Ministry Monitor

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Ministry Monitor
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Type	Warship
Stats	70 Hull
Location	The Reach, Albion, more rarely Eleutheria

St Dominic's station is thick with crowds. A brass band plays. The cause of the excitement is an unfamiliar locomotive in Imperial blue. A delicate, gleaming craft whose elongated nose houses an array of lenses. A top-hatted official from the Ministry of Public Decency is delivering a speech. "...the first of a fleet of new Monitor-class locomotives! They will be Her Majesty's watchdogs, scouring the skies for the enemies of Albion!"

Ministry Monitors are the latest vessels in Her Enduring Majesty's arsenal. Answering directly to the The Ministry of Public Decency, they begin appearing in Albion and The Reach after visiting London for the first time. Their deployment in the Winchester War spurs the Tacketies to respond in kind. They are more common in the Reach when the Stovepipes are in the ascendant, very common in Albion especially near Perdurance and the Mausoleum, and rare but occasionally spotted in Eleutheria. Certain smuggling prospects which warn that the destination is closely watched probably increase the spawn rate of Monitors near the destination; this may be the only time that Monitors spawn in Eleutheria.

Description

The Monitor's hull is curved to deflect incoming rounds, but its plating is much lighter than that of a London dreadnought. The bridge is cramped, crammed with state-of-the-art sensory equipment. You put your eye to the main scope, and it flings your sight through the Monitor's precisely-aligned lenses and away to a distant stretch of the sky. The stars are bright and close. You step back, bumping into a control panel. "Careful," warns a watchful crewman, "that's the gun." Just one? you ask. He grins. "Oh, she only needs the one."

Ministry Monitors are swift locomotives that fires a fast projectile that deals 9 damage. During firing, their line of sights can be seen in a form of a line. They are initially neutral to the player until fired upon, and will also immediately become hostile if the player is carrying any contraband.

If you can surprise them, Monitors are good targets to take on in the mid to late game. Closing and unleashing your salvos into their long sides is a good tactic. Their armour is relatively weak and while their projectiles are accurate, fast and painful, if you are at close range you can destroy the Monitor before it can turn to fire on you. Their loot is relatively valuable given the ease with which you can destroy them particularly if you have unlocked smuggling and can sell contraband, or if you are looking for the chance to obtain Cryptic Benefactors or Unlicensed Charts.

A Ministry Monitor, Defeated

A Ministry Monitor, Defeated
Category	Story Event
Type	Story
Data ID	315666

The Ministry's Monitors are delicate, elongated vessels housing a telescopic array of lenses and sounding-devices. In addition to aiding the Revenue Men in tracking smugglers, they perform other, less public, services for Her Majesty.

Interactions

Actions	Requirements	Effects			Notes
Search for confiscated contraband Monitor captains are either very well-informed, or possess a sixth sense for contraband. Their holds are often full of confiscated illegal goods.	Looting ≤ 33 Veils challenge (84 for 100%)	Failed event			Advanced alteration value probably needs examination. Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
		Meagre pickings The Monitor must have had a quiet patrol. The hold is empty, but your search party manages to recover some inexpensive personal effects from the crew cabins. Watches, rings, etcetera. 40+(1 to 40) x Sovereign Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
		Successful event
		Red gold You find several firkins of red honey in a locked compartment. Red honey allows the imbiber to crawl into and excavate the lives of those it is collected from. It is a popular substance among writers, and anyone else who cannibalises the lives of others for professional betterment.	Take the Red Honey [Be warned: carrying contraband across regions or into a central station risks attracting the attention of the Revenue Men.] Game note: Be warned: carrying contraband across regions or into a central station risks attracting the attention of the Revenue Men.	You order the firkins rolled aboard your locomotive and wonder, idly, whose life you would inhabit if you tasted the honey. A soot-lunged factory worker? A gloomy poet? A solemn society lady? Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate (1 to 2) x Firkin of Red Honey
			Leave it and look for less risky contraband instead There may be something less valuable, but also less scrutinised, for you to claim.	Other, less traceable, goods find their way into the hold of a Monitor. Sacks of newly-grown Reach vegetables that have yet to be assessed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Fungal moonshine from unlicensed stills. You help yourself. Meagre pickings but easy to convert into liquid cash. 75+(1 to 75) x Sovereign Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
Search for confiscated contraband Monitor captains are either distressingly well-informed, or possess a sixth sense for contraband. Their holds are often full of confiscated illegal goods.	Looting ≥ 34 and ≤ 66 Veils challenge (84 for 100%)	Failed event			Advanced alteration value probably needs examination. Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
		Meagre pickings The Monitor must have had a quiet patrol. The hold is empty, but your search party manages to recover some inexpensive personal effects from the crew cabins. Watches, rings, etcetera. 40+(1 to 40) x Sovereign Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
		Successful event
		Page and ink In the hold you find stacks of illicit literature; works too lurid, or sensational, or frank for the Information Office to allow into general publication.	Take the Illicit Literature [Be warned: carrying contraband across regions or into a central station risks attracting the attention of the Revenue Men.] Game note: Be warned: carrying contraband across regions or into a central station risks attracting the attention of the Revenue Men.	You order the literature carried back to your locomotive. Within days, the racier books are being passed furtively around the cabins. Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate (1 to 2) x Trunk of Illicit Literature -2 x Terror
			Take less dangerous contraband There may be something less valuable, but also less scrutinised, for you to claim.	Other, less traceable, goods find their way into the hold of a Monitor. Sacks of newly-grown Reach vegetables that have yet to be assessed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Fungal moonshine from unlicensed stills. You help yourself. Meagre pickings but easy to convert into liquid cash. 75+(1 to 75) x Sovereign Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
Search for confiscated contraband Monitor captains are either very well-informed, or possess a sixth sense for contraband. Their holds are often full of confiscated illegal goods.	Looting ≥ 67 Veils challenge (84 for 100%)	Failed event			Advanced alteration value probably needs examination. Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
		Meagre pickings The Monitor must have had a quiet patrol. The hold is empty, but your search party manages to recover some inexpensive personal effects from the crew cabins. Watches, rings, etcetera. 40+(1 to 40) x Sovereign Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
		Successful event
		Jars of starshine They were raked from limpid Eleutherian pools, and glow, soft and familiar. Enjoyed unwisely, the light of stars visible from old Earth can provoke transports of all-consuming nostalgia. The captain kept them in his cabin for safekeeping.	Take the Starshine [Be warned: carrying contraband across regions or into a central station risks attracting the attention of the Revenue Men.] Game note: Be warned: carrying contraband across regions or into a central station risks attracting the attention of the Revenue Men.	You order your crew to take them back to your locomotive, and are very clear about what you'll do to anyone you caught sampling them. Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate (1 to 2) x Hogshead of Starshine
			Take less dangerous contraband There may be something less valuable, but also less scrutinised, for you to claim.	Other, less traceable, goods find their way into the hold of a Monitor. Sacks of newly-grown Reach vegetables that have yet to be assessed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Fungal moonshine from unlicensed stills. You help yourself. Meagre pickings but easy to convert into liquid cash. 75+(1 to 75) x Sovereign Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
Search for Ministry secrets Each Monitors' captain has strict protocols to dispose of the contents of their safe in the event of capture. Are you fast enough to get there first?	Mirrors challenge (67 for 100%)	Failed event			Advanced alteration value probably needs examination. Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
		Too late An acrid stink pollutes the cabin's cabin. The safe is open. Within, an unstoppered glass vial has been tipped onto a stack of papers. They smoke and curl. Most of the information is destroyed, leaving only a handful of unsettling excerpts. (1 to 3) x Tale of Terror Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate
		Successful event
		With time to spare Perhaps the captain was killed in the battle. Perhaps, when the time came, they valued their own life more highly than the Ministry's secrets. Regardless, the files are intact. Sweet Jane's Vengeance x Charred Stovepipe Nameplate Triggers event:  Ministry Materials