Editing Railway Board (Guide)

{{GuideFor|Storylet = Convene a Board Meeting of the Great Hellbound Railway|Cleanup = Conclude the paperwork}}{{GuideFor|Storylet = Debating Matters of Business with the Board}}{{Audience|EarlyRailroad|Evergreen=yes}}[[Has icon::File:Railsteel.png|right]]
{{GuideNeedsWork|Missing information on July}}
{{ActivitySummary
|Activity=Brawling with Dockers
|Length=Limited
|Starting Actions=1
|Progress Actions=4
|Ending Actions=1
|Progress Details=Convince each Board Member to your side. This is per issue.
|Output Items=*{{IL|Moon-Pearl}}
*{{IL|Magnificent Diamond}}
*{{IL|Consignment of Scintillack Snuff}}
*{{IL|Bottle of Broken Giant 1844}}
*{{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise|Appearance=Fourth City Airag}}
*{{IL|Advance!}}
|Boost Items=*{{IL|Queen Mate}}
*{{IL|Epaulette Mate}}
*{{IL|Board Member's Favour: The Bishop of Southwark}}
*{{IL|Board Member's Favour: The Bishop of St Fiacre's}}
*{{IL|Credit with the Headmistress}}
*''{{IL|Portable Fingerking Moot}}''
|Raw EPA = 8.21
|Locked=Yes
}}
The Board of Directors are a bunch of personalities that can assist you in various ways, but also make development of the Railway difficult for you. Before any major action in the Railway, you need to hold a board meeting and have approval from all current board members. 

Gameplay-wise, you will be locked into the board meeting until you either win everyone over or give up. If you have accumulated high Menaces during that meeting, you take the consequences as soon as you step out of the Railway's office. Most importantly, opportunities for board meetings are limited to two a week when you're beginning the railway, and one a week after you've made sufficient progress. Getting stuck because of a stiff Persuasive challenge from a disagreeable board member can be unpleasant.

The following guide is meant to help keep your meetings, and the trains, running as smooth as possible.

==Opposition from Board Members==
Every decision by the board must be approved by every member. Every board member is looking out for certain interests, and earning their vote is harder when your proposal works against those interests. Board members may also be "persuaded" by different tactics. The table below summarizes the tactics and persuasion techniques for each board member.

Mechanically, earning the vote of most Board members requires a {{IL|Persuasive}} check with a base difficulty of 100. This difficulty is increased by the Interest qualities of your proposal, with each board member responding to different Interests. In most cases, the difficulty may also be reduced by raising one of three persuasion qualities. It seems that this Persuasive check can be repeated without penalty.

Most board members have one interest they care deeply about (raising the difficulty by 40), two to five issues they care moderately about (raising difficulty by 20), and one persuasion technique they respond to. Some board members also have interests that will ''decrease'' the difficulty.

===Board Members Issues===
{{:Railway Board (Guide)/Table}}

The pages for persuading each Board Member also have a table that shows the difficulty ratings for the challenges.

===Influencing the Board===
You may wish to choose board members based on how easily you can influence them. To that end, the main methods are {{IL|Corruption of the Board}}, {{IL|Obfuscation of the Board}}, and {{IL|Respectability Factor}}.
* '''Corruption''' affects: Virginia, the Bishop of Saint Fiacre's, the Gracious Widow, the Hell-Scarred Gondolier, the Drummer, the Wry Functionary.
* '''Obfuscation''' affects: the Efficient Commissioner, the Bishop of Southwark, Furnace Ancona, the Tentacled Entrepreneur, the Wandering Gondolier, July, September.
* '''Respectability''' affects: His Amused Lordship, Feducci, the Dean of Xenotheology, the Viscountess of the Viric Jungle, January, Cornelius, the Delightful Reverend, the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner.
* The Remaining potential board members are: Jovial Contrarian, Sinning Jenny, April, Rubbery Yes-Man, the Implacable Detective.

{| class="article-table"
! Action !! Result !! Constraints
|-
! colspan="3" | {{IL|Corruption of the Board}}
|-
| [[Hint at one or two things you know]] || +6&nbsp;{{IL|Corruption of the Board|Appearance=}} || If you are a {{IL|Midnighter}} and don't already have any Corruption.
|-
| [[Support Virginia's motion regarding a route to Moulin]] || +3&nbsp;{{IL|Corruption of the Board|Appearance=}} || One-off benefit only on the route from {{IL|Burrow-Infra-Mump}} to {{IL|Moulin}}, and only if you support Virginia's proposal.
|-
| [[Treat your fellow board members to a sumptuous repast]] || +3&nbsp;{{IL|Corruption of the Board|Appearance=}} || Repeatable. Costs {{IL|Pot of Venison Marrow|1 x}}, {{IL|Bottle of Broken Giant 1844|1 x}}, {{IL|Solacefruit|1 x}}. Cannot be chosen if the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner is a member of the board.
|-
! COLSPAN="3" | {{IL|Obfuscation of the Board}}
|-
| [[Begin the meeting with a few words]] || +6&nbsp;{{IL|Obfuscation of the Board|Appearance =}} || If you are a {{IL|Crooked-Cross}} and don't already have any Obfuscation.
|-
| [[Support July's motion regarding a route to Moulin]] || +3&nbsp;{{IL|Obfuscation of the Board|Appearance=}} || One-off benefit only on the route from {{IL|Burrow-Infra-Mump}} to {{IL|Moulin}}, and only if you support July's proposal.
|-
| [[Confuse truth and fiction]] || +4&nbsp;{{IL|Obfuscation of the Board|Appearance=}} || Repeatable. {{IL|Mithridacy}} 2 test (100% at Mithridacy 7+). Test difficulty is increased by current Obfuscation/2. {{IL|Scandal|+3 CP}} on failure.
|-
! COLSPAN="3" | {{IL|Respectability Factor}}
|-
| [[Support His Amused Lordship's motion regarding a route to Moulin]] || +3&nbsp;{{IL|Respectability Factor|Appearance=}} || One-off benefit only on the route from {{IL|Burrow-Infra-Mump}} to {{IL|Moulin}}, and only if you support His Amused Lordship's proposal.
|-
| [[Rely on your personal respectability and authority]] || +3&nbsp;{{IL|Respectability Factor|Appearance=}} || Repeatable. {{IL|A Player of Chess}} 2 test. Test difficulty is increased by current Respectability x2, and reduced by {{IL|Respectable}}/3. {{IL|Scandal|+3 CP}} on failure.
|}
All influencing factors are reset once a vote has concluded.

==Board Proposals==
{{:Railway Board (Guide)/Proposal Table}}

==Statues of Specific Board Members==
{{HasGuide|GuidePage=Statues at the GHR Stations (Guide)}}

Statues can be erected at the Upper River locations to honour specific board members. The statues attract followers/admirers of those board members, and these people happen to be associated with the various factions of London. You can make deals with them. Mechanics-wise, this lets you trade Favours for resources.

A statue at {{IL|Ealing Gardens}} may honour any of the former mayors or the resident big-name, the Tentacled Entrepreneur. This unlocks a card which has one option that is specific to the faction that the board member is associated with.

A statue at {{IL|Jericho Locks}} honours board members of a theological leaning. (Whether the people of Jericho Locks would appreciate this is another matter). This also unlocks a card, with each option trading in {{IL|Favours: The Church|Appearance=Church favours}} for various rewards.

At the {{IL|The Magistracy of the Evenlode|Appearance = Magistracy of the Evenlode}}, a statue can be erected in honour of {{IL|Board Member: the Gracious Widow|Appearance=the Gracious Widow}}. She is the only board member that can have a statue here.

You can, of course, eschew honouring any board members and put up statues of your player character instead. Why should they get the glory when you are putting in the most work into the Railway?

==Unique Benefits from Board Members==
There are some incentives to having certain members aboard, which may have some impact outside of board meetings too.
==={{IL|Board Member: Jovial Contrarian|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* The Jovial Contrarian has no particular opposition to any issue. Just get his vote first and everything is hunky-dory. (He is not so fickle as to dishonour the cast of his vote.) The Contrarian can, however, end up slightly problematic for votes where one or more board members vote for it automatically. This is usually fine, though.

==={{IL|Board Member: Tentacled Entrepreneur|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* When the Tentacled Entrepreneur joins the Board, he provides a considerable reduction in {{IL|In Corporate Debt|Appearance = Debt}}, enough to bring down two [[Vote a dividend to the shareholders|dividends votes' worth of Debt]] to 0. You can vote the Entrepreneur off the board and then reappoint him to get the reduction again.

====Outside Meetings====
* The Tentacled Entrepreneur unlocks an option on the [[Rubbery Observances]] card at {{IL|Ealing Gardens}} which checks {{IL|Persuasive}} rather than {{IL|Shadowy}}.
* The Tentacled Entrepreneur unlocks an option on [[A Word From Your Creditors]] wherein you can spend 6 {{IL|Favours: Rubbery Men}} to decrease Corporate Debt by 3 CP.

==={{IL|Board Member: the Gracious Widow|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* The Gracious Widow joining the Board provides a considerable reduction in {{IL|In Corporate Debt|Appearance = Debt}}, enough to bring down two [[Vote a dividend to the shareholders|dividends votes' worth of Debt]] to 0. You can vote her off and reappoint her to get the reduction again. She also raises {{IL|Seeing Banditry in the Upper River|Appearance = Seeing Banditry}}, which makes certain checks easier or harder and unlocks some options.
* The Widow must be on the Board to [[Propose special consideration to certain charitable groups]]. This is a source of {{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}.

====Outside Meetings====
* With {{IL|Involved in a Railway Venture}} 60 (a station at Jericho Locks), the Widow enables an option under the [[Engage in Some Minor Smuggling]] card. That option is certainly not minor smuggling.
* The Gracious Widow unlocks an option on [[A Word From Your Creditors]] wherein you can spend 6 {{IL|Favours: Criminals}} to decrease Corporate Debt by 3 CP.

==={{IL|Board Member: Furnace Ancona|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
If you have convinced Furnace on a vote, you can supply her with a {{IL|Queen Mate}} and she will [[Play Furnace Ancona against the rest|assist in getting the other board members to agree to your proposal]]. This is helpful if you have a huge board for whatever reason. Queen Mates can be acquired in 5 actions with [[An Illustrated Novelist|4 Great Game favours]] or via [[The_Chessboard (Guide)|a long carousel]] (requiring high {{IL|A Player of Chess}}).

==={{IL|Board Member: Cornelius|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* Cornelius has an option to [[Play Cornelius against the rest|help persuade all other board members]]. This uses an {{IL|Epaulette Mate}}, which is slightly harder to obtain than Furnace's Queen Mate.

==={{IL|Board Member: Sinning Jenny|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* Jenny agrees immediately to [[Add Train Defences|improving the train's defences]]. This is useful, but can complicate getting the fickle Contrarian's vote, especially if you already have a board size at the minimum.
* Jenny allows you to [[Propose paying a dividend to the poor of the Hinterlands]], which can be a decent way to reduce Banditry.

==={{IL|Board Member: The Viscountess of the Viric Jungle|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* The Viscountess agrees immediately to many options regarding Parabolan warfare. As previously, this can complicate getting the Contrarian's vote.

==={{IL|Board Member: The Dean of Xenotheology|Short = yes}}===
====In Meetings====
* The Dean must be a member of the Board if you want to change the {{IL|Charter of the Great Hellbound Railway}} to a scientific one.

====Outside Meetings====
* When founding the church at {{IL|Burrow-Infra-Mump}}, you can [[request the patronage of the Dean of Xenotheology]] if she is a member of the Board, after which you must convene a Board meeting to make her Patron.
* If you have a {{IL|Involved in a Railway Venture|Appearance=spur line}} to the {{IL|The City of the Tracklayers}}, the Dean of Xenotheology unlocks an option on the [[Genii Locorum]] card.

==Leverage on Specific Board Members==
Some board members have leverage options that can be played to affect only them, and to secure their agreement outright. These options use up the resources they cost.

==={{IL|Board Member: The Bishop of Saint Fiacre's|Short=yes}}===
You can earn a favour with the Bishop by resolving [[A Jurisdictional Dispute]] in the Upper River to his benefit. This can be spent to gain support on any one vote. You can only carry one favour at a time, so this isn't extremely powerful. But it can be used to bypass the Bishop's normally staunch opposition to removing Board members. Without this, you might have to spend a lot on bribes more than once for each member-dropping agenda. 

==={{IL|Board Member: The Bishop of Southwark|Short=yes}}===
Like the Bishop of Saint Fiacre's, if you resolve [[A Jurisdictional Dispute]] to his benefit you will gain his support on one vote of your choosing. There are currently no repeatable votes that oppose Church interests - other than voting Church-affiliated members off the board - making this less immediately appealing than a favour of Saint Fiacre's. (The Bishop of Southwark still has a significant opposition to changing the board's makeup, but that can be handled with obfuscation.)

==={{IL|Board Member: Jovial Contrarian|Short=yes}}===
While the Contrarian's vote is not difficult to obtain anyway, he can also be convinced (guaranteed, despite the small {{IL|Mithridacy}} challenge) by deploying a {{IL|Portable Fingerking Moot}}. The Moot is a {{FontHallowmas}} companion which was available for free with festival participation in 2020, but required {{FontFate}} in subsequent years.

==={{IL|Board Member: Sinning Jenny|Short=yes}}===
Players who have purchased [[The Empress' Shadow]] ({{FontFate}}) may earn {{IL|Credit with the Headmistress}} in [[Sinning Jenny's Finishing School (Guide)|Jenny's Finishing School]]. Excess Credit may be spent to earn Jenny's vote, bypassing the regular Persuasion action.

==Trimming the Board==
There must be at least four members on the Board, not including your player character. To make meetings go more smoothly (and quickly), at least without resorting to Furnace or Cornelius' special benefit, keeping the board small is recommended. Below are some notes on the benefits and drawbacks of removing each listed member, should you wish to.

At this time of writing, there does not appear to be any consequences for voting out specific Board Members.

==={{IL|Board Member: The Efficient Commissioner|Appearance=The Efficient Commissioner}}===
Since she opposes most agendas rather often, the Commissioner is likely to be at the top of any player's list of names to cross off. Removing her requires {{IL|Board Status|5 (or higher)}}.

[[Bring the Efficient Commissioner back to the Board|Bringing her back on board]] and subsequently voting her out again can be a good way to grind {{IL|Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar}}. Note that this has to be done before the railway reaches {{IL|The Hurlers}}.

==={{IL|Board Member: His Amused Lordship|Appearance=His Amused Lordship}}===
He is handy to have around at the beginning of the Railway, but when the train upgrades become available ({{IL|Involved in a Railway Venture}} 50 and above), he can begin to become difficult to convince. With a high enough Respectable, however, he's easily swayed.

==={{IL|Board Member: The Bishop of Saint Fiacre's|Appearance=The Bishop of Saint Fiacre's}}===
Having the Bishop on the board makes removing any other member more difficult, at least before you have leverage on him. However, voting to remove him can be a problem by itself since it adds {{IL|Board against the Interests of Society}} which raises opposition from ''many ''board members. (Spending {{IL|Favours: Society}} smoothes this over.)

==={{IL|Board Member: Sinning Jenny|Appearance=Sinning Jenny}}===
If you lack the FATE story that is associated with her ([[The Empress' Shadow]]), there are no means of influencing her. Her special benefit, as mentioned above, also causes problems. However, she has an easy {{IL|Persuasive}} 100 check on most issues (notably the payout of dividends if you have a Worker charter), and is a good choice for weekly routine votes.

==={{IL|Board Member: Virginia|Appearance=Virginia}}===
At this time of writing, she is required to be on the Board to get the railway running. After that, however, she can be removed if desired. She'll be particular difficult to convince when trying to [[Add Train Defences|upgrade Train Defences]]. (That can be smoothed over by spending {{IL|Favours: Hell}} or bribing her though.)

==={{IL|Board Member: Tentacled Entrepreneur|Appearance=Tentacled Entrepreneur}}===
This board member will be a problem when upgrading the trains. Consider not bringing him in until after the trains have been fully upgraded.

==={{IL|Board Member: the Gracious Widow|Appearance=The Gracious Widow}}===
The Widow has stiff opposition to upgrading either the train defences or luxuries from the get-go, and it only gets worse. Again, consider not bringing her in until after the trains have been fully upgraded.

==={{IL|Board Member: April|Appearance=April}}===
April has similar voting factors to Furnace, with one major difference: none of the means of persuasion thus far work on her.

[[Category:Guides]]