Talking to eternals - Revision history

Twiggy: /* Tell Us What It Is You Want */

2026-02-19T16:49:27Z

Tell Us What It Is You Want

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:49, 19 February 2026
Line 46:		Line 46:

	===Tell Us What It Is You Want===		===Tell Us What It Is You Want===
	One of the most important things when sending a plenipotentiary message to an eternal – or again when dealing with any non-player character you interact with at a distance – is to be specific about what you want, or what you want to talk about. Lay it out as clearly as possible. If what you want is help defending [[Zenith]] from the [[Druj]], “I want your help” is literally useless. “I want ~~you~~ help protecting the Empire” is better. “I want your help to defend Zenith from the Druj” is maybe best of all.		One of the most important things when sending a plenipotentiary message to an eternal – or again when dealing with any non-player character you interact with at a distance – is to be specific about what you want, or what you want to talk about. Lay it out as clearly as possible. If what you want is help defending [[Zenith]] from the [[Druj]], “I want your help” is literally useless. “I want your help protecting the Empire” is better. “I want your help to defend Zenith from the Druj” is maybe best of all.

	A phrase I encounter a lot in plenipotentiary messages, and in other missives to eternals, is some variant of “we must talk” or “we must discuss matters of mutual interest” or even “a number of other people also want to talk to you”. Don’t do this! It’s pure poison. It tells the eternal nothing – they already know you want to talk because you have sent them a message. They already assume it is on matters of mutual interest because why else would they want to talk to you?		A phrase I encounter a lot in plenipotentiary messages, and in other missives to eternals, is some variant of “we must talk” or “we must discuss matters of mutual interest” or even “a number of other people also want to talk to you”. Don’t do this! It’s pure poison. It tells the eternal nothing – they already know you want to talk because you have sent them a message. They already assume it is on matters of mutual interest because why else would they want to talk to you?

Matt: Text replacement - "Conclave" to "Conclave"

2026-01-16T09:37:10Z

Text replacement - "Conclave" to "Conclave"

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:37, 16 January 2026
Line 75:		Line 75:
	Also, it’s almost always worth trying to negotiate with a non-player character. Sometimes the starting offer or request will be substantially higher than what they are prepared to accept in trade and a little discussion can bring it down. An eternal usually has a list of things they want in return for the things they’re offering – assuming you’ve told them what the meeting is going to be about in advance of course.		Also, it’s almost always worth trying to negotiate with a non-player character. Sometimes the starting offer or request will be substantially higher than what they are prepared to accept in trade and a little discussion can bring it down. An eternal usually has a list of things they want in return for the things they’re offering – assuming you’ve told them what the meeting is going to be about in advance of course.

	When I first shared this article, Cyan Goffin queried how you can prepare when you don’t know for sure what the eternals goals are. I think in this regard what might be useful is thinking about what tools you have. “I can raise a [[Senate motion]]”, “I can put forward a [[~~Conclave\|~~Conclave]] [[declaration]]”, “I can influence the Synod”, “I can have someone assassinated”, “I can bring pressure to bear on the [[ambassador to Axos]], who I know you’ve had problems with in the past”, “I can acquire my body weight in [[dragonbone]]”, “I can rustle up a [[coven]] who can perform powerful rituals no questions asked”.		When I first shared this article, Cyan Goffin queried how you can prepare when you don’t know for sure what the eternals goals are. I think in this regard what might be useful is thinking about what tools you have. “I can raise a [[Senate motion]]”, “I can put forward a [[Conclave]] [[declaration]]”, “I can influence the Synod”, “I can have someone assassinated”, “I can bring pressure to bear on the [[ambassador to Axos]], who I know you’ve had problems with in the past”, “I can acquire my body weight in [[dragonbone]]”, “I can rustle up a [[coven]] who can perform powerful rituals no questions asked”.

	Even if the specific thing you can do isn’t immediately useful, it will still give us an idea of the ''kind'' of thing you’re offering. Saying you can have someone killed means we’re likely to tilt the encounter in a different direction than if you said you could arrange for the Synod to interfere in something.		Even if the specific thing you can do isn’t immediately useful, it will still give us an idea of the ''kind'' of thing you’re offering. Saying you can have someone killed means we’re likely to tilt the encounter in a different direction than if you said you could arrange for the Synod to interfere in something.

Matt: Text replacement - "[[Imperial Synod" to "[[Synod"

2026-01-15T21:30:57Z

Text replacement - "[[Imperial Synod" to "[[Synod"

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:30, 15 January 2026
Line 61:		Line 61:
	One of the primary out-of-character reasons eternals exist is to create a lever that a player can use to achieve things they might be unable to do otherwise. You are much more likely to get a positive response from an eternal if you lay out your goal, and explain how the eternal can help you do something to make that goal happen. Eternals are very unlikely to just wave their hands and sort your problem out – as an example look at the way Phaleron offered its aid to the [[Urizen]] in their recent troubles in [[Morrow]]. The [[Magical skills#Magician\|magicians]] of the high peaks needed to perform a powerful [[ritual]] to help the Celestial Library inhabit Canterspire; they needed to get the support of the [[Senate]] to create [[Urizen lore]]. When we write eternal plot we are always looking for ways to encourage players to take action in uptime rather than ways for a non-player character to just wave their hands and make a problem go away.		One of the primary out-of-character reasons eternals exist is to create a lever that a player can use to achieve things they might be unable to do otherwise. You are much more likely to get a positive response from an eternal if you lay out your goal, and explain how the eternal can help you do something to make that goal happen. Eternals are very unlikely to just wave their hands and sort your problem out – as an example look at the way Phaleron offered its aid to the [[Urizen]] in their recent troubles in [[Morrow]]. The [[Magical skills#Magician\|magicians]] of the high peaks needed to perform a powerful [[ritual]] to help the Celestial Library inhabit Canterspire; they needed to get the support of the [[Senate]] to create [[Urizen lore]]. When we write eternal plot we are always looking for ways to encourage players to take action in uptime rather than ways for a non-player character to just wave their hands and make a problem go away.

	Tell the eternal what you are doing, or going to do, and that eternal is more likely to be interested in helping you Do The Thing. Just asking an eternal to “make the armies of the Empire more powerful” or “solve the problem of the [[~~Imperial~~ Synod]] using [[mandate\|mandates]] to annoy foreign nations” is almost certainly on a hiding to nothing – unless you already have a plan to do it yourself.		Tell the eternal what you are doing, or going to do, and that eternal is more likely to be interested in helping you Do The Thing. Just asking an eternal to “make the armies of the Empire more powerful” or “solve the problem of the [[Synod]] using [[mandate\|mandates]] to annoy foreign nations” is almost certainly on a hiding to nothing – unless you already have a plan to do it yourself.

	On a related note, we say “eternals are not gods” a lot and we really mean it. Eternals can do a lot, but they aren’t omnipotent. They’re much closer to being powerful magicians than they are to being divine spirits – and one of the reasons their aid usually comes at a cost is because in terms of the narrative they are expending a lot of their own resources to achieve the things they do, even if that expenditure happens below the abstraction layer.		On a related note, we say “eternals are not gods” a lot and we really mean it. Eternals can do a lot, but they aren’t omnipotent. They’re much closer to being powerful magicians than they are to being divine spirits – and one of the reasons their aid usually comes at a cost is because in terms of the narrative they are expending a lot of their own resources to achieve the things they do, even if that expenditure happens below the abstraction layer.

Matt: Text replacement - "[[Imperial Conclave" to "[[Conclave"

2026-01-15T16:48:10Z

Text replacement - "[[Imperial Conclave" to "[[Conclave"

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:48, 15 January 2026
Line 75:		Line 75:
	Also, it’s almost always worth trying to negotiate with a non-player character. Sometimes the starting offer or request will be substantially higher than what they are prepared to accept in trade and a little discussion can bring it down. An eternal usually has a list of things they want in return for the things they’re offering – assuming you’ve told them what the meeting is going to be about in advance of course.		Also, it’s almost always worth trying to negotiate with a non-player character. Sometimes the starting offer or request will be substantially higher than what they are prepared to accept in trade and a little discussion can bring it down. An eternal usually has a list of things they want in return for the things they’re offering – assuming you’ve told them what the meeting is going to be about in advance of course.

	When I first shared this article, Cyan Goffin queried how you can prepare when you don’t know for sure what the eternals goals are. I think in this regard what might be useful is thinking about what tools you have. “I can raise a [[Senate motion]]”, “I can put forward a [[~~Imperial~~ Conclave\|Conclave]] [[declaration]]”, “I can influence the Synod”, “I can have someone assassinated”, “I can bring pressure to bear on the [[ambassador to Axos]], who I know you’ve had problems with in the past”, “I can acquire my body weight in [[dragonbone]]”, “I can rustle up a [[coven]] who can perform powerful rituals no questions asked”.		When I first shared this article, Cyan Goffin queried how you can prepare when you don’t know for sure what the eternals goals are. I think in this regard what might be useful is thinking about what tools you have. “I can raise a [[Senate motion]]”, “I can put forward a [[Conclave\|Conclave]] [[declaration]]”, “I can influence the Synod”, “I can have someone assassinated”, “I can bring pressure to bear on the [[ambassador to Axos]], who I know you’ve had problems with in the past”, “I can acquire my body weight in [[dragonbone]]”, “I can rustle up a [[coven]] who can perform powerful rituals no questions asked”.

	Even if the specific thing you can do isn’t immediately useful, it will still give us an idea of the ''kind'' of thing you’re offering. Saying you can have someone killed means we’re likely to tilt the encounter in a different direction than if you said you could arrange for the Synod to interfere in something.		Even if the specific thing you can do isn’t immediately useful, it will still give us an idea of the ''kind'' of thing you’re offering. Saying you can have someone killed means we’re likely to tilt the encounter in a different direction than if you said you could arrange for the Synod to interfere in something.

Matt: Text replacement - "[[Imperial Senate" to "[[Senate"

2026-01-15T14:58:30Z

Text replacement - "[[Imperial Senate" to "[[Senate"

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:58, 15 January 2026
Line 59:		Line 59:

	===Ask for Help to Achieve Something===		===Ask for Help to Achieve Something===
	One of the primary out-of-character reasons eternals exist is to create a lever that a player can use to achieve things they might be unable to do otherwise. You are much more likely to get a positive response from an eternal if you lay out your goal, and explain how the eternal can help you do something to make that goal happen. Eternals are very unlikely to just wave their hands and sort your problem out – as an example look at the way Phaleron offered its aid to the [[Urizen]] in their recent troubles in [[Morrow]]. The [[Magical skills#Magician\|magicians]] of the high peaks needed to perform a powerful [[ritual]] to help the Celestial Library inhabit Canterspire; they needed to get the support of the [[~~Imperial~~ Senate]] to create [[Urizen lore]]. When we write eternal plot we are always looking for ways to encourage players to take action in uptime rather than ways for a non-player character to just wave their hands and make a problem go away.		One of the primary out-of-character reasons eternals exist is to create a lever that a player can use to achieve things they might be unable to do otherwise. You are much more likely to get a positive response from an eternal if you lay out your goal, and explain how the eternal can help you do something to make that goal happen. Eternals are very unlikely to just wave their hands and sort your problem out – as an example look at the way Phaleron offered its aid to the [[Urizen]] in their recent troubles in [[Morrow]]. The [[Magical skills#Magician\|magicians]] of the high peaks needed to perform a powerful [[ritual]] to help the Celestial Library inhabit Canterspire; they needed to get the support of the [[Senate]] to create [[Urizen lore]]. When we write eternal plot we are always looking for ways to encourage players to take action in uptime rather than ways for a non-player character to just wave their hands and make a problem go away.

	Tell the eternal what you are doing, or going to do, and that eternal is more likely to be interested in helping you Do The Thing. Just asking an eternal to “make the armies of the Empire more powerful” or “solve the problem of the [[Imperial Synod]] using [[mandate\|mandates]] to annoy foreign nations” is almost certainly on a hiding to nothing – unless you already have a plan to do it yourself.		Tell the eternal what you are doing, or going to do, and that eternal is more likely to be interested in helping you Do The Thing. Just asking an eternal to “make the armies of the Empire more powerful” or “solve the problem of the [[Imperial Synod]] using [[mandate\|mandates]] to annoy foreign nations” is almost certainly on a hiding to nothing – unless you already have a plan to do it yourself.

Apoth: /* Further Reading */

2023-05-22T19:58:08Z

Rafferty: /* Further Reading */

2023-05-22T16:25:39Z

Matt at 14:15, 14 May 2022

2022-05-14T14:15:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:15, 14 May 2022
Line 75:		Line 75:
	Also, it’s almost always worth trying to negotiate with a non-player character. Sometimes the starting offer or request will be substantially higher than what they are prepared to accept in trade and a little discussion can bring it down. An eternal usually has a list of things they want in return for the things they’re offering – assuming you’ve told them what the meeting is going to be about in advance of course.		Also, it’s almost always worth trying to negotiate with a non-player character. Sometimes the starting offer or request will be substantially higher than what they are prepared to accept in trade and a little discussion can bring it down. An eternal usually has a list of things they want in return for the things they’re offering – assuming you’ve told them what the meeting is going to be about in advance of course.

	When I first shared this article, ~~James~~ Goffin queried how you can prepare when you don’t know for sure what the eternals goals are. I think in this regard what might be useful is thinking about what tools you have. “I can raise a [[Senate motion]]”, “I can put forward a [[Imperial Conclave\|Conclave]] [[declaration]]”, “I can influence the Synod”, “I can have someone assassinated”, “I can bring pressure to bear on the [[ambassador to Axos]], who I know you’ve had problems with in the past”, “I can acquire my body weight in [[dragonbone]]”, “I can rustle up a [[coven]] who can perform powerful rituals no questions asked”.		When I first shared this article, Cyan Goffin queried how you can prepare when you don’t know for sure what the eternals goals are. I think in this regard what might be useful is thinking about what tools you have. “I can raise a [[Senate motion]]”, “I can put forward a [[Imperial Conclave\|Conclave]] [[declaration]]”, “I can influence the Synod”, “I can have someone assassinated”, “I can bring pressure to bear on the [[ambassador to Axos]], who I know you’ve had problems with in the past”, “I can acquire my body weight in [[dragonbone]]”, “I can rustle up a [[coven]] who can perform powerful rituals no questions asked”.

	Even if the specific thing you can do isn’t immediately useful, it will still give us an idea of the ''kind'' of thing you’re offering. Saying you can have someone killed means we’re likely to tilt the encounter in a different direction than if you said you could arrange for the Synod to interfere in something.		Even if the specific thing you can do isn’t immediately useful, it will still give us an idea of the ''kind'' of thing you’re offering. Saying you can have someone killed means we’re likely to tilt the encounter in a different direction than if you said you could arrange for the Synod to interfere in something.

Rafferty: /* And Finally */

2022-05-14T12:11:49Z

And Finally

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:11, 14 May 2022
Line 107:		Line 107:

	I think the key thing to remember is that at the end of the day we want the same thing you do – to provide a cool response, most likely a cool encounter, that moves the game forward in a cool way, and encourages as many as people to do things in the field and make significant choices.		I think the key thing to remember is that at the end of the day we want the same thing you do – to provide a cool response, most likely a cool encounter, that moves the game forward in a cool way, and encourages as many as people to do things in the field and make significant choices.
			==Further Reading==
			* [[Eternals]] - a handy list of the eternals with an active interest in the Empire, but realm
			* [[Archmage#Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - the game information about the Archmage power
			* [[:Category:Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - A list with links to all the [[#Plenipotentiary\|plenipotentiary]] Winds of Fortune

Rafferty at 11:59, 14 May 2022

2022-05-14T11:59:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:59, 14 May 2022
Line 64:		Line 64:

	On a related note, we say “eternals are not gods” a lot and we really mean it. Eternals can do a lot, but they aren’t omnipotent. They’re much closer to being powerful magicians than they are to being divine spirits – and one of the reasons their aid usually comes at a cost is because in terms of the narrative they are expending a lot of their own resources to achieve the things they do, even if that expenditure happens below the abstraction layer.		On a related note, we say “eternals are not gods” a lot and we really mean it. Eternals can do a lot, but they aren’t omnipotent. They’re much closer to being powerful magicians than they are to being divine spirits – and one of the reasons their aid usually comes at a cost is because in terms of the narrative they are expending a lot of their own resources to achieve the things they do, even if that expenditure happens below the abstraction layer.
	<div style="float:right; width: ~~300px~~; clear: right;">{{CaptionedImage\|file=Cursed Frogurt.png\|caption=Very rarely the frogurt will not be cursed, but that might just be because you've ''already'' been saddled with the cursed murder doll and the eternal feels you've suffered enough. Don't bank on it though. Also I've just learned [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_III this episode] is thirty years old and I worry my pop-culture references might not be pop-culture enough any more.\|align=right\|width=~~300~~}}</div>		<div style="float:right; width: 400px; clear: right;">{{CaptionedImage\|file=Cursed Frogurt.png\|caption=Very rarely the frogurt will not be cursed, but that might just be because you've ''already'' been saddled with the cursed murder doll and the eternal feels you've suffered enough. Don't bank on it though. Also I've just learned [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_III this episode] is thirty years old and I worry my pop-culture references might not be pop-culture enough any more.\|align=right\|width=400}}</div>

	===Be Prepared to Trade===		===Be Prepared to Trade===

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:58, 22 May 2023
Line 108:		Line 108:
	I think the key thing to remember is that at the end of the day we want the same thing you do – to provide a cool response, most likely a cool encounter, that moves the game forward in a cool way, and encourages as many as people to do things in the field and make significant choices.		I think the key thing to remember is that at the end of the day we want the same thing you do – to provide a cool response, most likely a cool encounter, that moves the game forward in a cool way, and encourages as many as people to do things in the field and make significant choices.
	==Further Reading==		==Further Reading==
	* [[Eternal]] - a handy list of the eternals with an active interest in the Empire, ~~but~~ realm		* [[Eternal]] - a handy list of the eternals with an active interest in the Empire, by realm
	* [[Archmage#Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - the game information about the Archmage power		* [[Archmage#Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - the game information about the Archmage power
	* [[:Category:Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - A list with links to all the [[#Plenipotentiary\|plenipotentiary]] Winds of Fortune		* [[:Category:Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - A list with links to all the [[#Plenipotentiary\|plenipotentiary]] Winds of Fortune

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:25, 22 May 2023
Line 108:		Line 108:
	I think the key thing to remember is that at the end of the day we want the same thing you do – to provide a cool response, most likely a cool encounter, that moves the game forward in a cool way, and encourages as many as people to do things in the field and make significant choices.		I think the key thing to remember is that at the end of the day we want the same thing you do – to provide a cool response, most likely a cool encounter, that moves the game forward in a cool way, and encourages as many as people to do things in the field and make significant choices.
	==Further Reading==		==Further Reading==
	* [[~~Eternals~~]] - a handy list of the eternals with an active interest in the Empire, but realm		* [[Eternal]] - a handy list of the eternals with an active interest in the Empire, but realm
	* [[Archmage#Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - the game information about the Archmage power		* [[Archmage#Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - the game information about the Archmage power
	* [[:Category:Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - A list with links to all the [[#Plenipotentiary\|plenipotentiary]] Winds of Fortune		* [[:Category:Plenipotentiary\|Plenipotentiary]] - A list with links to all the [[#Plenipotentiary\|plenipotentiary]] Winds of Fortune