[OOC] The Tea Shop

[Melagant]

FFFFFF no i dont consider it rude, just prudent DMing keeping things clear. I wasnt sure where to post that king of thing, i should have asked i am sorry.


Also Kido will add his Int modifier to Economy each turn, thats a +5 bonus.

[GunMetalDrac]

A question or two was brought up in the "building" discussion

Firstly, can we do any action that requires the "Ruler" position to be filled?

Second: Can a guild hall be used to produce things or is it strictly a beneficial building? Allu brought up the point historically that it isn't a building as such but it seems weird that it generates coin but doesn't produce anything. I could understand where it's coming from. Refinement of practices probably is where the coin comes from but wanted to clear it up. If it doesn't produce then I'll probably switch my suggestion to Smith, Alchemist and Pier in Nago. Would leave us 10 BP to play around with.

[FFFFFF]

Ruler - I'm not permitting any of the actions that require a Ruler at this time. I will accept any kind of ruler though, even a puppet or imposture. You just have to have somebody who can attend ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

Guild Hall - good question! I viewed a Guild Hall as a trade school - where people share the secrets of their craft, be it carpentry or gun-smithing. I think that Exotic Craftsman would be most appropriate for a Gunsmith's Shop, because it lists fireworks as an example of what it makes.

Ship-building/waterfront - Nago does have the facilities to build ships, and a drydock for extensive repairs and maintenance. You just don't have all the materials locally available. You can build boats that are smaller than Colossal locally - that is the Coracle, Dugout, Keelboat, Launch, Raft, Rowboat, and War Canoe - at half the listed price, or you can buy ships from Zhonghua for 2x the listed price. Zhonghua would sell you masts if you wanted, but they will charge you the listed price for the entire ship for the masts. You're always welcome to haggle, but you don't have a lot of leverage.



A Theurgeme is a magically-propelled ship, and so doesn't use sails. At this point, they're hypothetical, but supposedly Joseon was working on oars with ghosts bound to them that could be commanded to row, and Zhonghua has been working on binding water elementals to a ship for decades. In the Warring States period, when people were more heroic, Theurgemes were said to be quite common, and there are illustrations of the Qin Emperor's warship, which was built into the exposed spinal column of an undead sea dragon.

Remember that upkeep is before taxes, so you need 1 BP at the start of every turn.

The kingdom's saving throws are Stability +27, Economy +27, Loyalty +14. The Control DC is 45. You succeed on Stability and Economy on a roll of 18, 19, or 20 - 15% chance. Loyalty on a 20 - but luckily you don't make that roll every month, just when you do anger a large group of citizens. You probably want to select two NPCs, since you can't use Promotion Edicts without a Grand Diplomat, and you can't use Taxation without a Treasurer.

Right now, Consumption is 28 BP/month (1 for every hex, +1 for hexes with cities), and I assumed 14 Farms to neutralize that. If you want to set a high level of Promotions and Festivals, you probably more Farms. If you maxed out Festivals and Promotions, you could pay for them entirely with 8 more Farms. You have 25 hexes - with 22 Farms and 3 Cities, your country would be completely full - but at least you'd be making a lot of money.

[GunMetalDrac]

Another question on buildings. Do the ones that halve the cost of other buildings take affect immediately and thus can be used to halve the cost of buildings built in the same turn? If so we could get a Guildhall and a Pier for quite a bit off(total of 25 BP) and with some good benefits(+3 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +2000 gp to Nago). Otherwise, might want to postpone the pier for next turn and focus on Stability(cannot have that going too low).

Also, in terms of other seats on the council: I am getting us a potential candidate for Royal Assassin(one of Ran's spies) but we should look for someone to place on Treasurer and Grand Diplomat spots(obviously). After that, we should also look for a Warden fairly soon since his vacancy is making us take a loss to stability.

[FFFFFF]

Yes - buildings can benefit from discounts granted from buildings built in the same turn.

Added NPC Bio info for Ran's 2nd-in-command - if there are no objections, I'll note her as the Royal Assassin. If anyone else has NPCs from their backgrounds they'd like me to add, please let me know.

Added Hireling info.

[GunMetalDrac]

Is the base value of a city added to the treasury each turn? I don't have these rules so I'm not really sure what this stat does.

[FFFFFF]

No - I should have explained that. That is for the purpose of Base Value and Purchase Limit calculations. Basically, if an item is worth the base value of a city or less, there is a 75% chance that it is immediately available, and if it isn't immediately available, there is a 95% chance that it can be had within a week. The Purchase Limit is the most money that anything can possibly be sold for in the city, and is equal to x6 the Base Value. Its an abstract way of measuring how much cash is floating around the city.

Don't worry about not having the rules - almost everything is there, and the bits I've left out are things I'm not using.

[Allu]

As for council members I'd say Dowager Queen as the Head Diplomat, Suzuki Hidotomi as Tresurer, Kusunagi Mayako as Marshal and Kara Heshuo (maybe another person Shin has gotten to know well) as Warden.

[GunMetalDrac]

Ran would rather see Suzuki Hidotomi's head roll off his shoulders rather then allow that man within 20 miles of prominent position in the capital. It is only because Hidotomi is family that he has not ordered it.

Not that he has a better suggestion. Just saying

[Allu]

Well, Shin is more than happy to empty the nation's treasury buying this engine and hopefully, with wood from Vietnam and some advanced cannon from the Middle East making Okinawan turtle ships. I'm just asking if you guys are interested in spending what'll be a fairly large amount of money on this endevour? I'm still for the alchemist (for black powder) and an exotic goods store (for guns) in Nago this coming month.

Also, I'd like to say that this, for me is roleplaying. I'm basically fabricating an entire history with an NPC I know nothing about OOC and I love it.

[Grundz]

Katsutoshi sees the current heir as a challenge. His father, and his father before him, have taught the young princes.

He intends to be the Mr Miyagi to Yongzhang's Daniel-san... XD

>> EDIT
Funnily enough...

Karate Kid Quote Daniel: Why didn't you tell me? Miyagi: Tell what? Daniel: That you knew karate. Miyagi: You not ask. Daniel: Well, where'd you learn it? Miyagi: Father. Daniel: But I thought he was a fisherman. Miyagi: In Okinawa, all Miyagi know two things: fish and karate.

[Grundz]

More Karate Kid quote! Miyagi: Karate come from China, sixteenth century, called te, "hand." Hundred year later, Miyagi ancestor bring to Okinawa, call *kara*-te, "empty hand." Daniel: I thought it came from Buddhist temples and stuff like that. Miyagi: You watch too much TV.

If there is a Miyagi family around here, their personal te is kara-te... haha

I really should spend less time surfing the net.

[Melagant]

Just so everyone knows Kido wont let the bastard son sit on the throne, he fully intends to finish his last order from his departed king and kill the boy.

[GunMetalDrac]

I am also in favor of killing the boy though for different reasons.

1. He is WAY too brash as he is right now. He killed two people(and maybe more) who were loyal retainers of the court. He seems to think he is entitled to the throne and is just generally not ready for the throne. With a year or two of training, he could be but we don't need a King a year or two from now, we need one right now.

2. If we did put him on the throne as he is now, he would probably order Kido's and maybe Ran's death. He probably believes us villains and despots. With his current actions as evidence, I wouldn't put it past him to do that.

3. The above two points don't indicate why we should go so far as to kill him. But in general, whoever we put on the throne is going to have opposition. We put a beggar off the street, this spear thing will probably cause some problems. We install someone else who could be in position to take the thrown, we'll have to deal with other contenders. Leaving the boy alive means that he can come back to haunt us. We don't want to put the boy in a keep somewhere(they tend to get out for some reason....) Having a potential candidate as heir anywhere alive will cause problems for whoever we put on the thrown(be they a legitimate heir or not).

[Grundz]

All we need for the moment is a figurehead, and if the spear does acknowledge him, all the better. Just as long as we make him realise that he has no power until he proves himself worthy.
If we install him, we can take him out again. At the moment, it seems all he wants is recognition and a little luxury. That's not too hard to provide.

What I would like to do is keep him from the castle to begin with. Two or three weeks of "intensive study" cooped up in a minor temple with his mentor while he learns the arts of statesmanship would do him wonders. There is no guarantee of him proving himself there, but there is a chance, and he is kept under watch, out of the public eye. All the others need do is stall.
There are no viable alternatives being offered, and we can't hide the King's absence forever. At the moment, we have that couple weeks grace from announcing his 'vacation'.
In the meantime, we keep this princeling happy with the hope that he is being groomed for the position, and with a little luck, humble the crud out of him by making him work for it on the side.

And when I say we should stash him in a minor temple somewhere, I mean a proper monastery in the middle of the wilderness. Doesn't even have to be on Ochinachu. (Which reduces the chance of an effective escape)
What are the chances of Ryukyu's High Priest pulling in a Sanctuary favour from a Shaolin Temple?
The Southern Temple is located in Fujian, 450 nautical miles directly west of Naha, and they're pretty much all highly trained martial artists and Chan Buddhists...
That is what I consider our best option for the moment. (Assuming that temple exists in this alternate history )

Besides which, I can always disguise that option as a pilgrimage or an assembly of priests. Take one or two others of my choosing as my scribes, slap an orange robe on Yongzhang and call him my disciple, and we're set.