Railway Board (Guide)
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Early Railroad Content and Onwards |
| Railway Board Meetings Summary | ||||||||||||||||
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| Locked Limited-Length Activity | ||||||||||||||||
| Setup | Progress | End | ||||||||||||||
| 1 A | 4+ A | 1 A | ||||||||||||||
| Progress
Details |
Convince each Board Member to your side. This is per issue. | |||||||||||||||
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| Raw EPA | 8.21 | Raw SPA | - | |||||||||||||
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[edit]
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 
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[edit]
| Board Member | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Persuasion |
|---|---|---|
|
 (40) (20) (20) (20)
|
 (50)
|
|
 (40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
 (40)
|
|
Base of
|
 (50)OR Auto-pass with  (HALLOWMAS)
|
|
 (40) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
Auto-pass with  (FATE)
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
 challenge instead of
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
 (40)
|
 The Dean of Xenotheology
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
(50)
|
 The Bishop of Southwark
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
(40)
|
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
 The Tentacled Entrepreneur
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
(40)
|
 The Gracious Widow
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
 
|
(40) (20) (20) (20)
|
N/A |
|
(40) (20) (20)
|
(40)
|
|
(20) (10) (10) (10) (10) (10)
|
(40)
|
|
(40) (40) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
(40)
|
|
 (40) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
(40)
|
 FATE |
Base of (10) (-10)
|
(at least 50, possibly higher)
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
 FATE HALLOWMAS |
Base of (50)
|
N/A |
|
|
(60) (20) (20) (20) (20)
|
(40)
|
|
(60) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
|
 (20) (20) (20) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
|
(20) (20) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
(40)
|
|
(40) (20) (20) (20) (-20)
|
N/A |
| Member | Base | Weak |
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Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | 40 | - | 20 | - | |
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40 | - | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | |
|
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- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
|
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- | - | - | - | 20 | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | 20 | 40 | |
|
|
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20 | - | - | 20 | 40 | 20 | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | |
|
|
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20 | - | 20 | - | - | 40 | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | |
|
|
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- | 20 | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | 20 | - | - | 20 | 40 | - | |
|
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- | 40 | - | - | -20 | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | 20 | |
|
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20 | 20 | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | 40 | - | 20 | |
|
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- | - | -20 | - | 20 | - | 40 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | 20 | 20 | |
|
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20 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | 40 | - | - | 20 | - | 20 | - | - | - | |
|
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-20 | - | - | 40 | 20 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | |
|
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- | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | 20 | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | ||
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- | - | - | - | - | 40 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | |
|
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- | - | 10 | - | 20 | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | 10 | 10 | 10 | - | |
|
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- | - | - | 20 | 20 | 40 | -20 | - | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | |
|
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- | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | 20 | 20 | - | 20 | - | - | - | 20 | 40 | - | |
|
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- | - | - | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | |
|
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- | - | - | - | -10 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
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-20 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | 20 | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | |
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- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 50 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
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- | 60 | 20 | - | 20 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | |
|
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- | 20 | 20 | - | -20 | 60 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | |
|
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20 | - | 20 | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | -20 | - | 20 | 20 | 20 | - | - | |
|
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20 | 20 | 20 | - | - | -20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | 20 | |
|
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- | - | 40 | -20 | - | - | - | - | 20 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - |
The pages for persuading each Board Member also have a table that shows the difficulty ratings for the challenges.
Influencing the Board[edit]
You may wish to choose board members based on how easily you can influence them. To that end, the main methods are , , and .
- 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.
| Action | Result | Constraints |
|---|---|---|
|
| ||
| Hint at one or two things you know | +6 |
If you are a  and don't already have any Corruption.
|
| Support Virginia's motion regarding a route to Moulin | +3 |
One-off benefit only on the route from  to  , and only if you support Virginia's proposal.
|
| Treat your fellow board members to a sumptuous repast | +3 |
Repeatable. Costs  ,  ,  . Cannot be chosen if the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner is a member of the board.
|
|
| ||
| Begin the meeting with a few words | +6 |
If you are a  and don't already have any Obfuscation.
|
| Support July's motion regarding a route to Moulin | +3 |
One-off benefit only on the route from to , and only if you support July's proposal.
|
| Confuse truth and fiction | +4 |
Repeatable.  2 test (100% at Mithridacy 7+). Test difficulty is increased by current Obfuscation/2.  on failure.
|
|
| ||
| Support His Amused Lordship's motion regarding a route to Moulin | +3 |
One-off benefit only on the route from to , and only if you support His Amused Lordship's proposal.
|
| Rely on your personal respectability and authority | +3 |
Repeatable.  2 test. Test difficulty is increased by current Respectability x2, and reduced by  /3. on failure.
|
All influencing factors are reset once a vote has concluded.
Board Proposals[edit]
Extracting Value[edit]
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vote a dividend to the shareholders |
|
|
Requires: < 4
|
| Propose special consideration to certain charitable groups |
|
|
|
| Propose paying a dividend to the poor of the Hinterlands |
|
|
|
Improve Your Trains[edit]
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add Train Luxuries |
|
|
|
| Add Train Defences |
|
|
|
| Build more room for baggage on the train |
|
|
|
Send Your Trains to War[edit]
Expanding the Railroad[edit]
Collapsed by default to avoid spoilers.
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vote congratulations to the Board on its formation |
|
Wealth Charter
|
|
| Vote to honour this historic moment with a donation to the Impoverished |
|
|
|
| Propose an explicitly scientific charter |
|
||
| Propose an expressly Infernal charter |
|
Requires
| |
| Propose an emphatically mission-oriented charter |
|
Requires 
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the next route through occupied buildings, alongside the Moloch Line |
|
|
Costs 
|
| Plan the next route through abandoned buildings |
|
|
Costs
|
| Vote extra funds to build around the anomalous block |
|
|
|
| Propose a Red Science solution that would remove the anomalous block |
|
|
|
| Propose a plan for the next Station building and for the train engines to go there |
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the next route through the Pitiless Bog |
|
|
|
| Free up the funds to excavate whatever the Tracklayers found |
|
|
|
| Pave over whatever the Tracklayers found |
|
|
|
| Propose a plan for the next Station building and for the train engines to go there |
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the next route across the Plain of Thirsty Grasses |
|
|
|
| Plan the next route over the Monkprince Hills |
|
|
Requires
|
| Advocate paying off the striking workers |
|
|
|
| Recommend giving the workers a share of the company |
|
|
|
| Recommend giving the workers a sharp corrective |
|
|
|
| Propose a plan for the next Station building and for the train engines to go there |
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the next route straight up the side of a mountain |  Realize you need Hellworms.
|
No vote needed. | |
| Plan to hire Hellworms and drill through rock that way |
|
|
|
| Suggest a detour through Parabola |
|
|
Requires 
|
| Propose a plan for the next Station building and for the train engines to go there |
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the next route across a ravine |
|
|
|
| Appoint (a Tracklayer) in Furnace's place |
|
|
|
| Appoint Cornelius in Furnace's place |
|
|
|
| Propose a plan for the next Station building and for the train engines to go there |
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the next route through Wasteland |
|
||
| Vote a new set of concessions to the Union |
|
|
|
| Vote on Cornelius' plan to build a Tracklaying Beast |
|
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| Vote on new illumination for the stations |
|
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| Vote a package of measures intended to get work to resume |
|
|
|
| Propose a plan for the next Station building and for the train engines to go there |
|
| Issue | Interests (difficulty modifier) | Effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan for an icy route to the Hurlers |
|
Requires  1000
|
Misc Proposals[edit]
Remove Board Members[edit]
Statues of Specific Board Members[edit]
| A player-created Guide is available for this content: 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 
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 
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 
Church favours for various rewards.
At the 
Magistracy of the Evenlode, a statue can be erected in honour of 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[edit]
There are some incentives to having certain members aboard, which may have some impact outside of board meetings too.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- His Amused Lordship must be a member of the Board if you want to change the to a wealth-based one.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- 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.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- Jenny agrees immediately to 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.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- Virginia must be a member of the Board if you want to change the to one aligned with Infernal interests.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- If you have convinced Furnace on a vote, you can supply her with a
and she will 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 4 Great Game favours or via a long carousel (requiring high ).
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- The Dean must be a member of the Board if you want to change the to a scientific one.
Outside Meetings[edit]
- When founding the church at , 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
spur line to the 
, the Dean of Xenotheology unlocks an option on the Genii Locorum card.
[edit]
Outside Meetings[edit]
- When founding the church at , you can request the patronage of the Bishop of St Fiacre's if he is a member of the Board, after which you must convene a Board meeting to make him Patron.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- The Bishop of Southwark must be a member of the Board if you want to change the to a Church-oriented one.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- When the Tentacled Entrepreneur joins the Board, he provides a considerable reduction in Debt, enough to bring down two 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[edit]
- The Tentacled Entrepreneur unlocks an option on the Rubbery Observances card at which checks rather than
. - The Tentacled Entrepreneur unlocks an option on A Word From Your Creditors wherein you can spend 6
to decrease Corporate Debt by 3 CP.
The Gracious Widow[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- The Gracious Widow joining the Board provides a considerable reduction in Debt, enough to bring down two dividends votes' worth of Debt to 0. You can vote her off and reappoint her to get the reduction again. She also raises 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
.
Outside Meetings[edit]
- With 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
to decrease Corporate Debt by 3 CP.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- September must be a member of the Board if you want to invite January.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- Cornelius has an option to help persuade all other board members. This uses an
, which is slightly harder to obtain than Furnace's Queen Mate.
[edit]
In Meetings[edit]
- The Viscountess agrees immediately to many options regarding Parabolan warfare. As previously, this can complicate getting the Contrarian's vote.
Leverage on Specific Board Members[edit]
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.
[edit]
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.
[edit]
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.)
[edit]
While the Contrarian's vote is not difficult to obtain anyway, he can also be convinced (guaranteed, despite the small challenge) by deploying a . The Moot is a HALLOWMAS companion which was available for free with festival participation in 2020, but required FATE in subsequent years.
[edit]
Players who have purchased The Empress' Shadow (FATE) may earn in Jenny's Finishing School. Excess Credit may be spent to earn Jenny's vote, bypassing the regular Persuasion action.
Trimming the Board[edit]
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.
The Efficient Commissioner[edit]
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 
.
Bringing her back on board and subsequently voting her out again can be a good way to grind 
. Note that this has to be done before the railway reaches 
.
His Amused Lordship[edit]
He is handy to have around at the beginning of the Railway, but when the train upgrades become available ( 50 and above), he can begin to become difficult to convince. With a high enough Respectable, however, he's easily swayed.
The Bishop of Saint Fiacre's[edit]
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 which raises opposition from many board members. (Spending 
smoothes this over.)
Sinning Jenny[edit]
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 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.
Virginia[edit]
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 upgrade Train Defences. (That can be smoothed over by spending or bribing her though.)
Tentacled Entrepreneur[edit]
This board member will be a problem when upgrading the trains. Consider not bringing him in until after the trains have been fully upgraded.
The Gracious Widow[edit]
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.
April[edit]
April has similar voting factors to Furnace, with one major difference: none of the means of persuasion thus far work on her.
