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| The Political Machine | |
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| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 279248 |
The Political Machine is a Sunless Skies Story Event.
Story description[]
"It is A Long Time In Politics(Day) "
Trigger conditions[]
Area: Limbo
Frequency: Always (100%)
Interactions[]
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deliver a stirring speech in the House
You will convince them in advance that this bill should be law.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| A damp squib of an announcement
Boo! Boo! You slink away, tail between your legs and notes ready for the fireplace.
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| Successful event | ||||
| The House rocks with applause
You appeal to their patriotism. You stir their souls. You paint them a picture of a better world. Where necessary, you even talk about the actual bill.
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| Dig up dirt on a rival MP
An Ambitious Orator has set his sights on you. He must be dealt with.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| A failed attempt at blackmail
What's that, he demands? You think you have what? Oh, please. No, go and tell everyone. See how much they care. He slaps you hard on the back, wishing you better luck next time.
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| Successful event | ||||
| A masterful moral assassination
The clerks of your Ministry come through with style. You just have to wait for a quiet moment with the fellow, where as a friend, you persuade him that another, most uncivilised MP, is about to release details of his recent visit to Magdalene's. He leaves in a hurry.
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| Intimidate the backbenchers
They squabble so. Let them put their voices to good use.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Arguments from authority
Your relatively junior status in Parliament doesn't go unnoticed. The only backbenchers who don't outright refuse your orders are the ones too busy laughing to respond.
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| Successful event | ||||
| Laying down the law
A careful series of threats and bribes does your dirty work better than you could have hoped. The yapping hordes eat up your words and agree to support you. Alone they may not be enough to push your agenda through, but it certainly won't hurt.
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| Conduct a survey of the protestors outside
Carefully selecting the questions should produce the right answers.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| The worst possible outcome
You send out a couple of your staff to conduct a survey. They return, proudly announcing that they have gathered the truth. The truth! What political survey ever sought the truth?
The Loquacious Civil Servant explains the art of asking questions that will get the answers you actually want, but it is too late. Worse, opponents of your bill have already seen the results and know exactly how much support it has amongst the people.
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| Successful event | ||||
| An effortless sweep
With the help of your attractive staff, scrubbed up and pushed into suits they will never be able to afford, you put the key questions to the protesters outside. No one wants to disappoint the attractive, smiling people in front of them, and you receive the answers your questions demanded.
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| Commission a voyage into the Flooded Cellars
A few gifts of some pre-Fall wine will turn opinion in a hurry.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| A disaster in the cellar
There are small rowboats near the wine cellar entrance, down the stone steps into the freezing water. Yours soon capsizes, leaving you half drowning in the dark. Fortunately another boat on a quest for a fabled stock of crackers and cheese shows up before the hypothermia takes you. You return shivering, soaked and empty handed.
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| Successful event | ||||
| Into the dark
There are small rowboats near the wine cellar entrance, down the stone steps into the freezing water. There is no light down here but whatever torches you bring.
The rowboat clinks against bottles fallen from the many shelves. Greyfields 1882. Morelways 1872. The Master known as Mr Wines liked to use the cold of the Stolen River to keep its favourites at the right temperature. You emerge with enough to keep the whole House tipsy.
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| Leak compromising information to the press
Your 'friend' the Phlegmatic Journalist is usually willing to be a conduit.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Leaking disaster
You weave an epic story of corruption and salvation, but the Phlegmatic Journalist is unmoved. The small newspaper he prints already has enough of those, some of them even real. He falls asleep in the corner before you can bore him further.
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| Successful event | ||||
| A satisfying business meeting
All leaks take place in the Estranged Bar. The Phlegmatic Journalist is happy to spread the word about your bill in exchange for a little 'fresh bacon' on your fellow Ministers.
True or not, it hardly matters. The squalid little rag he and his colleagues crank out between liquid lunches may be read by everybody in Highminster, but it's taken seriously by nobody. You weave a fanciful tale and are credited as 'a source close to the First Secretary'. It is a scrupulously honest title. Everyone is in close proximity, here.
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| Invent a good sob story to sway opinion
A real one would be preferable, but time is marching on.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Deflated in falsehood
Your civil servant flubs her script from the start. Nobody buys her story of woe and tragedy. When one of the backbenchers recognises her, the gig is over. You both flee the House to a chorus of boos and a rain of crumpled white papers.
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| Successful event | ||||
| Tears in the house
Your tale of a woe that could have been prevented by your law hits its target. While your civil servant is uncomfortable with the lie, she sticks to the script and pockets a most generous bonus at Parliament's expense.
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| Seek a celebrity backer for your bill
There must be someone who will put their famous face next to it.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Making a celebrity
Your attempts to put a face on your bill with Walter the Hastily Assembled Democracy Camel go about as well as Walter's construction. The two of you are chased out of the House, with the Speaker announcing that should Walter ever re-appear, it is to be immediately set on fire.
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| Successful event | ||||
| A little improvisation
There are no celebrities around, but one of your civil servants still has a signed picture of the beloved Kashmiri Princess from the days of Old London. Some careful scissor work, a manufactured quote, and some decorative trimming later your campaign has a figurehead that none can argue with (and who will hopefully never find out).
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| Conduct a bribery campaign
The best part is that it's such accepted corruption, you can put it on expenses.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| The art of bribery
Somehow your offer of a bribe sparks your fellow ministers' morals. Much to their own surprise, they bristle at the mere thought of it. The fact that there is so little to buy here probably has something to do with it.
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| Successful event | ||||
| The oldest convincer
Every MP you approach sniffs, bristles, and makes it abundantly clear that they cannot be bought, they cannot be influenced, and they cannot be corrupted for a small brown envelope of cash.
But a large brown envelope? That's different.
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| Attempt to clear out the competition
If your opponents don't make the vote, that's hardly your fault.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| A failed exodus
It is surprisingly difficult to get rid of MPs. Most of them have managed, over the years, to mould the leather seats of the House into perfect receptacles for their buttocks: a comfort they are reluctant to yield. Even the offer of a free introductory scourging at Carillon fails to move them, physically or emotionally.
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| Successful event | ||||
| A fact-finding mission to Eleutheria
Nothing clears out the House like an all-expenses paid trip. You carefully choose the lucky winners, who are coincidentally the most likely to disapprove of your bill. Most are so excited about the trip, they fail to notice the lack of a return ticket. A fine bonus.
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| Call upon the Chief Whip
They say the term used to be metaphorical. But these are modern times.
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Failed event |
Special is calculated as follows: (Parliamentary Status*10)+10 * 1.67 Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Rebellious elements
The Whips go into action. All seems to be going well, until a dispute breaks out in the peanut gallery. An open bag of flour lands hard on the table, coating you and the front benches in a coughing white cloud.
By the time the culprit has been tracked down and beaten by the Serjeant-at-Arms, there is no getting back on topic. The House is closed for emergency cleaning.
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| Successful event | ||||
| Sore, but compliant
There is much shuffling on the back-benches tonight. A few torn bits of clothing. But everyone comes to order on your command. They cheer when called on. They boo loud enough to drown out any opposition. You own the House this evening.
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| Take the new law before the House
You've done all you can. It's time to put it to the vote.
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Failed event |
Game note: Find more examples of the Will of the People to pass a new law | |
| Voted down
Despite your efforts, you are unable to convince the House to rubber-stamp your bill. As everyone files out in search of drinks, you see one of the First Secretary's clerks waiting for you in the corridor. She shakes her head, conveying her superior's disappointment.
Your Ministerial Department
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| Successful event | ||||
| A New Law is made!
Political Capital(HouseResponse) All that remains is to take it to the Throne of Hours, where the Empress will choose whether or not to grant it her royal stamp. As you file out of the House you see one of the First Secretary's clerks watching. She nods her head approvingly. Your status in Parliament is clearly on the rise.
Your Ministerial Department
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| Scare the House with a Tale of Terror
Fear has always been one of the best political motivators.
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Stories from afar
You paint the fascinated MPs a tale of the wonders and hardships outside of their parliamentary cocoon, taking care to sprinkle in a few embellishments when they seem to be on the verge of dozing off. It may not all sink in, but they won't quickly forget the gory details.
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Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Defang your rival with a 'generous' act
There are things you've heard, things you've learned, that could cause them trouble. You'll ensure that they cannot be shared further, without requiring anything in exchange.
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A careful word in the right place
As the embers of former blackmail materials drift away, you shake hands and confirm the support of your biggest rival. They had better remember.
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Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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| Impress the House with your experience
While they sit in the crumbling ruins of parliament, you have explored the stars. You've seen things they cannot face, cannot even contemplate. But perhaps they should try.
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Astonishing horrors
Few of the MPs have seen any more of the High Wilderness than could be glimpsed through the extra-thick stained glass of their luxury trains. Just hearing about some of the squirming horrors awaiting in the dark has them reaching for their handkerchiefs. If they weren't listening to you before, they certainly are now.
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Advanced alteration value probably needs examination.
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