Subject: [Cel] [Qai] Damaris moves 1433 | Damaris Actions | | | Action 1: Strengthen the Orasareni Defence League | | External Strategic Action (year 2 of 5) | Action Type: Diplomacy | Actor: The Council of Scholars | Secrecy: No | Primary Determinant: Wealth (Great+2) | Task: Very Hard -2 | Reaction: Business as Usual | | Enlisting the help of the merchant navy and the powerful trading | houses of Damaris, the Council sends a small fleet to provide relief | to the coastal cities of Videssia, as well as the inland city of | Celoa, assuming that the Arand River is navigable. The Council invites | the other members of the Defence League to participate in this scheme | to stabilize the situation in the once-great republic. | | With this plan, the council hopes to increase the cooperation among | the members of the League, although it is determined that Damaris will | bear the entire burden alone if necessary. On the one hand, the | Council is quite happy that the dominance of Videssia in the region | has been broken, but on the other hand, it is alarmed at the lack of | stability that might result from prolonging the situation. Moreover, | the Council is attempting to increase the manpower of Damaris by | inviting veteran soldiers, wealthy merchants and all manner of | craftsmen to migrate to Damaris rather than suffer under the current | turmoil in Videssia. | +2-2+(-1+1+0-1)= -1Marginal Faliure. More of a delay than a disaster, it seems that the League members, while recognizing the threat, fail to feel any sense of urgency. | | Action 2: Strengthen the Fleet of Damaris | | Internal Strategic Action (year 2 of 5) | Action Type: Develop | Actor: The Damaran Navy | Secrecy: No | Primary Determinant: Resources (Good) +1 | Secondary Determinant: Exploitation (Great) +1 mod | Task: Hard -1 | Reaction: Business as Usual | Possible Modifiers: | + As a coastal trade city, Damara should already have a pretty | effective navy | + Damara has sufficient wealth and resources to devote to the project | - The Damarans are not exactly warlike | - The defeat of the navy in 1406/07 | | In 1432, the construction of new galleys progressed rather more slowly | than anticipated, but with a distinct possibility of final success. | The Council orders the efforts to be increased and the newly | commissioned craft to be put to the test immediately. They are to | patrol the sea lanes to Videssia and the coasts of the republic in | order to deter looters and pirates, rescue refugees and impose some | kind of order. | 1+1-1+1+1-1-1+(0-1+0+1)=+1 The project proceeds on at the same slow, steady (almost marginal) pace as last year. | | Action 3/4: Expedition to the Great Southern Land | | External Tactical Action | Action Type: Exploration | Actor: The Crystal Barons | Secrecy: Action | Primary Determinant: Trade (Great+2) | Task: Very Hard-2 | Reaction: Heroic | Possible Modifiers: | + Double action | + Better prepared than last year | - Public opinion opposes the project | - The climate, and the uncharted and dangerous waters of the South -1 (carryover from miserable falilure, also may represent the increased instability of the region as the Videssian situation continues to degenerate) | | After the survivors of last year's spectacularly unsuccessful | expedition limp back into the harbour of Damaris, the merchant barons | are crestfallen. The public is in an uproar about the appalling loss | of life (and material) on such a reckless enterprise. The Crystal | Barons attempt to win back public support by the usual means of bread | and games, and the relief mission to Videssia provides them with a | fitting opportunity to show their magnanimity. | | In private, the Crystal Barons are divided on the issue of the failed | expedition. The more conservative merchants are determined to abandon | the whole project and forget it as soon as possible, but a few young | and rebellious merchants (mainly upstarts and second sons) are | unwilling to give up so easily. Amazingly enough, some of the | surviving captains are also willing to give it another try. | | They form a cabal, known to its members as the "Lions of the Sea", in | order to equip and launch a second expedition to the Southern coast of | Qaiyore. This time, they take all possible precautions based on the | experiences of last year. | | Due to the fact that the Amo'trall are a nomadic people thinly spread | across a vast area, the "Lions of the Sea" feel that the establishment | of a permanent trade post or colony is the only realistic chance to | jumpstart trade with the South. Hence they recruit a large number of | adventurers, desperados and indentured servants to establish such an | outpost on the Southern coast. The expedition also includes several | hunters and furriers, as well as fishers, who are to guarantee the | self-sufficience of the trade post. | | Should this expedition also fail, the Council of Scholar is certain to | take drastic measures in order to curb the power of the Crystal | Barons, and the merchants involved in the second expedition are sure | to be severely punished. | +2-2-1+(0-1-1+1)=-2 The expidition fails again but, unlike the complete disaster of last year, it fails only because it does not meet all of its expectations. The Lions of the Sea and the use of unsavory types to establish trading posts is a GREAT idea. This part is successful in its set-up but, thus far, trading contact has not been established. I'll leave it to you to decide how the internal discussions amoung the factions sort out based on this marginal failure. | | Action 5: Riots | | Internal Tactical Action | Action Type: Disruption | Actor: The Underground | Secrecy: No | Primary Determinant: Influence (Fair0) | Task: Hard-1 | Reaction: Business as usual | Possible Modifiers: | + The public is appalled by last year's failed expedition | - Extra Action | | The underground movement in Damaris sees the public outcry about the | loss of life and material caused by the Crystal Barons' expedition to | the South of Qaiyore as a welcome opportunity to stir up some trouble, | by distributing revolutionary pamphlets, writing slogans on walls, and | generally attempting to incite rioting and looting in the city. While | the underground movement has neither a programme for reforms nor a | clear plan of action, the disenfranchised elements of society are | always eager to seize an opportunity for causing trouble, damaging the | property of more fortunate citizens and breaking the heads of their | enemies and rivals. 0-1+1-1+(1-1+0+1)=0 The underground has no meaningful success. At least by not failing, none of them were arrested and the "cause" stands as is. ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
