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Mind-bogglingly popular game series that you follow from early on and cannot stop, waiting for new installment like a drooling addict.

Long-runner soap opera you're too invested into to just stop watching it.

A fun little comic strip in the daily newspaper that's been around forever.

3/6

Who said it's fun? I didn't for sure.

I'm just waiting here for it to die horribly already so it will stop showing on my Unread Posts list.

[Haspen]

You accept the donations and, for another year, do not issue another Edict.

Spring, 1180 AD

As you prepare to leave for Kingdom of Cydwyl to join your husband in the annicersary, the gate guards arrive, bringing news that you have visitors; a young writer of some renown, Gaul Kendrych, wants to obtain Crown's sponsorship for an innovative choral piece he wants to write and present before the court.

The other is a delegation from Gubtan court, here to talk - or rather, complain - about the simply inadequate amount of money they get for their spices and which is apparently throttled by your Trade Commission so that you profit more.

You decide to...

A) Grant audience to the young artist first.
B) Listen to complains of the Gubta first.

[Rockeater]

B

[Hotfire90]

B

[Weirdsound]

B

Lets test our new Charisma artifact.

[mightymushroom]

B

[Criptfeind]

What does the trade commission actually do? Are we getting bonuses to our rolls with them? A flat increase in trade income?

[Weirdsound]

Our rolls on foreign trade have looked consistently better since we enacted it. But we don't see mods on the "2to5" looking rolls, so we cannot be sure.

[omada]

B

[helmacon]

B

[mightymushroom]

I think it makes our (foreign?) trade rolls better, but it seems to do that not by a +N but by shifting (some of ?) the outcome ranges in our favor. So we get the same profit from, say, 2to5 that we would have on a 4to5 without the commission.

Or at least that was my impression when several of my budget tracking numbers shifted at the time we enacted it. Necessary disclaimer, though, I deleted my old notes, so my recall of exact numbers is hazy. They may be idiosyncratic for each deal.

The down side is that our foreign partners have been consistently unhappy with the commission's practices. They can and have canceled deals, thus losing that income. Our current budget runs about +2 even before frequent happiness contributions, I don't necessarily approve but I think we could survive its repeal with minor belt tightening.

[Haspen]

The Gubtans enter, their gaudily colored clothes swishing on their large bellies.

"Oh, great Empress, we come on behalf of spice traders in Gubta. The money that your merchants offer every year for our marvelous powders and roots is simply a joke! They shield themselves with some Commission that apparently has your support and blessing. While your merchants profit most disgustingly, our merchants cannot even feed their families."

The Commissioner of Trade is brought in, and is told Gubtan complaints.

"I do not see a problem, Lady Empress. Our Commission is to ensure protection for our merchants and establish best profits for the Treasury from foreign trade, and to stop merchants from other nations to profit on our cost with unwelcome practices like price gouging or such. Yearly profits that come into your Treasury from spices, Lady Empress, wouldn't be this good if we would let Gubtan merchants have a greater say in the deal."

A) The Commissioner is right, our profits are the important part in this!
B) Gubta must be appeased; let's make it slightly harsher for them!

[crazyabe]

...Is there an actually Appease the Gubta merchants option? I'm reading "No change" and "Ask the trade commission to find some way to screw even More cash out of the Gubtans" as the two options for some odd reason...

[Kashyyk]

C Concessions for Gubta

[ZBridges]

C Concessions for Gubta

+1

[helmacon]

A

Lets break in the amulet of charisma.