently sharp metal bits thirty-seven times.
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Apr 28, 2022 08:39
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MechaCrash posted:So unless I am grossly misreading things, which is possible because the hell do I know about this game's UI, does the Patton Quadrant have any kind of a military left, or did they all get mulched when you kicked in the door at Ross 128 with the dregs getting mangled at Haldus? They had forces from more jumps back left over, but their front lines were pretty much mulched... at which point we made peace with them. And there's no war with them immediately forthcoming. But once I process the images I collected and do some writing, you'll see what I've done instead in those two years... and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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Apr 28, 2022 09:14
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OneWingedDevil posted:This thread caused me to purchase the game. I can attest to the power of money and infinite mercenaries! Also, it's much easier to flip barons and dukes than CK2 trained me to believe, and I greatly appreciate that. Are Dukes as likely to betray you as in CK2 though?
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Apr 28, 2022 13:40
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Veloxyll posted:Are Dukes as likely to betray you as in CK2 though? The flip side of barons and dukes being able to be flipped is that barons and dukes can be flipped from you. Any realm is only one really lovely ruler from falling apart in this game.
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Apr 28, 2022 14:46
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nweismuller posted:The flip side of barons and dukes being able to be flipped is that barons and dukes can be flipped from you. Any realm is only one really lovely ruler from falling apart in this game. True. While I'm not sure how I managed it, my second ruler runs a general opinion score that has gone as low as 30 and is currently around 70 or so after going to war with another archon. In less than 20 years she's taken my empire from 12 or so systems to over 30. So contrary to Machiavelli, in Star Dynasties it seems to be much better to be loved than feared. I haven't had anyone flip from me since she ascended the throne. I did have a couple systems flip under my first ruler, but he was pretty neutral on the respect scale.
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Apr 29, 2022 01:14
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OneWingedDevil posted:So contrary to Machiavelli, in Star Dynasties it seems to be much better to be loved than feared. I haven't had anyone flip from me since she ascended the throne. I did have a couple systems flip under my first ruler, but he was pretty neutral on the respect scale. A lot of people misunderstand that Machiavelli quote. He wasn't saying it was better to be feared than loved in general, he was saying that if you could only have one of the two, that being feared was the better one to have by itself. The ideal situation for Machiavelli is to be both feared and loved (or, even more ideally, genuinely respected, but given the time in which The Prince was written, true respect was hard to come by, as everyone involved in Italian politics at the time was extremely power-hungry, greedy, arrogant, etc., so he laid out alternatives that were more feasible and easier to manipulate). In essence, being a soft touch just led to people walking all over you. Star Dynasties doesn't seem to model/track any stats that might lead to events like "(Vassal) demands (concession), knowing you're too much of a conciliatory wuss to say no." Like, in Crusader Kings, if vassals detect weakness, they can make factions to declare independence, or force concessions (like lower taxes/levies, inheritance rules that make it harder to consolidate power/high-level titles, etc.). All it seems to track is if you treat people fairly and lawfully, which would be more "respect" than "love".
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Apr 29, 2022 06:25
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It's also worth noting that 'feared' doesn't necessarily mean you have to be reputed for senseless cruelty. Being 'feared' means that you have strength that people know you can use if there's necessary cause. The key thing is that people need to fear to rebel and disobey, even if they're convinced that they're perfectly safe and secure if they're just living an ordinary life, which is something even a saintly paladin-king could manage. E: So, to be clear, the reason Machiavelli's concept of 'fear' is not inconsistent with being loved is because 'fear' as he's using this is presenting as a credible threat to your enemies and capable of punishing those who act against you. He says the ideal state is to be both feared and loved- that is, both strong enough to punish while commanding love and admiration. What he views as absolutely fatal is becoming hated, which can motivate people to rebel even if they fear the consequences, and, as he says, being feared but not hated is eminently possible. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Apr 29, 2022 |
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Apr 29, 2022 06:56
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Everything uploaded, but having trouble finding my glasses. Writing while I'm half-blind is way more work than it should be, so I'm not going to start writing until I find the drat things. E: Glasses found, sinus headache is killing my focus. Hopefully I can manage to write tomorrow. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 01:39 on May 2, 2022 |
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May 1, 2022 17:32
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Hidden in the secret compartment in Romeo's mahogany desk posted:
Thanks again for the LP Nweismuller! Can't wait for the next update!
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May 7, 2022 05:09
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Romeo... Your mustache is so... Majestic!
drat straight it is, baby.
My brains are poo and and will drone on and on until everyone dies from boredom. I also smell.
No! I'm sorry I wasn't my sister 
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I finished about half the writing today, but lost a little steam since I'm out of practise. I should have the update up Soon(tm).
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May 8, 2022 06:54
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dervinosdoom posted:Silliness Ok, i chuckled hard.
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May 8, 2022 23:37
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The Birth of the Weiss League The memory chip containing the ancient Earth vacation was presented to Ilario Goodman in recognition of his services and to ease his mind while he suffered from illness in the early part of 2510. As he awakened from the implantation, he was seen to have tears on his cheeks. When questioned, he said that the memory was 'beautiful'.   While Ilario was still recovering from the implantation, the Weiss Guild entered into negotiations, convincing the ruling house of Alsciaukat to break their oaths with the Patton Quadrant and pledge themselves to the Weiss Guild. This was followed shortly after with negotiations with House Perry, the rulers of Nashira, who likewise willingly foreswore their oaths to House Patton and pledged themselves to House Weiss. With these negotiations, the Patton Quadrant was reduced to a mere three colonies of questionable loyalty.    In the later part of 2510, Duchess Ruth Stuart of the Stuart Coalition offered her vassalage if only the Weiss Guild would protect her from an attack by her old masters in the Lindsey Coalition. Rather than be drawn into a dishonorable war, Director-General Jane Weiss declined to assist House Stuart, whose defense of the Alhena colony was overwhelmed by the Lindsey Coalition. Once Alhena was seized by the Lindsey Coalition, Ruth Stuart was deposed in retribution for her rebellion, being replaced by Lel Lindsey.       Over the course of the latter half of 2510, Duke Yardley Patton issued a series of demands for justice to Director-General Jane Weiss. Both the barons of the colonies the Weiss Guild had swayed from the Patton Quadrant had been refusing to offer military support to the duke, while Baron Bradford Eaton's raid against Rotanev demanded justice. In response to these demands, in order to satisfy the requirements of justice, Director-General Jane Weiss issued a total of one hundred thousand marks in fines against these vassals, thereby effectively settling the matter.    Work by members of House Weiss bore fruit over the course of the latter half of 2510, with an effective case for Haldus' membership in the Weiss Guild made by Diplomacy, the restoration of a major waste processing plant at Ross 128 that would thereafter be able to supply fertiliser supplies, pure water, and cheap algae-based food to the surrounding areas, and the full recovery by Ilario Goodman from his injuries from Technology Director Prudence Weiss's care.  The White Federation, formed by the revolt of the colony of Albireo against the Patton Quadrant, joined in the Shannon League near the end of 2510, hoping that their new masters would protect them from Duke Yardley Patton, who they despised.   As 2511 began, Albiereo was rocked by an internal revolt, one which Director-General Jane Weiss refused to become involved in, preferring to preserve her fleets on her new frontier to protect her own vassals.     Shortly after the revolt, Dembe Shannon, archon of the Shannon League and coordinator of the Shannon Collective, agreed to transfer the vassalage of the White Federation to House Patton, dashing the hopes of House White that their new master would save them from Yardley Patton. Immediately thereafter, Governor-General Coligny White approached Director-General Jane Weiss, begging to accept her vassalage. The Director-General accepted, on the condition of the payment of sixty thousand marks. Coligny White willingly accepted, pledging her loyalty to Jane Weiss in Jane's new position as archon of the newly-founded Weiss League. With Jane Weiss now risen to the dignity and honors of an archon, she gained significant prestige amongst the nobility. Over the course of Jane's life House Weiss had risen from a mere minor house of the many that thronged Vega to the highest rank yet recognised in this modern era, the head of a league that bound together several realms in common cause.  Shortly after the conclusion of the treaty of vassalage between House White and House Weiss, Jane Weiss was invited to a feast at Zubenelgenubi hosted by Archon Dembhe Shannon, held in the honor of his admiral. Jane departed for the feast, along with most of her council- Mariko, Thomas, Oriole, and Harold, leaving behind only Prudence.   Oriole was selected as House Weiss's champion during the tournament that opened the gathering. She easily won her first match, but was outmaneuvered and disqualified in her second match by the head of Security for House Miranda, the rulers of Al Nair in the Crawford Coalition. In the end, the heir to the Dalton Alliance, the farthest-distant realm within the Shannon League, took the glory of the championship.     Few people remembered the details of the beginning of the feast itself, as the feast was struck by disaster. As all the guests were gathered at the feasting table, one of the large windows granting a view of the outside suffered a sudden failure due to accumulated structural stress, throwing the feasting hall into chaos as gale-strength winds threatened to suck the guests into space and decompression alarms blared. Vacc-armored and mag-booted security men rushed into the feasting hall to extract guests and attempt to perform an emergency patch before permanent repairs could be done, but by the time the hall was cleared, Zoltan Lindsey, the admiral of the Lindsey Coalition's space fleet, was unable to be found. His corpse was located several days later in an external sweep of the debris field created by the breach. The gathering broke up shortly thereafter, the feast never completed and the guests still marked by the terror of the experience as they returned to their home colonies.    Following an attempt to depose Baron Adair Marshall of Mu Capricorni by Dembhe Shannon, Adair Marshall proclaimed Mu Capricorni's independence and crowned himself Coordinator of the new Marshall Collective. He almost immediately sought membership in the Weiss Guild in an effort to preserve the sovereignty of his new realm, which Archon Jane Weiss willingly granted. Unlike the White Federation, whose membership in the Weiss League was tainted by being pulled from its former master, the Weiss League immediately had a credible claim to retain the membership of the Marshall Collective. If you voluntarily gain the vassalage of another realm, you'll start with a weak claim if the realm was independent at the time, or no claim if you were swaying that realm from its former masters. Unlike individual colonies, where Diplomacy can formulate a claim, the only way to gain or strengthen claims of factions in your league is time.  Meanwhile, the baroness of Tseen approached Jane Weiss, seeking to break ties with the Patton Quadrant and the despised Yardley Patton. Tseen was incorporated into the Weiss Guild as the tenth colony of the Guild.  While the Weiss League expanded through much of the territory formerly held by the Patton Quadrant, the Gilmore League continued to draw new members in. Duchess Ruana Garrett pledged the Garrett Confederation to the Gilmore League in the first half of 2511 in exchange for a payment of two hundred thousand marks. With the Garrett Confederation joining the Gilmore Guild, Herring Union, and Nicholson Systems in a single league, the Gilmore League was unambiguously the largest league in known space, commanding nearly a fifth of all the colonies remaining.   The old NovaCorp research hospital was returned to partial functionality in the first half of 2511, providing effective facilities for medical treatment and drug fabrication. One of its first patients was Chelsia Weiss, Harold's wife and Jane's stepmother, whose health entered a rapid downward spiral leading to her death as the infirmities of age caught up to her.   Jane's attention to her tasks as a ruler began to falter in early 2511, and a certain distance crept between her and Mariko. Although relations between Jane and Mariko were still good, Mariko noted that much of the passion Jane previously had shown had cooled.  Meanwhile, Governor-General Coligny White asked that Alsciaukat be transferred from the Weiss Guild to the White Federation. Jane Weiss, lacking any obligation to make such a gift, refused.      The gain of Tseen, the White Federation, and the Marshall Collective led to another series of requests for justice, from Yardley Patton, Demhe Shannon, and King Lowell Lamb of the Lamb Clan. In order to discharge these obligations, Archon Jane Weiss issued fines against all of them, collecting another large sum of viridium for the Weiss Guild's coffers. The simple need to handle so many legal cases was a heavy burden on the archon's attention. I missed a screenshot for fining Adair Marshall, but rest assured I did so.   Even as Archon Demhe Shannon was presenting the legal case against the Marshall Collective, he was preparing an offensive against Mu Capricorni in the hopes of eliminating the rebel realm. The Marshall Collective's fleets beat off the invading forces, and the troops that did land were cut to pieces without support from the fleet. For the moment, the Marshall Collective retained its independence from the Shannon Collective.   With Harold Weiss newly widowed, Baron Bradford Eaton of Haldus proposed a wedding between his military head, Carmen Eaton, and Harold Weiss, seeking to bind Houses Eaton and Weiss with bonds of kinship. Jane Weiss agreed, if for no other reason than the sudden loss of Chelsia left Military thin on noble leadership.  Technology's diligent monitoring for unusual phenomena bore fruit in the second half of 2511, when scientific observers detected a derelict ship drifting dark and cold into the outer reaches of the Vega system. On recovery, it proved to have a cargo of cryogenic pods, all but one having failed from centuries adrift- the ship had suffered a navigational failure prior to the Collapse and had drifted into interstellar space before being captured by Vega's gravity well. The lone surviving passenger was a woman, still dressed in an ancient Interstellar Authority uniform. Jane Weiss ordered Technology to start the procedure to wake this traveller from the distant past, in the hopes of rescuing her from being eternally lost.    Once she had awakened, she introduced herself as Major Bella Garcia of the Interstellar Authority- a woman who had dedicated her life to enforcing the law of the League of Starfaring Nations on a wide frontier and a firm believer in the mission of an organisation that no longer existed. She was shocked and disturbed by the shape of modern society, ruled by its nobility and by traditional honor codes that bore little resemblance to the laws she recalled. When Jane suggested Bella study the history files detailing the terrible years after the fall of House Khalil that led to the evolution of those honor codes, so that she could understand their their importance, Bella was only thrown further into despair, cursing modern men as blood-stained barbarians.  Despite her reservations with modern society, Bella Garcia agreed to work for House Weiss, whereupon she proposed that she set up a training program for a small, elite corps of security officers using Interstellar Authority methods. "I can, at least, bring a little professionalism to what passes for your law enforcement."  Shortly after Bella Garcia's awakening, and in the hopes of keeping her spirits up, Jane Weiss approved the marriage of Bella Garcia to Noelle Barry- thereafter Noelle Garcia. Although black depression still threatened to overwhelm Bella, the marriage helped raise her spirits somewhat.     As 2515 began, local revolts broke out on both Zubenelgenubi and 94 Aquarii, challenging the rule of the archons of the Shannon League and Gillmore League. Both were crushed and the rebels punished, helping cast in stark relief just how fortunate House Weiss had been in suceeding in its revolt against House Goodman.     Requests for justice were submitted to House Weiss by Archon Lovie Lindsey against Baron Brinley Hayes for his dismissal of one of his council members and by Duke Yardley Patton against Coordinator Adair Marshall for the earlier succession of Mu Capricorni to the Shannon Collective. In order to swiftly address these demands, Jane Weiss issued fines on both of them, collecting eighty thousand marks in total from them.  It was not long after this fine was levied that Coordinator Adair Marshall was seen in the act of cutting the throat of one of the members of a minor house at Mu Capricorni, Devon Harvey. Jane Weiss took note of this and remembered it, pledging that the next penalty she would levey against Adair Marshall would be heavier than a mere fine.  House Weiss, it proved, was not the only realm in the Weiss League whose Diplomacy department had been busy- the White Federation swayed the border colony of Castra over from the Shannon Collective in early 2512, as a side effect cutting off the Shannon League from prosecuting its war against the Marshall Collective.   Another eruption of Rattle Lung in the Weiss Guild hit Miaplacidus, with Jane Weiss ordering a quarantine of the colony in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease. On Miaplacidus, the death rate began to climp sharply while the business of the colony ground to nearly a complete stop. Despair and unrest wracked the colony, its inhabitants railing against their fate. The Weiss Guild and Weiss League, early 2512   Although House Weiss retains extremely capable Administration and Technology departments, with Military and Diplomacy likewise generally well-led and efficient, Director-General Jane Weiss's distraction has led to slight reductions in the efficiency of all departments- particularly Administration, which depended heavily on Jane's formidable abilities. Without the ability to refer back to the old Galileo Institute datavault, Technology's operations have lost some efficiency as well. House Weiss's administration can once again efficiently manage all its vassals- for a time the drop in efficiency coupled with the rapid growth of the Weiss League was straining the ability to maintain its empire in good order. The Weiss Guild's coffers are swollen with vast quantaties of fines, with nearly four hundred seventy five thousand marks in reserve, while the growth of the league has slowly encouraged a greater degree of plotting and discontent amongst the minor houses of the league. The new acquisitions of the Weiss Guild and Weiss League are largely underdeveloped and frequently troubled by unrest- bringing affairs to order will require diligent and patient work. Rebecca Weiss stands within two years of achieving her majority, with her sister Emily and her cousin Malachi only a year behind her. Soon they shall be qualified adult members of House Weiss, ready to aid in House matters and make marriages to replenish the House in years to come. We're now bumping up against our current vassal limit, although hitting Administration 250 or Technology 225 will both get us an extra vassal we can manage. Above our vassal limit, each vassal above costs money and action points every turn as we try to handle an empire our Administration is not equipped to handle. Temporarily going above vassal limit to expand before reshuffling colonies can be viable, but ideally you want exceeding vassal limit to be a very temporary state of affairs indeed. If our real is large enough, we start suffering 'complacency', which is a boost to the rate at which unrest accumulates in every colony in the entire league as local nobles start competing harder in a vast and diverse empire. Currently, our complacency penalty is minor, but it will continue to be an issue as time goes on.   Although Jane Weiss, now Archon of the Weiss League as well as Director-General of the Weiss Guild, remains an extremely skilled administrator and scientist, she has been decidedly distracted for about the last year, and her focus on work has suffered. Although many Houses would be glad to have somebody as capable as even a distracted Jane, House Weiss, which has relied on her brilliant abilities as an administrator heavily, has struggled to adapt to her loss in efficiency. She seems to regret the distance that has opened in her feelings towards Mariko, and works diligently to remain a diligent wife to Mariko despite the cooling of her passion.  Executive Director, Director-Heir, and Archon-Heir Thomas Weiss is currently overseeing the restoration of the storage silos in Haldus damaged in the process of taking the colony as well as running the whole of Administration. He has slowly improved has abilities as an administrator, which has provided some small compensation for Jane's flagging performance of late. His marriage with Oriole remains committed and happy, and he is decidedly satisfied with the situation overall.  Admiral Harold Weiss is now 65 years old, and remains a deeply capable head of Military. He has been continuing to oversee peacekeeper deployments at Vega which keep the streets utterly clear of crime and disorder, although how long he has before he must inevitably die is now very much an open question. His marriage to Carmen has been distant and dutiful- he does not particularly like his new wife, but has, at least, appreciated her assistance with military affairs.  Archon-Consort Mariko Weiss is in mourning for her mother Penelope Fardell, who just died in recent weeks, but takes comfort from her marriage, her adoptive family, and the joys of helping to raise Alice Weiss. She remains deeply in love with Jane, even despite Jane's more distant demeanor of late. She has been continuing work to cement the case for the Weiss Guild's rule amongst recent acquisitions, now helping cultivate ties with the people and houses of Alsciaukat.  Commissioner Oriole Weiss has seen significant growth in her skills at security over the past two years, having continued to oversee House Weiss Security as well as arrange dedicated protection details for the Archon and Director-General. As Miaplacidus has a line of inheritance based on the oldest sibling of the family, she stands to eventually inherit the colony, although in the long run it will pass down to the children of the current baron rather than the ruling line of House Weiss.  Although Technology Director Prudence Weiss has seen most aspects of Technology suffer somewhat over the past two years, the repair of the hospital has made it easier for the ill to recover than before and serves as a further aid when Technology offers dedicated medical attention to part of House Weiss. She continues to help provide resources for Jane Weiss to improve her abilities as an administrator, which will hopefully help make up for whatever has distracted Jane over time.  Romeo Weiss has helped oversee a rapid rebuilding of fleet forces at Haldus over the past two years. It seems likely that, with the change in strategic situation, he will be returned to his usual duties soon.  Ilario Goodman's recovery from his injuries has left him in better spirits, while his ongoing aid in helping Jane Weiss develop her scientific skills has proved to be fulfilling work for him, a relationship where both sides have learned from one another. Jane Weiss has recently raised the possibility that, when Rebecca Weiss reaches her majority, that Ilario could possibly marry into House Weiss, thereby uniting the claims of rule of Houses Goodman and Weiss in the next generation.  Harold's new wife, Carmen Weiss, has taken up an assignment as a colonel of peacekeepers at Nashira, helping maintain some semblence of order at a colony seething with unrest. She was once the wife of Baron Bradford Eaton of Haldus before the baron divorced her due to mutual loathing, which makes her quite relieved to be away from Bradford and in House Weiss.  Bella Garcia, the ancient Interstellar Authority officer, is in relatively high spirits due to her happy marriage with her new husband and the impending birth of her first child, but those who have spoken with her can sense the despair lurking beneath the surface. Some are concerned that, in time, she might be driven to rash action as she sees no escape from the modern world. She has currently thrown herself into training of a handpicked group of Security officers in Interstellar Authority techniques for investigation and enforcement, a project which may, perhaps, soon show its value one way or another.  Noelle Garcia has been serving as Security's Chief Investigator at Vega, helping uncover whatever evidence of crimes or plots in the colony may be found. Thus far his tenure as Chief Investigator has been relatively uneventful, with little more than the routine criminal affairs of a colony having come to light. He is overjoyed by his marriage and the anticipation of his first child, and has done his best to make his wife welcome in the modern era.  The Weiss League spans 13 colonies, bordered on several sides by other leagues, now including the Shannon League and Lindsey League. The Gilmore League likewise has continued to grow, while the Patton Quadrant has been reduced to near-irrelevance, controlling only two colonies surrounded by Weiss Guild territory. The Lamb Clan has shown some receptiveness to Diplomacy's queries about joining the Weiss League, although it seems likely they may demand a hefty price for their allegience if it were to be pursued. With the precipitous growth of the Weiss League, it is now clearly one of the great powers of the colonies, although this growth has raised its own challenges. House Weiss has enjoyed great successes of late, but these successes will mean little if it cannot keep its gains. Still, with wise and competent leadership, the possibility exists for the Weiss League to cement itself as an enduring institution for generations to come.
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May 11, 2022 20:43
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 House Weiss stands at the brink of unlocking a new bloodline perk. Both those who have claimed a character and those who have not should feel free to vote between our next perk being- A) improvement of the incentive structure and legal security for Vega's serfs to help encourage better work and better output, even despite the upfront cost of allowing for better rewards for serfs that work well, B) implementing techniques from the Galileo Institute datavault for genetic therapy to help correct genetic diseases and select for some of the markers for intelligence, or C) a major rework of accountancy standards and tax code across the Guild and League to simplify ensuring compliance and reduce waste in the tax authority.
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May 11, 2022 20:49
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:Before we begin proceedings for this session, I would like to extend a formal thanks to Duke Yeardley Patton, who for reasons unknown, has seen fit to not only drive most of his vassals into our open arms, but also follow it up by giving us cause to levy hefty fines on those new vassals, significantly padding the budget. Given how rapidly we're gaining colonies at this point, individually planning repair priorities had become inefficient, so, from now on This rough order will be applied to all colonies, with facilities hereafter categorized as "Priority X": My vote is for C. The faster we get through the Merchants/Admin tree, the more money we'll have to work with later on. Also, if you decide to pick a winner via ranked-choice, my second choice would be A, since it also boosts our income, though at this point I think C represents a larger benefit. EclecticTastes fucked around with this message at 21:51 on May 11, 2022 |
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May 11, 2022 21:19
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Also, a reminder, any unclaimed characters are open to be claimed for whoever wishes them. I've sent out reports to people with claimed characters.
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May 11, 2022 21:56
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:Thank you, Thomas. I concur with your general priorities. As far as expenditures go, I wish to ask about two things. First, I am considering throwing a feast for Bella Garcia to help ease her transition to modern life, which I anticipate should cost 48,000 marks for supplies and preparations. I think cementing her loyalty may be prudent, and it should be good for our prestige. Second, I wish to ask if you think we should investigate what it would take to convince the Lamb Clan to swear to our league. They may ask for a very great amount of money, but, unless you think we should save it for other objectives, I'd be inclined to pay that for the chance to add so much territory to our control. I vote B.
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May 11, 2022 22:15
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:While we're in session, I'd like to add that we should look into acquiring the colony of Saiph from the Gilmore Guild. This isn't usually my department, but Saiph appears to be just one disaster away from complete collapse. Restoration of a colony in such a state would be very expensive, and the loss of an entire colony's income from the galactic economy is almost unthinkable. We should at the very least weigh our options, not just for our sake, but for everyone's. We're the only power positioned to immediately conduct emergency repairs in Saiph and prevent the loss of their GDP. If we can't save all that money, what's even the point of all this? Just give it some thought.
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May 11, 2022 22:30
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I think some of the "demand for justice" bits are kind of funny. "An unknown person wants justice because an unknown person did an unknown thing to another unknown person, who went to an unknown person for justice, who kicked it up the ladder to an unknown person, who kicked it up the ladder to an unknown person, who kicked it up the ladder to your vassal, who is now pointing at your THE BUCK STOPS HERE sign and telling you to do something about it." The solution, of course, is  because money doesn't fix everything, but if you tell them it does, they will give it to you, and then you can use that money to continue building, expanding, and improving things.
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May 12, 2022 00:48
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MechaCrash posted:The solution, of course, is Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:Someone get this person a title, we need more people like them in administration!
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May 12, 2022 00:58
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It's very strange to me that fines for something your vassal did to someone else while under someone else's rule go to you. It seems to make those "High Muckitymuck Soandso demands satisfaction" events into no-brainer money-earners, or at least it seems to.
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May 12, 2022 01:00
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Zurai posted:It's very strange to me that fines for something your vassal did to someone else while under someone else's rule go to you. It seems to make those "High Muckitymuck Soandso demands satisfaction" events into no-brainer money-earners, or at least it seems to. The main tradeoff is that vassals resent getting punished, even by fines, but assuming you're managing vassal relations decently and can let their resentment fade without them having any actionable crime on your part, collecting the money is indeed pretty simple. The thing is, when you're asked for justice, the person who asked for justice just wants their victimiser punished. Many of the ways you can punish somebody also incidentally have benefits for you (collecting fines, justifying taking territory, whatever), but the 'benefit to you' part isn't relevant to the 'punish the guilty' part.
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May 12, 2022 01:10
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:Circling back to some of my sister's proposals, I think most of them seem reasonable enough. I'd normally be a little more hesitant to spend so much money on a party, but we've got plenty of funds, and Lady Garcia could absolutely use some cheering up. Acquiring the Lamb Clan also seems like a wise investment, and I have no objections. As to reorganizing our vassalage, we should take care not to hand off any especially valuable colonies. Haldus, in particular, is quite the prize plum, and could potentially provide quite a bit of tax income, once fully restored. However, I agree with the broader strategy of reorganizing our vassals to streamline our administration. I'd also like to formally urge that we take on new talent in all departments, so we have more people to send out on assignments. Not that I don't love traipsing across the league, overseeing repairs and taxes, but I may be better-utilized taking care of more... high-level duties.
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May 12, 2022 06:34
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nweismuller posted:The main tradeoff is that vassals resent getting punished, even by fines, but assuming you're managing vassal relations decently and can let their resentment fade without them having any actionable crime on your part, collecting the money is indeed pretty simple. The thing is, when you're asked for justice, the person who asked for justice just wants their victimiser punished. Many of the ways you can punish somebody also incidentally have benefits for you (collecting fines, justifying taking territory, whatever), but the 'benefit to you' part isn't relevant to the 'punish the guilty' part. I can see how a process like this came to be in the honor code culture of Star Dynasties' setting. That the liege profits from punishing their vassals gives them a real incentive to mete out said punishment. If this were like a real court of justice, where the victim gets compensated, then lieges would be much less likely to punish their vassals, especially if the accuser/victim was part of another realm.
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May 12, 2022 06:53
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:As far as personnel issues go, Rebecca should reach her majority in two more years and Emily and Malachi will reach theirs a year after that. And, with good luck on marriages, we should be able to get Emily and Malachi's spouses to help round out personnel. At that point, we'll have a large enough House that natural increase will begin pushing against the limits of the resources reserved for our House's support- I think further recruitment at this point may be unwise. Assuming we get marriages for Emily and Malachi, and given the fact that Bella Garcia is pregnant, we'll be up to 20/22 members of the House in three years with three newlywed couples. I'm not sure now is the right time for a recruitment drive.
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May 12, 2022 09:11
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I have a few questions about the whole thing between Archon Jane and Duchess Coligny. The first and either most or least important depending on answers I get later, does the Duchess even like women? Because if not, then even overlooking that the Archon is already married, that may present a bit of a problem. Which leads to "is it possible to just say TOO BAD, GRAB THAT BRASS RING, DIG FOR THAT GOLD and hook up anyway?" Because I could see a situation where some low-rank schmuck is like "but I'm not gay," to which they are told "no, but the prince is and he's taken a liking to you, this is our ticket to the big time so don't screw this up for us." And even assuming that Coligny is willing to go for it (either because she's genuinely interested or willing to deal because hey, powerful Archon), would factors like "Weiss had to fine her for a few things" or "there's a difference in rank" matter? I'm guessing there's other factors in play here, like even assuming the stuff I brought up were handled and Jane and Coligny were down, this seems the kind of game to model "it's a bad look for Jane to get divorced from her wife of many years (that she no longer loves but pfft they're nobles since when did that matter) to marry some other woman." I may not be able to follow the high level political maneuvering too well, but this soap-opera relationship drama? Oh yeah. This I can do.  Also I think it's funny because it's Weiss x White, ha ha.
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May 12, 2022 15:59
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MechaCrash posted:
Let me tell you about my boy, Romeo. That joke post I made has truth in it. He has a crush on Jane. Apparently he has a thing for blonde, boring women. I'm glad people enjoyed that post btw, I had fun making it and learned a little about GIMP in the process. I still giggle at the Chad Romeo, Virgin Thomas meme too.
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May 12, 2022 16:22
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From the desk of Thomas Weiss posted:So, I finally noticed Romeo's lovely contribution to the office decor, and I've learned a bit about "the memes" myself, so I thought I'd try my hand at it.
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May 12, 2022 17:28
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EDIT: work doesn't like image host, shows up on phone fine! Also, good one
Lady Jaybird fucked around with this message at 17:51 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 17:48
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MechaCrash posted:I have a few questions about the whole thing between Archon Jane and Duchess Coligny. Coligny does not like women, no. And is married. And Jane getting a divorce would indeed be a very bad look. Jane doesn't intend to act on this, it's just been having a bad impact on her skills.
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May 12, 2022 18:31
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dervinosdoom posted:EDIT: work doesn't like image host, shows up on phone fine! Also, good one I'd been looking for something substantive to hang a meme on for Thomas that fit my idea of "understands the basic concept of memes, but has a really blunt and uncreative sense of humor because Dull", so this was a lucky confluence of factors.
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May 12, 2022 18:34
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