Persuade His Amused Lordship

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ID: 240794

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From: Debating Matters of Business with the Board

He's affable. That doesn't make him easily persuaded.

Game Instructions: He is affected by Respectability. Other branches in this storylet may help to persuade him.

Unlocked with Board Member: His Amused Lordship

Locked with His Amused Lordship's Vote

Challenge information

Broad, Persuasive 100

• 69 - very chancy (41%)
• 85 - chancy (51%)
• 102 - modest (61%)
• 119 - very modest (71%)
• 135 - low-risk (81%)
• 152 - straightforward (91%)
• 167 - straightforward (100%)
  

Base difficulty is believed to be 100, increasing by 40 per point of Board against the Interests of Society, and 20 per point of Board against Own Financial Interests, Board against the University, and Board for the Fingerkings. Each point of Respectability Factor decreases the difficulty by 50.

Success

He agrees!

"Very well!" He is jovial as ever. "But you owe me one."

Description summary:
The text varies with the Question before the Board. The text above is the generic result; questions with more specific results are listed below.

[Find the rest of the story at https://www.fallenlondon.com]

Question	Success Description
3	"As long as I don't have to go out there myself," says His Amused Lordship with a chuckle. "There aren't enough wine cellars in the world to pay for that."
4	"Perhaps we might burn the grasses on the ground ahead," he says. "That might make it safe enough."
7	"I'd like to see the view from the top," […] "I think we should plan the line so that the train stops right above the lava flow, and perhaps serve meals or picnic lunches... if the bridge could bear any extra weight, we might add a viewing platform."
29	"By all means, let us get rid of him!" exclaims His Amused Lordship. "He has the methods of a poisoner and the manners of a dockyard dog."
100, 105	"Yes, yes, of course! What's a railway without stations? Why would this be a matter for question?"
115, 120	"It is certainly... ah." His Amused Lordship tilts his head at the plans. "Novel? I think we may call the plans novel."
130	"Ah! This is the sort of thing we might have been building all along," remarks His Amused Lordship. "Very superior to the other architect's drawings, I will say that. Without question."
140, 150	His Amused Lordship groans. "if we must," he says. "But it isn't at all the kind of thing I expected we would be doing."
160	His Amused Lordship approves the plans, though he's not overly pleased. "Suppose the cold does put a limit on how big the windows can be," he says with uncharacteristic sadness.
170	"Good! Why not!" exclaims His Amused Lordship. "Come along, let's get the vote passed, shall we?"
181 - 187	"A delightful experiment! I think I shall like to visit," says His Amused Lordship. "With an armed escort, perhaps," he adds, winking. "I vote aye."
205	"There might be a value in it," he concedes. "If we need to mount an expedition to the Upper River, for instance."
300, 320 - 340	"Having a clear Charter is the first requirement of a well-run business," says His Amused Lordship. "I might quibble with a few lines, but I can accept this if it is in line with the news of the rest."
400	"Yes, dividends!" He considers the accounts, then sighs. "Of course, one would like to see amounts large enough to make it worth the bother of calculating them. I suppose, however, that the situation will improve with time."
510	"Much safer than any other recommendation I've heard," says His Amused Lordship. "Perhaps we can contractually require that the Devils supply a handler for the worms as well as the worms themselves."
520 - 523, 525, 527 - 529	"I suppose it will work as well as any other way," he says. "Though I would have liked the pleasure of planning it myself. But –" He holds up his hands. "That is a whim, only. I don't need to be indulged."
600 - 620	Reluctantly," says His Amused Lordship. "When society asks what we were thinking, perhaps I can tell them we meant it in jest."
700	"One always wants to see these responsibilities in the hands of the right sort," says His Amused Lordship.
710	"A leader should have energy, and he certainly has that."
720	"The Fervent Widow will be a very entertaining companion," he remarks, and you have the impression he's only half thinking of her possible administrative functions.
905	"Very well!" He is jovial as ever. "But you owe me one." He winks at the Dean who affects not to notice.
910	"Very well!" He is jovial as ever. "But you owe me one." He winks at the Bishop who affects not to notice.
932	"Ah, what the hell!" He chortles. "If nothing else it will be a fine spectacle."
1000 - 1020	"This figure is much less sinister than we've been told to believe," says His Amused Lordship. "Do you suppose it has forgotten its bargain with the Bazaar entirely?" This sounds like bravado, even from him, but he is willing to vote Yes.
1100 - 1110	"War is a terrible business," His Amused Lordship says thoughtfully. "The only honourable method is to conduct it with such force and vigour that it is not repeated lightly."

• Persuasive is increasing…
•  You've lost 1 x Uncommitted Board Members
•  His Amused Lordship has committed to vote on your side. (Sets His Amused Lordship's Vote to 1 - His Amused Lordship is voting with you)

Failure

Unconvinced

[See table below]

Description summary:
The text of the first paragraph depends on the Question before the Board. The second paragraph depends on the composition of your board.

[Find the rest of the story at https://www.fallenlondon.com]

Question	Failure Description
1 - 3, 9	His Amused Lordship treats you to a long-winded ramble about the risks associated with building on different types of Neathy terrain, a topic in which he did not even pretend to be an expert before he joined the Railway.
4	"It is very interesting territory," he says, and it's clear from his inflection that "interesting" is not a good thing.
5	"I expect we could find a better solution," he remarks. "If we looked further."
7	"It's the expense," he says. "It's so hard to be sure that expedition tickets would ever pay back what we spent on the enterprise."
11	"I don't think it would be wise," […] "When she joined the board, she let it be understood that she knows of various dangers we may face as we head west. Moreover, her presence gives us much more latitude with the Masters and the Bazaar."
12	His Amused Lordship's counterargument focuses chiefly on how much more tedious board meetings would become without the Jovial Contrarian's provocations.
13	"I'd be sorry to see Jenny go," says His Amused Lordship simply, as though you'd proposed exiling her.
14	"Oh, come, we can't be rid of Feducci!" says His Amused Lordship. "He has associates in high places, and the danger is that he might not even leave his revenge in their hands."
15	"If we want to negotiate with Hell – and we will have to – then we will need her on our side," says His Amused Lordship. "Unless you have another Devil that you consider easier to convince. No?"
16	"I don't keep her around for the companionship," […] "You get an earful every time she's in the room. On the other hand, inviting her to the board and then dismissing her again is likely to go over badly with the Union. […]
17	"Ah. Yes. The Dean." HIs Amused Lordship looks into the middle distance. "I have a fondness for the University. And if we have a professor, it might as well be her."
18	It would be awkward, says His Amused Lordship. "We share social circles. We would be bound to meet again. I would have to explain why I failed to veto his removal."
19	"What!" roars His Amused Lordship. "When I was hoping for more wrestling matches in our meetings?"
20	"The Tentacled Entrepreneur brought a great deal of money to the enterprise. It would be ungracious of us to reject it again. Though I am hoping it will have some additional cards made soon. The bright yellow one is getting sticky."
21	"Her business and ours have not come into conflict so far," says His Amused Lordship. "Meanwhile, she brings with her a length of experience that would be difficult to replicate with any other director."
22, 24, 26, 28 - 33, 35, 37	"A more compact Board is generally an improvement," His Amused Lordship remarks. "But not if that Board is unbalanced in the direction of poor decision-making."
23	"Yes, he's young," says His Amused Lordship. "But how else is one to learn?" He's rarely extended so much credit to other members of the board.
100, 105, 115 - 130	His Amused Lordship frowns at the elevation drawings. "I had imagined something more stately," he says. "The Great Hellbound Railway is the innovation of our age. We should express our pride in the endeavour."
140, 150	His Amused Lordship frowns at the elevation drawings. "The style of these buildings has gone from bad to worse! Whatever architect you employ should be sacked."
160, 170	His Amused Lordship casts a disapproving eye over the station plans. "Just because we're building on a dismal tundra doesn't excuse such a dingy little building."
181 - 187	His Amused Lordship scoffs. "Seems politically difficult. I vote nay."
200, 205, 280	"Invest in the track first," says His Amused Lordship, as he usually does. "Everything else wears out."
210	"The track," expostulates His Amused Lordship. "The track and the stations. That's where the money should go."
220	"That's all very well," says His Amused Lordship. "But where does it end? If we doubled their pay, they'd want it doubled again. Don't set expectations that lead only to disappointment."
230	His first reaction is a good laugh. When he grasps that you're serious, he asks sarcastically how you intend to fit all hundred or more owner-workers here into the board room. Folly!
240	"I share your views […] But we need to manage this business with at least a little care. […] the consequences could also be quite damaging […] weren't you the one responsible for negotiations […]? You should have seen it didn't come to this."
250	"If you want the thing excavated," says His Amused Lordship, "pay for it yourself! That's what I would do if I found some trinket by the track that I fancied for a conversation-piece."
260	"Whatever is out there, it may be of some scientific value," objects His Amused Lordship. "That must be worthy of at least a little attention, don't you think?"
270	"This sounds like meddling from the Admiralty," says His Amused Lordship. "Not content to do their confounded experiments at Zee. If you ask me, they should be the ones to pay for the entire area to be restored to its previous conditions."
300	"I see very little value in making any sort of statement," says His Amused Lordship. "Whatever course we may intend for the Company, its history will be written by circumstance."
310	"Occasional donations to the deserving poor are a fine objective," says His Amused Lordship. "The trouble comes when you set up expectations."
320	His Amused Lordship is plainly […] tempted, but he says, "There are other institutions that are more straightforwardly devoted to science. We would do better to pursue the business of the company, and donate to those institutions if it seems best."
330	His Amused Lordship sighs. "It is without question an amusing idea," he says. "But do we really want to find Moloch Street crowded with protesters?"
340	"I'm sure we all admire the work of the Church," says His Amused Lordship. "But might we not admire it from a distance?"
400	"I would have no objection if the books were in better order," says His Amused Lordship. "However, the company's record of heedless expenditure does not justify such a motion." His eye rests on you.
500	"It is an inventive solution," says His Amused Lordship. "And I am not excessively hesitant about bold solutions when bold solutions are required. In this case, however, there are so many possibilities for error, discovery, and outright disaster."
510	"Is there a risk of the worms getting loose and breeding?" asks His Amused Lordship. "My cook has told me stories of a mishap in the larder, and that only involved Blemmigans. I wouldn't like to imagine these things burrowing their way to London."
520 - 523, 525, 527 - 529	"Needlessly dangerous and expensive," says His Amused Lordship. "I cannot think this is the way for us."
600	"Impossible that society would accept such a Mayor […] To be sure, his mastery of utensils is improving, and he has learned – or been advised – very successfully in matters of fashion. So much else remains out of his grasp, however."
700	"Not at all the sort of individual we ought to be backing with the support of the Board," says His Amused Lordship. "I'm surprised that you even suggest it."
710	"I can't understand half of what he says," says His Amused Lordship.
720, 800, 850	"I can't approve, I'm afraid. Wouldn't be suitable."
905, 910	"I can't approve, I'm afraid. We all have to make sacrifices here on the Board. I accept we get inferior port for instance."
931, 933 - 934	"I expect we could find a better solution," he remarks. "If we looked further."
932	His Amused Lordship takes an opposing view. A very firm opposing view, as a matter of fact.
940 - 941	"Can't say I'd go along with that one. Seems a lot of expense for a little charity."
1000 - 1020	"The Efficient Commissioner warned us from the very outset about a danger like this," says His Amused Lordship. "While I join some of my colleagues in having found her style overbearing, I cannot doubt she had her reasons."
1100 - 1110	His Amused Lordship shakes his head. "I've seen a few battles in my time. I would need stronger persuasion to vote for this."
1200	"Not worth it," he remarks sadly. "It's been a good bit of trouble settling the Creditor quietly out there. Let it stay at a good remove."

Furnace's Vote?	Second paragraph of Failure Description
No	Everyone shifts in their seats. Several people are obviously wishing they had thought to bring a packed lunch.
Yes	Furnace remarks that His Amused Lordship can always be trusted to vote against, if the proposal doesn't stand to enrich himself or his friends. His Amused Lordship laughs heartily, but in a way that does not bode well for their future relationship.

• Persuasive is increasing…

Redirects to: Debating Matters of Business with the Board