Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-27460754-20160124200151/@comment-27460754-20160401041719

Dari is awesome, she's as perky as Qum and Nalili, but as bloodthirsty and aggressive as Histara and Aka when they get worked up. I have a feeling, based on her reactions as an Unwoman, that once she's cured she'll be giving Simon's IK endurance training a real workout. Wonder if all her sexuality and frustrations are building up like water behind a  dam or if she'll just be unused to dealing with it after her time without. I'm also curious as to what weapons she'll use or what abilities she'll have.

She is at that. She isn't hateful or a blind fanatic, but she is sure without wavering about the rightness of her choice and of what she does. For me, I can't find her a sympathetic character because of the line about the innocence of a child and the wisdom of age that "sages spend their whole lives searching for.". My first response there is 'so you took a shortcut.' and that's what it feels like when we find out she had no great attachment to what she lost and didn't have to struggle for the 'enlightenment' she received. Carina, for all her faults, was willing to risk everything for what she believed in and put that into practice, including putting herself at the risk of death and corruption with the seed. Vhala feels like a person that took the easy/safe route.



Ripett does have a point about her being one of the few people trying to keep Ardoheim from falling apart and preparing properly for the AoA. Vhala herself also had a point about Hester having good intentions but not being willing to pay the price for them, playing it safe at heart...which in light of my opinion on Vhala I find rather ironic. But yeah, the Unpeople are in a sense living weapons against the AoA and once he's gone, their fate will be up in the air.



For Alanon, I don't think he was involved. He is apathetic to the point of nihilism, to the point where he is literally letting everything, including himself, decay  because he doesn't care and doesn't see the point in trying. The Cult, as loathsome as it's actions and methods were, was fighting for the future, the hope that they would be vindicated in saving the world (and their own pockets let's be frank.). They were fighting for their ideal future, even if it was an ultimately self-destructive one. That runs directly counter to the King's decision to let it all play out around him, he'd have to care and desire to punish the world by being involved with the cult. I think Simon was commenting more on that Alanon wasn't senile or hurt or anything, he just quit. Which, for someone like Simon who sacrificed so much in his life, would be an anathema.



I love getting him down to 100k, so satisfying to get a kingdom for the same price of an embassy as well as making a lot of the ladies in the harem happy. I am confused as to why investing in that bank for 800k gets a point more to economy than less.



Yup, the Dwarves make it possible to play politics without stepping on too many toes, assuming one has the coin for the merchant rep. The Derghalon representative seems like a safe choice with the Dwarf embasy but Rafael's point about the Aramite ambassador helping with more does make her superfluous.

The Votes and their results I find as follows.

The Unpeople vote: Vital to derail, will cause harm to both Simon's Doomed King plan as well as causing more harm down the line due to political and religious infighting over control of the legions as well as the proven capacity for gross misuse. In particular to Simon's plan, I can easily see their long term presence if the vote fails leading to more armies of them being used to both pick at the DK as well as the AoA, and later on being a potential bad end for Simon assuming Sierra goes for that.

The orcs: I see this and the later vote as almost similar to the investments. It's great if you can pull them off but if not, it won't ruin gameplay. With the orcs, it's really a case of two routes to the same goal. If we get the bill killed, more minions for the army and a happier Bhalia, as well as less people harmed by raids and more by those same small bands. If it fails, orcs die, people aren't hurt by them anymore, and troops get more experience as well as removing potential fifth column. Either way, the orcs cease to be a threat to the common folk and merchants  and kingdoms in general, but the difference is in the effect it has on Simon directly.

With the War Vaults, that was a pure reward vote. Some loot for Simon as well as the kingdoms in general and maybe more lore/plot advantages depending on how much Sierra wants to include. I think it's unlikely considering how tricky it was to pull off WITH the Dwarve advantage, which would make it punishing those who didn't get it afterwards.

All in all, I really got the feel that the focus was on getting the Unpeople vote to fail with the bonus of the latter votes being something to either try to work towards or sacrifice the Unpeople vote for depending on the Dwarf embassy.



For Betatester's comments, I do like the idea of their being an architect succubus and will agree that was a bit of foreshadowing in the bits of Megail's sarcasm and Nalili's optimism. Don't know if it'll be the one we met in Rodak as the 'Lustlord' might be apathetic to the lives of most of his subjects but he's very unkeen about poaching and Yarra had to smuggle Bhalia out. Not sure how Simon would get her.

The others seem very interesting and plausible, particularly the Madam being the succubi Tower chief. She would be a good person for that position and it would help keep relations civil.



I really like the idea of Ina getting the shop and a real chance to start over.