380YE Summer Solstice winds of fortune
Interlude
The Summer Equinox winds of fortune will come out shortly before the next event. However, there are a number of significant things arising from the Spring Equinox that will affect players' Downtime actions, primarily effects on personal resources.
As a temporary measure we'll be outlining, and offering some context for, these various effects on this page. In each case, there will be further information in the Summer Solstice Winds of Fortune - once they're ready, they'll replace this content.
As always, these are quick OOC summaries to explain effects you may not be expecting. We'll cover all these and more when we start to present the Winds of Fortune for next event.
So without further ado ...
Empress Lisabetta
During the Spring Equinox, the Senate recognised the League citizen Lisabetta Giacomi von Holberg of the House of Seven Mirrors as the twentieth Throne of the Empire. The new Empress will be formally crowned during the Summer Solstice. This is as good a time as any to take a look at the Throne page, I suggest.
This, for me, is the second big milestone of the campaign - along with the Imperial Orcs homeland. If nothing else, it will shake up the political game dramatically having someone who can wield power in the Conclave, Senate, Synod, and Military Council at the same time. Paragons keep you, your Imperial Majesty, and may you reign long and well ;)
Winds of War
As always, the orders given by the generals have been entered into the database. Any player with a military unit can check them out using the "support" action. Likewise, any fleet can check the order given by the admiral for the Freeborn Storm. There's a lot of theatres this downtime, with Imperial forces mustering on three of the four borders in multiple territories so there's lots of options - and remember you can also assign military units to support fortifications and spy networks.
Sarvos
The Grendel have plundered Sarvos. The national assembly of the League has triggering a popular uprising against their forces encouraged by both Leopold Von Holberg, and by the Mayor of Caricomare Aria Notturno di Sarvos. These two events combine to mean that all personal resources in Sarvos except fleets and military units will suffer a three-quarters reduction in production for next event. Fleets and military units do not escape - they lose half their production or fighting strength as appropriate to the action they take.
I'm not going to give you any more details at this time, apart from to say that the uprising kicks off shortly after the Spring Equinox; the fighting is vicious; and the whole thing is made more confusing by some sparkling, magical chaos fog. No, not the same fog as covers the rest of the northern Bay. Different fog.
Reikos and Courage
Yael heads to Reikos with a very large sack of liao to denounce the teachings of prophet Golan (as detailed in Synod Judgement #9 - you can learn more about these and other judgements of the Synod here). This restores the spiritual status quo.
At the same time, Lucifer of Highguard heads up there with a sack of liao to offer courage, comfort, and surcease of sorrow to the survivors of Reikos (as detailed in Judgement 29). This turns out to be fairly timely as at the height of the Spring Equinox Reikos explodes. Plants, animate mushroom people, and a swirling thick fog pour out of Tamarbode and blanket the entire territory. Trees start growing. It's chaos! But it is a chaos that the people of Reikos are able to weather without difficulty thanks to the courage of the priests in their midst. The plants and toadstool people are not hostile to Imperials - quite the contrary, they are unfailingly polite and claim to have been invited - but they are very weird indeed and it looks like the whole map of Reikos is being reordered.
We'll learn more about both of these events come the next event, I should imagine. We're also planning a mild rewrite of the Reikos page to reflect the changes there.
Roads and YTS Scehemes and such
The roads of Karsk are completed - every mine and forest owner in Karsk should be sharing a massive bounty of additional ingots and measures. These don't show up on your downtime as an effect, however - because of the way a great work operates, the bonus production is calculated and applied after downtime closes.
The same applies to the College of the Liberated in Sarvos - the Jarmish orc ex-slaves are being taught Imperial, and bringing in opportunities for prosperity. Again, as a great work, this does not show up on your downtime and gets processed after downtime closes.
Curses
I feel a little like a weather reporter but ... terrible weather hits Bregasland, Upwold, and Mitwold - and flattens the spring planting. Half the production of all farms, just as the Marcher farmers try to get back on their feet. At the same time Casinea has very hot weather and little rain that kills large numbers of baby plants and makes people want to go sit in the shade with a cool pint of lager top, rather than plant fields. It's the same effect as in the Marches, but I don't want to jinx the weather for next event if I can avoid it (given Anvil is in Casinea).
On the subject of hot weather ... the potential floods that threatened Tassato have receded a bit, but now the weather has turned hot and malicious again - making magicians surly and sapping the production of every mana site in the territory.
Finally, someone has unleashed malignant spirits into Spiral - and everything that can go wrong will go wrong. All farms, forests, businesses, mines, mana sites and herb gardens in the territory provide only three quarters as much material as they would normally provide.
Hallow of the Green World
It's not all bad news however ... the Empire is also under the effect of the awesomely powerful Hallow the Green World, a potent enchantment that enhances all growth. The mechanical, personal effect is a bonus of three herbs (in this case Cerulean Mazzarine) to every herb garden in the Empire - and because the target is the Empire it stacks with any smaller-scale enchantments as well.
In addition, fertility increases across the Empire for animals, plants and people. While this is not immediately noticeable, in coming seasons there will be many more healthy children born. So now is the perfect time to start thinking about an IC family ;)
On a related note, a Rivers of Life effect has been placed on Kharaman. With the high waters and the conjunction, the waters that flow out of the Cinnabar Peaks into the Bay are bringing extra life-giving power with them. This means that every farm and herb garden in Kahraman, Segura and Madruga receives extra production - more than might have been expected thanks to unforseen synergy between the Rivers of Life and the Green World.
There may be more effects than this, obviously - especially if all the "spring magic causes Briar children!" hysteria has any grounding. We'll find out more about that in one or more Winds of Fortune I suspect.
Across the Seven Seas
First off ... all Urizen fleets that engage in privateering or trade in the coming season receive a small bounty of extra resources, and the opportunity to tell tall tales of how they got it. You should take a look at this page for more explanation about what is going on.
Now let's talk about international relations.
- Zemeh (Sumaah Republic) remains closed to Imperial fleets.
- Nemoria (Asavean Archipelago) remains very friendly, enthused about news of a temple in Feroz (you can learn about that here), and generally happy to see Imperial captains.
- Rigia (Eastern Principalities of Jarm) is doing very well - there's talk of an Imperial temple even - and there continue to be opportunities for Imperial captains to get extra green iron - although less than there were last season.
- Kavor and Vezak (Northern and Southern Principalities of Jarm) are warming up to the Empire again - or distracted by shinier scandals, whichever. This means that production from these ports is nearly back to normal and expected to normalise by the Summer Solstice.
- Leerdam and Volkavaar (East and West Commonwealth) are also warming up to the Empire - the appointment of a Commonwealth ambassador has had an immediate positive effect. The penalties for Imperial fleets trading with these ports have both dropped - although there are still a few remaining problems to be addressed. More relevantly. the port of Volkavaar has ceased providing crystal mana to captains who visit - instead it is providing vials of artisan's oil.
- The Sarcophan Delves remain at status quo.
- No new ports have been opened.