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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 5116699" data-attributes="member: 151">Hmmm.<img src="http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Columns/JimHill/Groove/Groove06.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The emperor is all about knowing, having been told constantly through his life, that he is both divinely ordained, infallible and really not that bright.  You have access (in theory) to limitless funds.  OR....do you?Take things from the opposite tack:  the Emperor demands lots of projects but the people around him ARE NOT DUMB.  Like the Imperial Court of the Forbidden City, his many counselors have created a system that humors him, while engaging in the running of the empire.  Or at least, they did until their own infighting started leading to the fragmenting of the empire's organization.When the Emperor decides on some grandiose or ridiculous plan or sign of his power, they fulfill his desires.  AS FAR AS HE KNOWS.  On the hill overlooking the capital, a giant statue of the Emperor exists, for all to see, made of shining gold, glowing at night, an eternal sign of his power.  It stands 100 feet tall.  AS FAR AS HE KNOWS.  In truth, it's an illusion over a statue that is, in fact, only 10 feet tall.  And it's made of brass.  And some nights they don't even remember to cast the minor spell that makes it glow.  After all, the emperor forgot about it a week after it was done.  The emperor is so easily distracted, you see.  The capital is littered with his extravagant projects...many of them shams, half-completed or temporary designs meant to please him while he's paying attention and then re-purposed or completely changed when he's lost interest in them.They're not all fakes, of course.  It's a dangerous game, tricking your emperor with smoke and mirrors.  What separates the quick from the dead amongst his political counselors is how to handle when the Emperor shows up at the Griffin Aeries to find out you've changed them from a shelter for his amusement to a military training facility or when he discovers you've turned his private gilded bath house into the prettiest substation for the aqueduct system.</blockquote>

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