Whispers
Whispers are espionage. Each Whisper costs 1 Watch plus its price in Coin, and resolves at once. Whispers are the only hostile act you can deny. Everything else you do in this game, you do in daylight.
| Whisper | Coin | On success |
|---|---|---|
| Eyes | 50 | A full report: resources, forces, allotment, who's marching |
| Cutpurse | 100 | Steal 5% of their Coin |
| Torch | 100 | Burn 10% of their Grain |
| Rumor | 150 | 5% of their Folk desert, and their growth halves for a day |
| Vigil | 75 | Self-cast. For a day, hostile Whispers against you succeed 20 points less often |
What does each one cost you?
Every Whisper spends 1 Watch and its Coin whether it lands or not. Beyond that, each carries its own catch:
- Eyes takes nothing from your rival. It buys knowledge, and knowledge goes stale as they act.
- Cutpurse is the only Whisper that can lose you money. It costs 100 Coin and takes 5% of theirs, so a strongroom holding under 2,000 Coin leaves you poorer than before. Scout with Eyes first.
- Torch gives you nothing at all. It is pure denial, burned out of your own purse.
- Rumor is the dearest, and the Folk it scatters are Standing nobody collects. They are gone, not taken.
- Vigil spends a Watch and Coin on defense alone. It turns aside Whispers only. It stops no raid and no siege.
How they land
- Base success: 60%.
- −10 for every hostile Whisper the target suffered in the last day, from anyone. A probed Steading raises its guard.
- −20 if the target has a Vigil up.
- A Vigil always takes. It is a purchased ward, not a gamble.
Detection
Whatever the outcome, there is a 30% chance the target learns someone whispered against them. Half of those times, they learn who. A named spy is a diplomatic incident. Sworn oaths do not block Whispers. But getting caught whispering against your oath-fellow is its own kind of confession.