The Exchange, Simplified

Thought I'd do a bit of a write up of the new, more simplified Exchange.

First, a note; it is worth noting that while the party has a theoretical control over the Exchange, they effectively function more as consultants.  Bear with me here; the fact is while you guys are off adventuring, Bonebreaker and Oghren are actually running the Exchange day to day (and keeping it afloat, I might add), thus while you have a degree of nominal control, the extent to which that reaches is literally variable on a case to case basis.  At the very least you have to run any major decisions by them to get them done. 

I did NOT set this up specifically to remove control of the Exchange from you, but rather to make the running of it while you are off adventuring both A: Be possible and B: Make sense.  There are, of course, other ways you guys could re-arrange this situation to place people more loyal to you in charge, but that is at your purview. 

The Exchange has a large number of mediocre Weavers working for it.  All of the skilled Weavers have fled the nation, as well as the two Archweavers.  Yes, both.

The Exchange also got quite lucky on dice rolls recently and thanks to oratory skills and some blackmail and threats, has a reasonable group of Movers, Sellers, and Buyers now currently employed.  Note: All employees of the Exchange at all levels have their salary taken out of a figure I'm not even going to show you guys, or to put it into plain terms; the gross.  The only number I plan on showing you guys is the net.  If that still doesn't make sense, don't sweat it.

You have the entirety of the Hidden Veil at your disposal for storage, meeting places, rest areas, crafting, underground bloodsports, or virtually anything else used for.

You also have a large office building referred to as Passing Through, which is the legitimate front for the Exchange and serves as your party's direct office, and all that implies.  Ursolan, your Drudge liason to Lady Lightmane, frequents this office, and Van also has his desk here.  

The Exchange also has political ties to Lady Lightmane, a trade agreement with the Slates in Ritholme, and potentially a lien on a boat in Janwall.  The Exchange is also known to a minimum of three competing Blocs.  The Slates, who have Ritholme and most of the surrounding area.  The Runners, who have their fingers in Irondell and Janwall.  And the Naverre Raiders, who run pretty much the entire Yaraq state as of now and are lead by Atacul of Aggressor, the first Warlord to dub the name after the Undermarket's collapse.

Finally, the Exchange has 4 Agents they can send on any specialized missions.  For the purposes of simplicity we are going to refer to these agents purely by their numbers; One, Two, Three, and Four.  I will be keeping track of some VERY rough stats of theirs, but bottom line is the success and degree of success of these missions will be all on my side of things, and I will inform you of how missions go.

Don't believe I'm missing anything.

We're going to have to widen our network to at least one whole nation before we even bother with Atacul. And the Runners, we're gonna take care of them first.

Bloodsport...yeah, when we were at that one desert town, at the inn with those enchanted scenery rooms, I wanna go with morbid curiosity when it comes to Rory's motivation behind his little experiment. And moodiness.

Gonna have to get those Weavers trained. Kolson, was Weaving also one of your sister's talents, or just yours?

So I am the one responsible for hiring these new guys, huh? I knew it! I am all powerful! AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

But seriously, did I use blackmail and threats? And how can the Naverre Raiders be aware of us? They are in another nation... unless they are also who I don't want them to be. Which would suck for us.

And while I am at it, Zeiss is going to assemble all these new employees in a place in the Hidden Veil and give a little speech, with his remaining bodyguard at his right and one of these fine agents on his left (the one with the most social stats).

"Welcome to all of you. You can refer to me as Alando of Shadowstep. To those who don't know, you now find yourselves in the Hidden Veil, where the Exchange resides. If I am talking to you right now, it is simply to greet you and explain a few things. First and foremost : our people look out for each other. As members of the Exchange, your efforts are necessary to the betterment of not only this organization, but also to every nations on this continent, whether their leaders want to admit it or not. This is why we will make sure that you are treated fairly and rewarded appropriately for your efforts, as it should be.

Secondly : all of what you learn about the Exchange must stay, of course, within the ears of the members of this organization. You can tell your loved ones the nature of your job, but all details are better left unspoken. Competing factions might want to learn about our operation here and it is more efficient for us to have them stumble in the dark. I don't think I need to elaborate more on that.

And lastly : your first assignment. You are to prepare the caravans that will transport the Exchange's goods. I will leave the coordination of this work to all of you and examine the result of your efforts. Oghren, who mainly serves now as the Exchange's bookkeeper, will be the one that will oversee the costs of the acquisitions you make. And please, try not to make any mistake? If you do, Oghren will chase me all around the Veil to have my head."

Zeiss smiles a little.


"But before you go, I will let [insert name of the agent here] show you our facilities. I wouldn't want you to get lost on your first day. As of me, I still have a lot of work to do. Have a good day."

He makes a little bow then leaves with is bodyguard.

After that, Zeiss is going to send an agent (the one with who is the most likely to survive any encounter) to Ritholme with a letter written by Zeiss on a fine papyrus, which is also sealed by some wax with ZEISS' MAGICAL SIGNET RING, the one that cost me 800gp a long time ago (that was 800gp right? whatever, I remember it was REALLY expensive). The seal looks looks like this. If you're wondering what exactly is wrapping around the 7 straight lines, these are roots. I can't draw it with Paint.

The content of the letter:

Knowledge politics +11 (take 20 if possible??? it's knowledge, so I'm not sure) to see if Gretta would appreciate it if my letter was written in Dwarven. I do remember she had a strong accent while talking in common. Maybe she would prefer to read something written in her native language?

Cause Zeiss knows six languages and I want it to be useful dammit!

I will then tell the agent to avoid the "passage collectors" if possible. And also to go to the inn in Ritholme to find a Slates representative.

Then Zeiss is going to be looking for guards that would protect caravans. Roll knowledge politics if necessary (which I assume is not). 

There there, my post is done. I think. Be on the lookout for edits.

One will be the agent you send to Ritholme, and he is officially on assignment now.  Oh and yes the letter would be better received in Dwarven.

Two is the one doing the tour.

As for guards?  You can recruit Refugees (who will need to be armed), or locals (who will be expensive).

Hmm, interesting. Writing the letter in Dwarven then.

I suppose that arming refugees might cost us more in the short-term, but less in the long-term? And vice versa? What about being trustworthy? Can I use any of my skills to determine that? If so, just look at my signature, everything is there.

Thank you again.

Edit : when you say there are "rest areas" in the Veil, I suppose it includes bedrooms? If so, I would ask politely Bonebreaker (or Oghren, whoever is more likely to take care of that sort of thing) if I could receive one.

You can have a 'barracks' of sorts sectioned off in the Veil for you if you want.  But getting one room isn't an issue, though it won't be the most luxurious of accommodations.

As for trustworthy?  That's always a dice roll, no matter who you hire, and if you actually want to interview each guard individually (I'll let you) it'll take longer to find people who you think will be loyal.  Like, a lot longer.  Might cost more too.

Let's have a small section of the Veil cut off so that we have around a dozen of bedrooms. A good bed is enough for Zeiss, no need for luxury. If there was also a desk in it, it would be appreciated.

Can I ask Van to take care of the interviews of these people we want to hire as guards? I would also like to assign the remaining two agents to this task so that they can assist him (hope they have good social stats and if they don't, that's a good copportunity to get better at it!). I expect them to write a report for each individual, which is more like a summary of the interview and their impression. Van can add some notes to it, if he feels he needs to do so.

Also, going to try to mix things up a little : we are going to hire refugees and locals, fifty-fifty (or as near as possible to that number).

Two specific questions must also be asked :

-"Do you know anything about the Pinnacle?"

-"Do you know anything about the Vyeotians?"

If Van wants to know why I want these questions asked, I'll tell him. If not, I'll just tell him to be careful of the people that lie when answering these questions (the two agents should be able to protect him, I guess). If the interviewees also ask why we are asking them these questions, Van should tell them that me, Alando of Shadowstep, has made this special request.

And if Van still doesn't know about these two factions, he would not have to lie when answering the candidates' question.

And now, to JANWALL!

Rory wrote:Gonna have to get those Weavers trained. Kolson, was Weaving also one of your sister's talents, or just yours?

Just mine. Her talents lie in other directions including academia, fencing for self defense, and traps so she doesn't get killed on her expeditions.

@Zeiss: I flat refuse to individually type up responses to all your interviews.  Sorry. lol

However, Van can and will deal with this (he's getting good at this middle manager stuff) if he has Kolson's approval.

Also, Bonebreaker has no trouble setting aside a small living area that houses about 10 small but comfortable bedrooms for the party.

I also don't believe Van would ask why you're asking about these two words he's never heard of before.

*LAUGHING* I wasn't asking you to write these reports. It's just a way for me to know if there is any detail that do not fit and that I can review. So when I get these reports, I can roll a INT check or whatever to weed out the potential spies and untrustworthy. I prefer keeping this like it was so far : simple.

I'll say thanks to Bonebreaker for the bedrooms.

And now, let's wait for the others player to get ready to go to Janwall, if they even are coming. Because that's what Zeiss is going to do.

Thanks for the post.

Edit : Zeiss is going to go see Kolson and be like, yo hommie, your buddy wants your yeah say for talking to these bare footed hungry people so that we can, you know, hire them!

Sure, Van can help. Just keep him safe okay?

Also, hire whoever you need. We need to get bigger, there's just no way around that.