How popular should they be? Reaction bonuses.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Icelander

He has done things with his massive Reaction Modifier. Among other things, he has convinced investors to back his shipping company, he is attempting to win the favour of the most respected elder stateswoman noble lady by bankrolling an orphanage (at her suggestion), he has negotiated a license to sell weapons for his company and is now getting a mercenary licence. He has three warships with letters of marquee and retribution for the city and he recently agreed to add four more that he will bankroll, but which will be under the control of the city whenever they need additional naval force. And he just gave the city $330,000 worth of weapons and loaned them $1,000,000 interest free for a year.

He's making a point of spending money, time and effort on buying influence in the city. The licenses he got will probably pay for his largesse many times over, but that might not be obvious to everyone, since the windfalls will come from another country where he's sending his mercenaries. A more traditional analysis would be that his 'investment' might pay off in ten years or so.

At this point I think you're getting into Richard Corey territory (the poem by Robinson, not the song by Simon):

Whenever Richard Corey went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him.
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked,
But still he fluttered pulses when he said
"Good-morning!" and he glittered when he walked.

Bill Stoddard

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by whswhs

At this point I think you're getting into Richard Corey territory (the poem by Robinson, not the song by Simon):

Whenever Richard Corey went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him.
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked,
But still he fluttered pulses when he said
"Good-morning!" and he glittered when he walked.

Bill Stoddard

Well, rather than being quietly unhappy, Murlak Solstice is a calculating, ruthless black hole of greed and avarice*, carefully constructing an image of himself as a public benefactor. But it's certainly true that his outward appearance can be deceiving and is far from the whole tale.

*For power, for love, for wealth, for reputation, for anything he can have.