Choose your path to greatness, obscurity or death. A multiple choice LP

[Kalin]

I doubt the nobles (if that is indeed what they are) would resort to violence or call some guards merely for being approached in a public setting. At worst they would simply reject us, but they might just as well react favourably to a well-spoken commoner respectfully inquiring as to whether or not he might possibly be allowed to speak with them. We could of course ask the commoners or the staff about them before making our move.

 

[newcomer]

Let's have a chat with the nobles. After all, we have the rare gift of literacy; I'm confident at least they will not treat us as stinky peasants.

 

[TOME]

Let's have a chat with the peasants, and aks about the nobles and merchants present.

Edit: Since we have a personality trait You are interested in women, let's find someone to keep company later in the evening.

 

[Monty]

Let's chat to the merchants. Using our charisma we can break the ice by flattering them that they look like well traveled men of distinction (or something like that) and ask if they have any news from the capital as we're from the rural North. Perhaps the mention of where we're from would even pique their curiosity given that the town seems to be fortifying against the threat from the North, something we have first hand knowledge of (the Lord of the town was interested after all).

 

[Kz3r0]

Let's have a chat with the peasants, and ask about the nobles and merchants present.

 

[Zwist]

Let's butter up the merchants.
Inquiring about the road, dangers of it specifically.

 

[ScubaV]

I say ask the bartender about the merchants and nobles and then approach the former with a round of drinks and our natural charisma. Then try to learn about the nobles at some point and approach them afterwards.

 

[Vernydar]

Very well. Let's take a look at the votes.
6 people wanted to listen in and/or talk to the merchants if the opportunity arises. Three people also wanted to ask them about the richly dressed patrons and talk to them too if possible.
3 people wanted to talk to the richly dressed patrons.
2 people wanted to talk to the peasants, and one to talk to the peasant after talking to the merchants.
Nobody cared much about the soldiers

So, you will listen in to the merchants, and if possible talk to them either by offering a drink or using your charisma, or both. Then, you're going to ask them about the richly dressed patrons, and if it looks feasible and they're still there, talk to them. If not, talk to the peasants.

By the way, for the open updates like this one if possible I prefer to combine your opinions and try to follow the most agreed upon outcome like this, rather than having you vote once again on all the options for one more day. Of course, that only works with choices like this that are not life or death. I hope you will find my way of managing these votes acceptable. If not, please say so, I'm open to suggestions as always.

Writing the update, come back in 20-30 minutes

 

[Vernydar]

25 – Talking about coins, nobles and richly dressed fellows

You decide that the merchants are the ones who are most likely to tell you something useful, provided they do talk to you of course. The richly dressed patrons are tempting, but you're unsure if you should just approach them and try to talk to them.

You sit down at a table close to the merchants and slowly sip your beer. You listen to what they are talking about. They seem to be traveling merchants, moving from one village to another to transport various goods. The conversation they are having seems quite serious, but not particularly secretive. They are basically talking about the travels, the conditions of the roads and the various problems that could arise in their coming endeavours. A serious conversation yes, but they're making no attempt to keep their voices down. As such you feel quite confident that they will not resent someone like you sitting relatively close.

They talk about the roads for a while and you surmise that the patrols of the king's army have been greatly increased here in the northwest of the kingdom. They are a bit afraid, but are grateful that the king is at least devoting this much effort to keep the roads safe. From what they say, the current King Alriv Thorsov is quite a decent sort, who usually spares no resource for the safety of the kingdom. Much better than his father, who instead was rather uncaring of the problems of the common people. They seem to agree that under his guidance the kingdom could very well bloom into a more important nation amongst those which overlook the Sea of Broken Reefs. Especially because the king is still quite young!

After a while, they conclude their discussion about roads and their work in general, and you feel that your moment has come. You go to the counter, buy a few beers suggested to you by the owner and then go greet them, offering them a drink in exchange of some minutes of their time.

After a moment of surprise, they seem to mollify and agree. You explain to them that you are a young man on his first journey outside his village, and thirsty for more information about the kingdom. Who better to ask than some well traveled merchants who pass their time going from village to village?

They seem to be pleased by that, and agree to talk to you. At first you chat about small things and events, and you can see that they are a bit impressed. Guess your ability with people and your learned way to make conversation made an impression on them. They do suggest you though that you buy some more presentable clothes when possible, it's a shame that such an engaging young man could be judged by his clothes.

You talk a bit to them, and they willingly share some information about their jobs. They tell you that there's always some work to be had for merchants who are not afraid to travel, especially here in the northwest of the kingdom, provided you can of course survive on the road. Better to hire a few guards if you carry something valuable. Also, they are not averse to telling you a bit about what they commerce in, and giving a you few tips. You feel you learned something today.
(You have learned a bit about trade)

After a while you move the conversation topic to Bitak, and they gladly tell you something about lord Medah:

"You know Kyoss, things have improved a lot here since that man came. Not surprising really, he's a Lord of the realm, and maybe the best general at the service of King Alriv. You know, five years ago I was on the eastern route and traveled north till the very Fort Vumos. He was stationed there then, and led the king's army in punitive strikes against the barbarians who inhabit the northern lands beyond Vumos Pass. His campaign was a resounding success, with very few losses, and a serious blow to the barbarians who were pushed back a long way. One can only wonder why this man was sent here, most likely because of the brigands that infest this zone"

You can't help but think of the horsemen, and of the centipede. And seriously doubt such a high profile general has been sent here to deal with brigands... The other merchant speaks as well.

"Yes, and then there's his aide, that old man named Jacob. He's a great administrator, he was following Lord Medah around, remember? And he always managed to keep the army well supplied, even when venturing into the northern wastelands. All this while still reducing the expenses! Or at least, so the soldiers and officers were saying. I don't know why they're here, must be the brigands. But well, I'm surely glad they are. And Bitak has been flourishing in the last two years since Lord Medah came here."

The discussion is so engrossing that you lose track of time. When you are done, you notice that it's dinner time and that the richly dressed patrons have left. You ask the traveling merchants about them.

"Oh those guys. Well young Kyoss, I can understand you being curious but you better not approach them without a very good reason, they'd not even listen to you. They are bigshots of the merchant guild, here on the guild's business. I assure you, they won't even talk to other merchants like us. All business, no fun those guys are."

The traveling merchants have taken a liking to you, and offer you to have dinner here with them and talk a bit more about travels and their trade. Or if you prefer, the soldiers are still there. You do notice though that the peasants have mostly dispersed. It makes sense, guess they went to have dinner with their families.

So what are you going to do while waiting for the evening patrons to arrive? (semi-open choice)
1) Accept the merchants' offer, and have dinner with them
2) Go and join the soldiers. They are merry, slightly drunk and seem friendly enough.
3) Go back to your inn, eat there and then come back here
4) Other. Make a proposal, put a number on it


Gm's note
Also, please do tell me. Would you like to have more than one day to discuss open updates ans such? Or maybe, that I collect your proposals and have you vote unless there's a major consensus? Frankly I'd prefer not to slow down the narration, unless where there's truly important choices ahead....

 

[oscar]

1

 

[ScubaV]

1

I think more frequent updates are better unless there seems to be a lack of consensus or a couple of rival options seem really close without a formal vote.

 

[Zwist]

1
And keep the updates daily if you can, as long as they are non-life threatening. If something big comes along, then slowing down might be a good idea, but not now.

 

[Omicron]

1

I like daily updates, so if you can manage that'd be great.

 

[Monty]

1 - I'm sure there's more we can learn from them and we've already broken the ice, as opposed to chancing it with drunk soldiers.

I think the decision making seems fine the way it is. As you said, if there's something vital to decide on then maybe collecting all the suggestions into fixed options to vote on would make sense, but otherwise there's no need to delay the narrative.

 

[m4davis]

1 for the reasons already listed

 

[TOME]

1
And keep the updates daily if you can, as long as they are non-life threatening. If something big comes along, then slowing down might be a good idea, but not now.

 

[Kz3r0]

1) Accept the merchants' offer, and have dinner with them

Collect the proposal and let vote on them, better maintain the actual pace.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

1
And keep the updates daily if you can, as long as they are non-life threatening. If something big comes along, then slowing down might be a good idea, but not now.

 

[Jick Magger]

1

 

[Smashing Axe]

1) Nice update, I enjoy your writing style. It's nice to know that not everyone in the world is a machiavellian asshole. (AoD)

Edit: Also, what does this mean?
(You have learned a bit about trade)

Is this a skill increase, or just an increase in our general knowledge not marked on the character sheet?

 

[Hoodoo]

Theres only 1 way to make friends with soldiers

4) Finish your drink with your merchant friends than smile, and calmly walking over to the soldiers, hit the first one hard in the face.

alternatively: order a cranberry juice in their vicinity

 

[Smashing Axe]

Oh also, in regards to determining the shopping budget, you might want to consider taking the mode or medium instead of the mean, as you can get some weird compromises between minimalists and bulk spenders that don't suit the intended strategy of either with the mean. I'd suggest that when shopping, voters select a budget range they would be happy with while also nominating their preferred goods, you then take the mode of the budget range and allocate spending by preference within it.

It'd go something like this.

You have 13 silver pieces remaining, vote for your budget.

Buy Nothing
1-3 silver pieces
3-6 silver pieces
6-9 silver pieces
9-12 silver pieces
All

Then voters would allocate their preferences just as they did before.

 

[newcomer]

1

 

[Vernydar]

You have 13 silver pieces remaining, vote for your budget

Pouch with 7 silver pieces and 90 copper pieces You forgot the last shop ...

 

[Vernydar]

Very well, almost total consensus for eating with the merchants. And one for starting a brawl :p

26 – A dinner with merchants

You decide to accept their invitation. These traveling merchants have been rather nice, and maybe they can give you some more useful information. Dinner is an informal affair, with the merchants asking you about your childhood. You do answer their questions, but only until before your parents died. You certainly do not feel ready to make idle talk about that yet.

As the dinner goes by, you ask them even more questions about their profession. They still answer you quite openly and you can't help but feel you learned even some more. Now maybe if you could have some practice...
(You have learned some more on trade)

Eventually, as you eat and drink, other patrons start to trickle in, and you observe them carefully. The merchants notice this, and correctly surmise that you would want to talk to other people after dinner. As such, they offer to tell you a bit of the people that are entering the tavern, as a way of saying good bye.

The soldiers are still there. They are joined by even more soldiers as time goes by, and are definitely one of the most noisy group of patrons. They drink, laugh and have some fun. You notice that they do seem quite excited. One of the merchants tell you a bit about them:
"Yeah, those soldiers are always like that. They're the work hard, party hard sort. We've been here a few times this year, and they often have some disagreements with that group over there. And then, after some black eye left and right, they start drinking again"
You look this other group the merchant talked about, it's a few villagers who are rather young, and drinking heavily

In a corner, you notice three women scantily dressed and wearing a heavy make-up. They seem to be showing off their bodies, and smile at all the men that look them up. One of them winks at you.
"Yeah, those are the local prostitutes. I'd advise you against going with prostitutes, young Kyoss. Been there, done that, seen a lot of them in our journeys around the kingdom. They are rarely worth the experience once morning comes..."

Sitting at a small table near the back, you see a single woman, drinking a beer. She's rather pretty, and she's dressed unlike the other villagers. All leather clothes, and an air of seriousness about her. One of the soldiers gets close to her and starts to chat her up, but after a sharp rebuff leaves. You question the merchants raising an eyebrow.
"Oh that woman. I don't know much about her, but she's often here in the evening. I think she's someone who works for Lord Medah. What I do know is, the soldiers tried to get friendly with her, if you catch my drift. Well, they won't do that again, she calmly sent five of them to sleep for the rest of that evening...."

In another corner near the fireplace you see a group of quiet, middle aged men drinking beer together and talking calmly. You ask about them. "Oh those, they're all craftsmen and store owners. A bit on the serious side if you ask me, but well, they do make for some interesting conversation if you do not want to have fun. For sure, they do know almost anything about Bitak"

A high-pitched laughter attracts your attention, and you see a few young women at a table, talking, laughing, and making conversation. Hmm, a couple of them are rather attractive as well. The merchants notice you looking at them, and snicker a bit. "Yeah, those are more likely targets uh? I still remember being 16 myself! But, there's a few of them together. That makes it rather hard to approach them, right?"

Finally, you see a table with a few rough looking fellows, drinking heavily and keeping to themselves. They are dressed with some unkempt clothes, and seem a bit dirty. "Uh Kyoss, I never saw those guys before. I'd say they might be some hunters maybe, they seem dirty enough for that."

So, what would you like to do? This is another open choice, there's too many possible things you could do. Please put a number on your proposals so I can count better.