What to do with Fort Rannick

[Tahlvin]

So WTF are we going to do with Fort Rannick? Obviously, we can't drop everything and go manage it; we have to fight off the dragon coming to attack Sandpoint.

My first thought is to talk to Dwyn's priest friend and see if they can scrape together some men, like Dwyn's boyfriend, who would be willing to head to the fort and help be a temporary garrison until Vale is able to recruit some enough members into the Reformed Black Arrows. I'd suggest getting some non-violent criminals from the city jails of Magnimar and Sandpoint to fit that role, but after what they just went through where one of those sort betrayed them at the cost of most of the order, I think they need some people with better motivation. Besides, right now, I'm not inclined to have anything at all to do with the Lord Mayor of Magnimar. In fact, I'm tempted to write him a letter telling him we accept the responsibility of Fort Rannick as long as Magnimar renounces all claim to the Fort, Turtleback Ferry, and the surrounding area; and if he cannot agree to those terms, then find someone else to take on that responsibility.

As a ranger, Eldthor is intrigued about the potential held by a lone fort in the wilderness as a base of operations. And he's not oblivious to the commercial opportunities held by having an iron mine at Hook Mountain that was recently mostly-cleared of ogre and giant occupation. But with the immediate concerns for Sandpoint, there's no way we can give the Fort the sort of attention it needs. So we either ignore it and hope for the best, or we try to delegate some responsibility (probably at a bit of a cost; it's a good thing I didn't spend all my gold upgrading my bow), or we decline the Lord Mayor's "payment." I'm inclined to try to delegate.

Dothan, you're the other one with your name on this charter (although mine seems to be listed first). What are your thoughts?

[Zen]

I realize that my name isn't on the charter directly... just my LAST name... but... I do believe this could be an opportunity. We need to look very carefully at the wording of this document and see what rights and responsibilities are given to us. Are we given OWNERSHIP of the fort or were the two of you assigned as joint commanders of the garrison at the fort? [I looked and the text of the document doesn't seem to be in the log yet...] Perhaps we need to have someone of a ... lawful ... nature look it over ... (HAL? I don't know if anyone else here is lawful...)

If we actually own it, I would think that we might be able to hire a couple priests of Erastil, and or Hal's order (not sure which one that is) to head to the fort to form the heart of the new garrison. (What would a decent monthly wage be? How much gold should we send them with if we do this?) The big question would be whether to assign Vale, the veteran who suffered and lost so many comrades, as the commander, or the senior priest we send. Or to have committee form of leadership, with a military leader of the fort (Vale), a religious leader (Priest), and a rotating spot for a third member on the committee from among the rest of the garrison. Purely military matters would be Vale's purview, but the day-to-day operations of the fort would be run by the committee with input from all quarters. Individual voices need to be heard!

They could also try to start a mining operation in the mountain, of course, that would pay for itself, since we have handily cleaned out the existing mines... for the most part... (There are probably a few stragglers left...)

I don't mind the idea of offering clemency to non-violent criminals in exchange for a term of service at the fort, but that would mean that we were taking responsibility for them and would be responsible for them if they returned to a life of crime...

[Mike]

No no... Darcs clarified that all of us who originally signed on for this mission are ALL on the charter: Eldthor, Dothan, Kay, Dwyn, Hal, Illian. Anna & Sam are the only ones who get a pass.

I have some IC ranting to do on this and a TL;DR story that includes it.

To sum up though, Dothan thinks this is a bunch of bullshit. She can't stand the Mayor and hates the idea of being beholden to him. She hates the idea of being responsible for employees and subjects almost as much. Through her TL;DR tale, she will reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is a greater good to be served by holding her nose and shouldering this responsibility.

Which does not include her having ANY clue as to what to actually do (Wisdom 7), but she knows that the Troubleshooters are the people to do whatever it is that must be done.

[DMDarcs]

I'm sorry you all hate me.

Actually, I'm not.



I know you don't hate me.

[Bluedevyl]

I think that we'll find that Magnimar doesn't really care too much about TBF or Fort Rannick, and I think that the Lord Mayor would be just as happy to be rid of the hassle, when all is said and done.

While Anna's name isn't on the deed, given that she feels that she's a part of the Troubleshooters at this point, she does feel some measure of responsibility for the Fort and its environs.

I don't think we have to worry too much about what is going on there, at least not in an immediate sense. I think that once the situation in Sandpoint is resolved, we can think about taking a trip back there to discuss the goings on with Vale and the Mayor of TBF. Its a shame that Jak and Shalelu aren't staying around. Between the two of them and Vale, I'd feel a lot less nervous about the area as a whole moving forward.

Maybe after we head for Sandpoint, we could look around in Magnimar for a family of dwarves who might be interested in starting a mining operation on the Hook... fully connect the points together to help that whole area.

[Mike]

[Elle]

I'm so glad there was already a thread here about this, so I did not have to start one! The Fort Rannick thing is a really awesome thing from both Dwyn's perspective and my own. The problem is, we can't easily predict when or if ever we'd go that direction again, given the threat to Sandpoint. However, even if no threat ever materializes (doubtful!), we would have to investigate it before simply abandoning the town to a dragon and Erastil-knows-what else is behind that note.

But let's assume we solve that and survive. What then? Why not actually go out to the Fort and try to build something permanent? Keep in mind we've all been together for a few months now, and on the move nearly constantly. Eventually we might want a base of operations, and Fort Rannick seems like a promising one. All kinds of weird evils have been stirred up in that area - why? Why did we meet giants there? Why did we see all those old statues and find a demon inside the dam? There's so much more I feel like we haven't explored that could help us unravel some of the larger mysteries of the ancient civilization and why all these lamias and assorted baddies are connected to it. The Fort might be a long-term anchor for our efforts to solve things.

So let me start with Dothan, since she hates the idea: the people in all the little towns of this area near the Fort are starved for entertainment. They're demoralized and the last big excitement to roll into town turned out to be a giant snake that was trying to harvest their very souls! I mean, these people need Dothan badly. At this level, her bard skills are so amazing that she could build an entire theatre and people from every downriver town and from as far as Nybor itself would want to travel to see her. This might be her chance to build a life together somewhere with Oshar (I'm not really clear on their ages at the moment, but... whenever that would be appropriate), and develop true excellence in her profession. She has no competition out here - she would be THE star for miles around that everyone is talking about. In Magnimar I'm sure it's all about currying favor with the wealthy and powerful. She loathes the Mayor? Well, whose parties would she be hired to play at? His and his friends'? Is that the life she wants? Or does she want the total freedom to create a brand new experiment, out here on the frontier, developing bardic art forms nobody has even thought about creating yet? Let the fancy elites of Magnimar hear rumors about her and wish they could someday see her with their own eyes!

We also need Dothan's help to recruit the people who would populate the Fort from elsewhere. If anyone can convince them to uproot and help keep them happy and cooperative once they get to the new place, it's Dothan. We don't need a huge number of people, but we do need to lure some good people who can help us rebuild and expand the place.

Like Eldthor says, this place is pretty good for him: surrounded by all kinds of wilderness and in need of people to help manage it. He could recruit from the faithful of Erastil in every little town from Sandpoint to the Fort, and assemble a team. As Kay says, someone needs to help with redevelopment of those mines, and who better than someone with a sharp eye for quality and the ability to craft weaponry? For Hal, it could be a chance to recruit other followers and set up a base of operations. Vale deserves a place of honor, yes, but Hal's fighting experience and ability to strategize makes him a natural choice to work on all the Fort's defenses. I don't know where Sam and Anna are from, back-story wise, but it's also clear that their talents are rare in these parts and would be highly in demand. I'm also not sure where Illian's backstory leads him next, but it certainly could begin by finding a place to settle where Dothan can work on a permanent cure for him. And since that seems to be linked in somewhat to the larger threads of mystery that are running through the whole campaign, maybe this place full of as-yet-uncovered remains of an ancient civilization isn't a bad place to be.

For Dwyn, this Fort development is nothing less than a divine sign about where her next steps should be. She found the Fort's lovely, rustic chapel of Erastil destroyed and defiled by the very lamia she feels she was sent there to kill. She failed to kill her once, but she prayed over that failure for a long time and Erastil granted her the new insight to get the job done. She was there to do it, of that much she's certain. (The way it went down was kind of an RP gift: everyone else was far more effective than Dwyn against the ogres and stone giants and undead-Lamatar, while Dwyn was able to "disrupt" a spellcasting Hag and then deal the lamia her death-blow.)

Anyway, someone needs to refurbish that chapel, and it can't be the priest in TBF because he's got plenty on his hands already, a fair distance away, and it can't be Vale because he's basically a fighter who isn't going to handle the religious duties. It could be Samadriel, but she might want her own temple outdoors somewhere, and at least someone needs to be there at the Fort to represent Erastil, given the history of the place. Who better than Dwyn? They don't need a high-level cleric to fill that role, especially if we have real healers like Sam, and priests in TBF to handle more significant needs for Erastil's faithful. I gather many of Erastil's churches are low-level affairs anyway - nothing too fancy - and this after all is a small chapel designed for rangers and fighting-types. It sounds perfect for Dwyn.

And yes, she would love to invite her friends. Whether any of them decided to move there or not would make for interesting drama. I don't know how Darcs feels about our creation and insertion of NPCs into the actual storyline. We would have to see what he thinks about all that. But maybe he could take over the other side of those stories, if he's willing, and figure out things like whether any particular NPC or other is actually willing to travel to the Fort with us, or whether certain new ones would show up. Dwyn's "boyfriend" really doesn't want to be in Magnimar forever, but right now the Lodge is his extended family and lifeline, so he's not going to leave it unless he has a good reason and his mother is able and willing to come with him. Would she? I don't know. That's the part I'd rather have Darcs decide, but I'll roll with whatever and make it a story. IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME YOU GUYS AND YES I MEAN YOU DOTHAN AND ILLIAN!!!

[Mike]

If only Dwyn had the capacity to explain it all so eloquently...

*sigh*



As a player, I agree with you completely. We're getting up there in power, and traditionally, 10th level-ish was always the spot where you start putting down roots (the level where you started gaining followers and such back in AD&D). It all makes sense. And having a base of operations and a deeper investment in the politics and development of the area will open all sorts of opportunities for us in terms of RP. This lines up perfectly with the dreams I've always had for Dothan.

Dothan herself, however, will need some convincing. I'm working on that.

[Tahlvin]

Fuck, I don't have that much time to read Elle's/Dwyn's post. Can somebody sum it up for me? Maybe I'll have time next week.

[bralbovsky]

Hi,
First of all, my apologies for missing Thurs. I thought I had made arrangements to connect while not at home, but noob errors defeated me. I expect to be where I am expected to be this Thurs.

Love the idea of having a place, but two things:
1 -If the original spirit of the Troubleshooters is to be maintained, we need it to be a proxy base only. (Summary - someone runs it for themselves, and we're their favorite guests.)
2 -If we are deciding to become a permanent fixture in this part of the world, establishing dukedoms and primacy over territory, we should pick a better location. (Summary - Fort Rannick overlooks this dangerous pass, but it's otherwise inconvenient.)

1 -Freedom, mobility, etc, were a big part of the original vision (which may have changed as we aged at least thirty days). If we keep that, we're no obligated to deal with the inherent graft of Magnimar, or other weird stuff that takes years and politics and whatever to unravel. A single level 10 Paladin (I'm thinking Jack Palance here) is handy to have wandering around when you have ghoul outbreaks or bandit raiders, and the like. A team of ten level 10 characters is a small juggernaut. Capable, for instance, of handling Giants gone bad, or deep magic conspiracies, or captive demons, or black maggas. What's next? No one (except perhaps Darcs) can say. If we keep getting along with each other, we could become an El Nino force wind, that makes everything a little better, without pesky follow-up questions.

2 - Unless one can fly, Wolf's Ear is a much nicer location. The current from Storval Deep runs the wrong way. The Dam has seriously outdated power generation. Riding to and from the mountains and forests is a real drag if you don't just want to burn time. Somebody probably already owns Wolf's Ear (all the best places are always taken), and there's a nifty island in the center of Ember Lake if you prefer waterfront. If we're really looking to get hold of a place with walls and towers and libraries and temples, why not just Go for Magnimar. Hell, anybody know if the Linnorin Kings are good guys or not? What's keeping us in Varisia? although I have to say, the Bay is nice.

Yes, I understand that at 10, Hal is supposed to think about setting up housekeeping somewhere, or at least Keeping. He has taken no leadership or administration skills. If we're really serious about it, I think there are feats. (That's what I always wanted to spend them on, JK) Iomedae was a normal girl who chased down bad guys until she had an apotheosis. Hal has no delusions about divinity, but that's the career path he's on so far.

[Bluedevyl]

So, after going back and looking at the timeline, I'm left with the following feelings.

As of 17 Neth, Anna has been with the group for a grand total of 12 days. While we have battled, laughed, and made great friendships, Anna is not in a place to dictate to anyone what should or shouldn't be done with Fort Rannick.

[OOC, its a little harder for me, as I played Jak before, so I DO feel a little bit of responsibility for the Fort, but I'm trying to keep those things separate]

I do think that we could do a lot of good for what seemed to be a relatively depressed area simply with our presence. As Bill points out, we, as a group, represent a LOT of power. This is good and bad, in some ways.

I think that it might be a good idea to form a small... for lack of a better term, lets say duchy, that encompasses the Hook Mountain clanhold, Skull's Crossing, and Fort Rannick. While Black Magga at least theoretically lives in the Storval Deep, she may be long gone by now. Its possible that the Storval Deep could be a good body of water to farm, or maybe with a larger settlement on its southern shore, perhaps settlers might try to strike out into the Cinderlands. Who knows... I think the area has some potential, but maybe I'm reading it wrong

Anna is happy to continue to be a member of the Troubleshooters as long as you all will have her, but she doesn't feel as though she has a right to have a say as to what to do in this situation.

Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the gang thinks about this.

[Mike]

Speaking entirely out of character right now:

I'm imagining that we're going to set this up in such a way that we will recruit/appoint people for the area and leave it in their capable hands while we travel and save the world. We can act as guides and protectors for the region, but at least at first, not direct administrators. Later, their may be political issues as we decide that we aren't listening to the Lord Mayor when Magnimar's interests no longer align with our own, and that's fine too. But for now, it's about helping create a better life for people we feel responsible for.

And we also need some clarification from Darcs on exactly what is in those papers. Do we actually OWN Fort Rannick? Do we own any actual land? How much? Are we designated as official protectors/guardians of the area? How much of the area? Are their money issues here? Are we supposed to pay tribute/taxes? Are there other things in there that I can't even think of yet?

[Eliahad]

I'm still intrigued by the idea of having the Thistletop goblins come work for us. They can inhabit the Hook Mountain Clan Hold while we own the fort. We offer them our protection, but they pay us some taxes and start trade with Turtle Back Ferry.

[Zen]

Well, that's an idea I hadn't thought of... Moving the goblins into the orc's mining business... hmmm.... Think they'd go for it?

[Tahlvin]

Oooh, that is an intriguing idea....

[Zen]

I'd bet Dothan could talk them into doing it...

(I'd bet Dothan could sell a Lycantrhopy cure to a traditional Ulfen shamen!)

[Mike]

Dothan and I don't agree on anything anymore. She thinks offering an opportunity to any goblins who wish to move is a great idea. I think it's asking for trouble.

Although we have to remember that in non-magical situations, people can't lie to Dothan. If she has time to conduct interviews, she can weed out those whose intentions are not sincere. That's a super handy recruiting tool.

[Mike]

Or rather, with standard dice, no more than about 1 in 20 bad apples can slip through. With goblins, I'd consider that a pretty good record.

[Zen]

Of course, if we only get one in twenty of the goblin applicants who pass...

[Mike]