Active Users:1103 Time:22/11/2024 09:14:25 PM
Court Gossip Log - Edit 4

Before modification by Isaac at 11/01/2011 04:31:24 AM

Gossip at Start of Round 1

At a recent ball on Kaitain, you overheard a discussion between the Archduke of Is’mod and Count Fenring:
The Archduke sighs, “I believe this trial of young Dysaz may drag on for months, they way he’s jockeying for power.”
“Um-m-m-mah-m-m-m-m,” says the Count. “A very, hm-m-m-m, poor speller, ah, you’ve spoken to us of this poor speller? What did you say?”
“I told you that situation could spiral out of control. You told me of the great esteem our Emperor holds for him.”
“Hm-m-m-m, yes.”
The Archduke looks at Fenring, “That a rather impressive new broach you have, where did you get it?”
“Hmmm? Ah, Parmentier.”
The Archduke chuckles and they pass by you, your Mentat leans over to you. “Mark him well, this Fenring. A Killer with the manners of a rabbit – this is the most dangerous kind. If he was involved in events on Parmentier, surely the Emperor has taken a personal interest.”

A countess, when talking to Zum Garon, Supreme Bashar of the Empire, was overhead to say that pirate activity was abnormally high. Witnesses say he smirked at the comment, and rumor has it at least one Sarduakar legion has been detached to an undisclosed location for what is being dubbed ‘Ultra-realistic training exercises’.

There are indications Dysaz, the heir apparent of Parmentier, is meeting secretly with some nobles, offering even bigger incentives to vote for him in the upcoming trial.

The Archduke of Is'mod has expressed regret over the recent resignation of his trusted Adjutant General and has stated that he thinks one of the current nominees to eventually replace him would be an ideal choice for this role. He is also offering to give two billion solaris to each of the nominees from Landsdraad coffers to assist them in running their campaigns, should the majority of them wish to acquire these 'matching funds', regrettably he has no Adjutant General at this time to conduct such business. He assures everyone that as soon as a new Adjutant General is selected the nominees may vote on whether or not to accept this campaign contribution.

[Fund established: 2000 MS per player on a majority Player Vote of Aye, fund dispersed when an Adjutant General informs the Chancellor of a majority]
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Gossip after Start of Round 1
The Landsdraad applauds as the Chancellor announces the appointment of Lord Beetnemesis to the august position of Adjutant General and places the ornate chain of office around his neck. Which takes sometime as the Archduke is quite old and the chain weighs some 10 kilos of solid gold. Beetnemesis holds his breath, recalling that earlier in the ceremonies the senile fool had lopped off a man's ear while bestowing a barony on him with an overly ornate and hefty broadsword.

The Archduke nods with satisfaction some five minutes later as he at last gets the symbol of office around Beetnemesis's neck. Beetnemesis, trying not to visibly choke, carefully moves the symbol of office to his chest, as it had been draped down his back and was cutting off his air supply. The impatient nobles finally cease applauding. Lifting the symbol, he sees where his name has been etched on under the names of all the prior adjutant generals, hundreds of names adorn the large golden sphere, each etched in acid by the Chancellor... another narrowly avoided disaster, the Archduke had nearly tried to etch it with Sacred Oil and anoint him with the acid. Definitely time for the Chancellor to resign.

The Archduke regards the other nominees, "Perhaps you should hold a ball to celebrate this event? And your own campaigns too of course, if you wan too."


Beetnemesis has been elected Adjutant General - Player Votes are now enabled, they always require a simple majority to pass.

Vote Available: [Hold Grand Ball: Each player receives (1d6+Diplomacy Score)x100 MS in contributions, funds dispersed when an Adjutant General informs the Chancellor of a majority] to vote this a message on the board must be titled "Vote: Hold Grand Ball"

Captain Nerce, the famous Defender of Abne XI, has remarked that a great deal of pirate activity has been seen in recent months, and they must be getting ready for something big, he has advised everyone to garrison tempting offworld targets.

Alternatively, the Mentat Klish Jenar of CHOAM reminds everyone that fundamentally raids can only do so much damage, typically less than the cost of recruiting a legion and moving to a site. In his detailed 19,989 page report to CHOAM titled 'Brief Summary of known pirate raid statistics for the years 9,000 AG to 10,000 AG' he points out that there is a direct statistical tie between average annual raids and the owner's skill at diplomacy, as well the number of assets that they control. Jenar informs his audience that he will be happy to provide detailed probabilities of raids.

Some whisper that militia are not to be trusted, that they are little better than peasants at combat and little more trustworthy than the pirates they guard against. Many nobles feel that arming peasants who have not been properly conditioned for loyalty is simply feeding fuel to any potential rebellion on their fief. Worse, because militia leaders prefer to hire those who already possess some skill with weapons, it is thought that many militia members are outlaws or deserters, and that their greater initial skill in martial matters results in promotion inside militia ranks, potentially causing entire units to be at risk of disloyalty, and perhaps some are merely spies for the pirates and outlaws they are supposed to defend against.

Zum Garon, the Supreme Bashar, is overheard to say "It's true your average militiaman has little fight in him, but they can cause problems, I and a company of Sardaukar I commanded in my youth once grew so fatigued stabbing militiamen to death that we didn't have the energy to climb over their corpse heap to reach our target." Pausing to consider, he says "Admittedly they are more effective against pirates and common house legions"

There are whispers that Dysaz has been secretly offering bribes to many nobles, the numbers involved make the credibility of such claims dubious however, where could he be getting so much wealth after all?

The Personal Shield Generator, which has changed the dynamics of combat from firearms and lasguns back to hand to hand combat with knives and swords, has become so ingrained into military doctrine that they are routinely used by everyone of importance in modern times. As many Weapons Factories produce them as they do weapons.

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