Running the Economy of the Dragon's Republic (Fantasy PlanQuest)

The Great Task Begins (Year 4 of the reign of King Adric XIV, spring)
The first thing you learn in your early meetings is just how bad the situation at hand is. Tax collection has completely ground to a halt, with many of the men responsible for tax farming dying at the hands of peasant uprisings, while others simply abandoned their jobs and fled the kingdom. You have a significant injection of funding from the seized assets of various nobles and a variety of routes for...alternative income, but neither can last indefinitely.

You wonder if anyone outside this three-room office knows just how bad the situation is. At least everyone agrees that fixing this situation is the first priority, along with ensuring that people are fed and poverty reduced.

The prospect of what might happen if you fail makes you shiver. It won't just be you who suffers.

And with that cheery thought, you begin discussing with your small staff what must be done...

2000 Resources in Reserve
52 AS
50 DS

5 Free Dice

Urban Infrastructure: 4 dice


[] Sewage Repair Stage 1: The sewage system in Belles has been non-functional for years outside of all but the richest districts. The Rat-Catcher's Guild and the Sewer-Repair Guild have both been neglected, leaving them incapable of fulfilling their duties, resulting in miasmas of vile gasses that are disgusting to the nose and likely poisonous to the flesh drifting throughout the city. During the spring, the smell is tolerable, but it will rapidly get worse come summer. (0/150, 10 Resources per die)

[] Revitalize Abello Port [Nautical]: Abello was home to the Kingdom's navy, but after several expensive overseas wars, it was largely shuttered. While the sections used for trade are still in good repair thanks to the merchants who depend on it spending significant sums to keep their livelihood intact, most of the rest has been left to languish. To many, it is a disgrace that must be corrected. (0/100, 15 Resources per die, +5 AS on completion)

[] Construct Government Offices: The various newly established ministries and bureaucracies are currently operating out of whatever they managed to claim for themselves, while the Assembly itself meets in what is unquestionably a royal building. This makes even finding other government departments or Assembly members a challenge. (0/50, 5 Resources per die, +1 AS on completion)

[] Urban Reconstruction Stage 1: The city has been horrifically damaged in the Uprising. While most bodies have been buried and some essential work has been completed, there is still much left to do. Given the presence of nobles and their private armies, you have been told the first priority must be defense. The walls of Belles, both internally and externally, have been badly damaged. Warding schemes failed under barrages of concentrated spellfire, sally ports were hammered off their hinges, and the First Citizen collapsed entire towers. Simply clearing away and piling up rubble will be better than what currently exists. (0/125, 5 Resources per die.)

[] Widening Gates: Due to the damaged walls, traveling in and out of the city has become difficult and chaotic. While this situation could be resolved simply by repairing those walls, the First Citizen has made it known that he probably won't be able to fit through the gates as they were. Enlarging them would also probably make traffic less congested in the future. (0/75, 5 Resources per die, +5 DS)

Rural Infrastucture: 6 dice

[] Road Reconstruction: The funding that the nobility was supposed to spend on provincial upkeep instead mostly went to funding lavish balls, leaving vital infrastructure rotted. Nowhere is this more visible than endless miles of roads left as masses of mud, potholes deep enough to drown a horse, and wild plants. Keeping them in good shape will make travel far easier and serve as proof of the new government's superiority. Though it will be an immense effort, it will also mostly require labor. (0/1200, 2.5 Resources per die)

[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic]: While the neglect of the roads might be more visible, the sorry state of the granaries is a far more serious concern. One harvest has already half-rotted away thanks to royal mismanagement. Another would be devastating. From anti-vermin wards to staddle stones, every precaution must be taken. (0/200, 15 Resources per die)

[] Wind and Water Mills: The existing mills are largely powered by muscle power, whether that be from livestock or people. Only a few of the wealthier nobility bothered to invest in anything more. The sheer idiocy of this policy is impossible to overstate, and must be corrected at once. (0/300, 5 Resources per die)

[] Canal Restoration [Low Magic]: Just as roads were neglected, so too was the network of canals. The runes that kept them clear and swift have eroded, their sides have begun to cave in, and locks have begun to falter. As the grain barges that trawl these canals are the only practical way to deliver grain to the cities, they must be repaired and restored. (0/800, 10 Resources per die)

Agriculture: 8 dice

[] Land Survey [Knowledge]: The records for who owns what land are hard to come by. The crown bureaucracy only retained records for the greatest noble families, whose estates in Belles rarely contain more detailed information. Any major agricultural reform will require correcting this deficiency. Ideally, local bailiffs and officials can be contacted, along with leaders among the peasantry and their records examined. If not, more arduous measures may be required. (0/2???, 5 Resources per die)

[] Land Distribution: Currently, all land in the republic outside of some privately owned plots is the direct property of your ministry. Turning over portions of this land, with or without compensation, could greatly benefit the position of your people, administration, and government. (0/50, 5 Resources per die, sub-votes)

[] Livestock Distribution: Livestock are vital for the peasantry, from what you understand. Aside from the meat and milk they provide, having a cow or horse to pull your plow and your mill greatly eases the burden of labor that is a peasant's lot. Redistributing some livestock should make it easier for them to grow crops. (0/150, 5 Resources per die)

[] New Crop Investigations [Research]: The western and southern continents are largely unfamiliar to the people of Belles, outside of a few small and far-flung colonies, but apparently there are many types of unfamiliar plants that could be useful. A few dozen test fields can be planted. Hopefully one of them will turn out to be useful enough to justify the cost of importing them. (0/50, 10 Resources per die)

[] Low Magic Support [Low Magic]: Magic is vitally useful for farming. Repelling pests, killing weeds, enhancing the soil, and accelerating the pace of labor are all common, useful spells. While the peasantry has its own low mages and hedge mages, there are many more wandering the streets of Belles. Hiring some of these mages and sending them out to assist in farming will greatly improve the availability of food come the harvest, albeit at the cost of significant urban disruption. (0/200, 10 Resources per die, will increase Resource costs for other options)

Industry: 3 dice

[] Golem Construction [Golems]: While most consider the construction of golems rank heresy, it is a knowledge and tradition your people have kept alive and one that has been formally decriminalized. The golems made during the Uprising were crude and temporary things, made to provide quick protection against arrows and labor for constructing barricades. For the sort of work that the Republic needs, better ones must be made, out of freshly quarried stone and sculpted clay. (0/175, 10 Resources per die, -3 AS per die)

[] Re-Establish Mining Functionality [Metal]: The mines of Belledor, mostly located in the western parts of the kingdom, have produced countless minerals. Iron, gold, silver, and copper were all torn from the earth, along with more esoteric and unusual stones such as mana crystals, dragonsblood, and coal. Many of these mines have ceased production in recent years due to a series of unfortunate collapses and bloody skirmishes between mine owners and workers. To restart the flow of valuable metals, first the connections to the mines must be re-opened and the necessary supplies delivered. (0/400, 10 Resources per die, subvote upon completion)

[] Textile Factories: While the production of cloth, draperies, and clothing has always been something of a special Belledor industry, recent innovations you have begun reading about have made the process massively more efficient. Newly built factories effortlessly outproduced conventional facilities, although many of these factories were shuttered by rioting workers during the Uprising, or faces resistance from skilled artisans outcompeted. But the economic potential of these factories is immense... (0/250, 10 Resources per die, subvote upon completion)

[] Mass Smithies [Metal]: Just as new methods have transformed the production of cloth, so too has the production of metal goods been changed. New smelteries and water-powered hammers have enabled the production of vast amounts of rough, simple tools and weaponry, although the more intricate gears and devices they use still require skilled smithing. Restarting the forges is more a question of organization and gathering fuel, and the matter is less fraught than other possible avenues of development. (0/80, 10 Resources per die)

Services: 4 dice

[] Develop High Magic Curriculum [Knowledge]: The secrets of High Magic have been closely guarded and carefully kept, requiring years of study and mighty oaths before one can be taught them, but the power offered by these spells is immense and invaluable. It must be unchained, the knowledge delivered to everyone. The first step in creating a schooling system is collecting and categorizing everything we can about how to perform High Magic and its attendant arts. (0/400, 5 Resources per die)

[] Establish Schools of Low Magic Stage 1 [Knowledge]: Beyond literacy, Low Magic has few requirements, but the time to learn it in any thorough, systematic way means most people only know a single spell, if that. However, there are countless mages with greater experience and knowledge, which can be drawn upon to begin teaching others more about spellcasting and spellcrafting in an organized fashion, making the people of the Republic better workers, citizens, and soldiers. (0/300, 5 Resources per die)

[] Investigate Low Magic Variations [Knowledge] [Research]: Low Magic and its associated arts are incredibly unstandardized. Every single mage does their spell just a little bit differently, making combining magical effects and maintaining enchantments far more complicated. The process of cataloging these endless variations and identifying the specific forms that are lost efficacious will be a long and tedious process, one complicated by a lack of good measuring systems, but the results will be valuable and intriguing. (0/800, 5 Resources per die)

[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1: The removal of church lands from their control has sharply curtailed the income of Holy Mother Church. While most of the money went to grand cathedrals and archbishops' waistlines, some did go to providing services such as medical care and education for orphanages. The state can intervene to support these institutions, or perhaps establish its own. (0/100, 5 Resources per die)

[] Urban Schools Stage 1: The education of the kingdom was…haphazard, to say the least. Despite this, shocking proportions of the population is at least partially literate, something which must be taken advantage of in order to begin educating the people to make them good citizens, workers, and soldiers. The first priority will be to create adult literacy programs in urban centers. (0/150, 5 Resources per die)

[] Rural Teachers and Officials Stage 1: The same educational difficulties afflicted the rural areas of the kingdom, complicated by the scattered nature of much of the population. Drawing upon an ancient tradition of your people, you aim to establish a corps of wandering teacher-officials who will be responsible for traveling the land to educate and appoint officials in each village and farmstead. It is, admittedly , an unconventional solution. (0/200, 5 Resources per die, -4 AS on completion)

[] Direct Grain Subsidies: The typical mechanisms for providing grain to the cities have largely collapsed thanks to aristocratic incompetence, but with our new position as the legal landlord of much of the farmland, things can hopefully be salvaged. Set sharp price and pay regulations for every step from farm to table and ensure grain will be affordable for everyone this season. (250 Resources, 2 dice.)

Bureaucracy: 3 dice

[] Set New Tax Schedules: You have effectively declared a tax jubilee while you get things sorted out, making you very popular, but this has to be temporary. You need to decide what taxes to set, and how to collect them. (Max 2 dice, rolled.)

[] Establish Subsidiary Offices: While the city of Belles is unquestionably the most important, there are many lesser cities and locations that you will need to operate in extensively. Establishing branch offices in some of those will be a difficult process that will take up some of your existing staff, but it will be helpful for the future. (No dice limit, rolled.)

[] Create Allocations Office: Part of your Ministry's mandate is to ensure enough food and other essential goods are available. Unfortunately, you don't even know how much is produced, let alone how much is needed. The number of clerks and mages needed for this will hurt, but having even the vaguest estimate of what essential goods are needed will be helpful. (No dice limit, rolled.)

[] Get Hiring!: You need people. They need to be at least somewhat literate, but past that there are few requirements. Hire as many as you can, and start filling out your desperately understaffed ministry. (5 Resources per die.)

[] Find Prior Records [Knowledge]: The records of merchants, nobles, bailiffs, and more, all contain hints of land use, economic activity, and material usage. Gathering and collating all this information will be an immense task, but it will also be a vital one that will greatly simplify many of your plans and objectives. (Max 2 dice, rolled.)

Personal: 5 dice (No free dice may be used. If all Personal Dice are used, +1 Stress)

[] Directed Reading: Spending time in the library idly flipping through countless tomes and perhaps discovering some lost gem of a book is a favorite pleasure of yours, but if need be you can spend the time looking into things more directly useful. (1 unrolled die, allows the players to change a die bonus. For any increase, it must be matched by a decrease.)

[] Personal Attention: You do have assistants, able ones. Providing direct magical and intellectual support to a project could see it finished much faster, although you don't much like the idea of leaving the city. (1-3 unrolled dice, choose an action per die. Double all personal bonuses.)

[] Investigate Assembly Factions: You know there are some broad, loose coalitions forming in the Assembly, but you haven't had time to find out more than what you saw during your first meeting. (1 unrolled die)

[] Investigate Assembly Decrees: The first session continued for quite some time after you left, and there's currently no formal system for announcing what's been decided. You will need to pry yourself from your office and library to find out what exactly happened, perhaps from Redcap himself. (1 unrolled die)

[] Attend Assembly Sessions: Your first priority might be your ministerial position, but you are also an Assembly member. The issues currently being raised are the matter of several colonies that remain under the control of Royal Governors, the disposition of the army, and response to a series of letters from the Second Elven Empire. (1 unrolled die)

[] Hire Golem-Makers: You need people you can trust, and you need your people to be trusted. Solving two problems at once has an elegance that reminds you of your Baba's stories, and so you will hire some of your fellows to fill out the ranks of the department. (Max 2 dice, reduce unstaffed ministry penalty, potentially gain new subordinate, potentially lose AS)
 
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Everything is on fire, lovely.

I ask those smarter than me, what ABSOLUTELY cannot wait?

I think Land Distribution, for one. It'd just make everything grind to a halt if we don't let people use the lands.
 
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Overall, I think it'd be good to focus on developing our knowledge and food/transportation, with free dice going to infrastructure and bureaucracy. We don't really know what's going on and we need income and the ability to feed people.

I'm skeptical of messing with the land too much when we still know basically nothing about the situation, though redistributing animals probably wouldn't be that bad given that a lot were probably used by the larger landowners for war/meat that can be spared for labor.

Based on what we do know, I think the granaries are probably the most critical non-bureaucratic action, and we probably have two quarters to get that done. We can expect 41 average progress per die for it, so I'd recommend putting three dice, which is unlikely to overshoot much but should get us more than halfway there.
[] Canal Restoration [Low Magic]: Just as roads were neglected, so too was the network of canals. The runes that kept them clear and swift have eroded, their sides have begun to cave in, and locks have begun to falter. As the grain barges that trawl these canals are the only practical way to deliver grain to the cities, they must be repaired and restored.
This also looks important to do, though it looks like the cost information is missing - at this point I'm not sure if we should try to knock it out before the harvest.
 
[] Plan: Hose the Biggest Fires, Identify Everything Else
-[] Urban Infrastructure (4 dice, 40R)
--[] Sewage Repair Stage 1: The sewage system in Belles has been non-functional for years outside of all but the richest districts. The Rat-Catcher's Guild and the Sewer-Repair Guild have both been neglected, leaving them incapable of fulfilling their duties, resulting in miasmas of vile gasses that are disgusting to the nose and likely poisonous to the flesh drifting throughout the city. During the spring, the smell is tolerable, but it will rapidly get worse come summer. 4 dice [-15 per die], 40R)

This is the priority, imo. If we're lucky, we can prevent a plague from breaking out.

-[] Rural Infrastructure (6 dice, 90R)
--[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic]: While the neglect of the roads might be more visible, the sorry state of the granaries is a far more serious concern. One harvest has already half-rotted away thanks to royal mismanagement. Another would be devastating. From anti-vermin wards to staddle stones, every precaution must be taken. (6 dice [-14 per die], 90R)

Lose stored harvest, and we're boned. Dump our dice in, and we have a good chance of getting stuff done.

-[] Agriculture (8 dice, 40R)
--[] Land Survey [Knowledge]: The records for who owns what land are hard to come by. The crown bureaucracy only retained records for the greatest noble families, whose estates in Belles rarely contain more detailed information. Any major agricultural reform will require correcting this deficiency. Ideally, local bailiffs and officials can be contacted, along with leaders among the peasantry and their records examined. If not, more arduous measures may be required. (8 dice [-7 per die], 40R)

We should start with the basics - knowledge of the situation. After that, we can make more informed decisions about distribution and the like.

-[] Industry (3 dice, 30R)
--[] Mass Smithies [Metal]: Just as new methods have transformed the production of cloth, so too has the production of metal goods been changed. New smelteries and water-powered hammers have enabled the production of vast amounts of rough, simple tools and weaponry, although the more intricate gears and devices they use still require skilled smithing. Restarting the forges is more a question of organization and gathering fuel, and the matter is less fraught than other possible avenues of development. (3 dice [-12 per die], 30R)

Given the limited dice we have, it'll be easiest to start with the Smithies.

-[] Services (4 dice, 250R)
--[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1: The removal of church lands from their control has sharply curtailed the income of Holy Mother Church. While most of the money went to grand cathedrals and archbishops' waistlines, some did go to providing services such as medical care and education for orphanages. The state can intervene to support these institutions, or perhaps establish its own. (2 dice [-15 per die], 10R)
--[] Direct Grain Subsidies: The typical mechanisms for providing grain to the cities have largely collapsed thanks to aristocratic incompetence, but with our new position as the legal landlord of much of the farmland, things can hopefully be salvaged. Set sharp price and pay regulations for every step from farm to table and ensure grain will be affordable for everyone this season. (2 dice [-15 per die], 250R)

We need to cap the price of food stat, and work on supporting the vulnerable in this time of need. Education can wait for now.

-[] Bureaucracy (3 dice + 5 Free)
--[] Set New Tax Schedules: You have effectively declared a tax jubilee while you get things sorted out, making you very popular, but this has to be temporary. You need to decide what taxes to set, and how to collect them. (2 dice [-15 per die])
--[] Establish Subsidiary Offices: While the city of Belles is unquestionably the most important, there are many lesser cities and locations that you will need to operate in extensively. Establishing branch offices in some of those will be a difficult process that will take up some of your existing staff, but it will be helpful for the future. (2 dice [-15 per die])
--[] Create Allocations Office: Part of your Ministry's mandate is to ensure enough food and other essential goods are available. Unfortunately, you don't even know how much is produced, let alone how much is needed. The number of clerks and mages needed for this will hurt, but having even the vaguest estimate of what essential goods are needed will be helpful. (2 dice [-15 per die])
--[] Find Prior Records [Knowledge]: The records of merchants, nobles, bailiffs, and more, all contain hints of land use, economic activity, and material usage. Gathering and collating all this information will be an immense task, but it will also be a vital one that will greatly simplify many of your plans and objectives. (2 dice [-7 per die])

Yes, I'm dumping all the free dice here. We need all the info and the organizational infrastructure going stat. It hopefully should reduce the cost and/or difficulty of many of these projects.

-[] Personal (5 dice, +1 Stress)
--[] Investigate Assembly Factions: You know there are some broad, loose coalitions forming in the Assembly, but you haven't had time to find out more than what you saw during your first meeting. (1 unrolled die)
--[] Investigate Assembly Decrees: The first session continued for quite some time after you left, and there's currently no formal system for announcing what's been decided. You will need to pry yourself from your office and library to find out what exactly happened, perhaps from Redcap himself. (1 unrolled die)
--[] Attend Assembly Sessions: Your first priority might be your ministerial position, but you are also an Assembly member. The issues currently being raised are the matter of several colonies that remain under the control of Royal Governors, the disposition of the army, and response to a series of letters from the Second Elven Empire. (1 unrolled die)
--[] Hire Golem-Makers: You need people you can trust, and you need your people to be trusted. Solving two problems at once has an elegance that reminds you of your Baba's stories, and so you will hire some of your fellows to fill out the ranks of the department. (2 dice [-5 per die])

A point of stress starting out of the gate is going to be necessary, I fear. We need to get the lay of the political land ASAP, and it'll be worse if we don't indulge in nepotism and give our people a shot. Also, it'll fill up the ministry.
 
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I believe Granary Restoration, Canal Restoration, Direct Grain Subsidies and Create Allocations Office are all going to be necessary to prevent starvation. We need the grain we do have to not rot away; we need a way to get the grain to where it's needed, We need to know where it is needed, and we need to make sure people can buy it without bankruptcy.
 
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We definitely need stuff for collecting and distributing grain. That's really important. I also think we should lay the foundations for the golem factories. They'd be useful members of the agency, shore up our work force, and plays into our unique background. We build some government offices too to slightly off set the decreased support we'd get for doing that.
 
In other plan quests dumping a shit ton of dice to crash build stuff tends to produce low quality and leave other stuff to falter, so spreading dice out a bit tends to be a better idea even if it means progress is slow going. That's my philosophy going into this instead of dumping a lot of dice into one or two things. The plan costs 457.5 resources too. The big cost is the grain subsidies, which I think are important. We need to bite the bullet to prevent a famine.

[] Plan: Golem Making and Grain Saving
-[] Urban Infrastructure (4 dice, 35R)
--[] Sewage Repair Stage 1: The sewage system in Belles has been non-functional for years outside of all but the richest districts. The Rat-Catcher's Guild and the Sewer-Repair Guild have both been neglected, leaving them incapable of fulfilling their duties, resulting in miasmas of vile gasses that are disgusting to the nose and likely poisonous to the flesh drifting throughout the city. During the spring, the smell is tolerable, but it will rapidly get worse come summer. (3 dice [-10 per die], 30R)
--[] Construct Government Offices: The various newly established ministries and bureaucracies are currently operating out of whatever they managed to claim for themselves, while the Assembly itself meets in what is unquestionably a royal building. This makes even finding other government departments or Assembly members a challenge. (1 dice [-5 per die], 5R)

We can't let shit get worse. It kills people and is gross, so starting on that is important. We also need offices to house government workers and it looks good to the government.

-[] Rural Infrastructure (6 dice, 67.5R)
--[] Road Reconstruction: The funding that the nobility was supposed to spend on provincial upkeep instead mostly went to funding lavish balls, leaving vital infrastructure rotted. Nowhere is this more visible than endless miles of roads left as masses of mud, potholes deep enough to drown a horse, and wild plants. Keeping them in good shape will make travel far easier and serve as proof of the new government's superiority. Though it will be an immense effort, it will also mostly require labor. (1 dice [-2.5 per die], 2.5R)
--[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic]: While the neglect of the roads might be more visible, the sorry state of the granaries is a far more serious concern. One harvest has already half-rotted away thanks to royal mismanagement. Another would be devastating. From anti-vermin wards to staddle stones, every precaution must be taken. (3 dice [-15 per die], 45R)
--[] Canal Restoration [Low Magic]: Just as roads were neglected, so too was the network of canals. The runes that kept them clear and swift have eroded, their sides have begun to cave in, and locks have begun to falter. As the grain barges that trawl these canals are the only practical way to deliver grain to the cities, they must be repaired and restored. (2 dice [-10 per die], 20 R)

We need to store grain and make sure harvests don't go to waste. The canals also transport the grain. It's best to get work on that up and running immediately. The road will require a lot of work, so throwing a die towards it will be very useful.

-[] Agriculture (8 dice 50R)
--[] Land Survey [Knowledge]: The records for who owns what land are hard to come by. The crown bureaucracy only retained records for the greatest noble families, whose estates in Belles rarely contain more detailed information. Any major agricultural reform will require correcting this deficiency. Ideally, local bailiffs and officials can be contacted, along with leaders among the peasantry and their records examined. If not, more arduous measures may be required. (4 dice [-5 per die], 20 R)
--[] Livestock Distribution: Livestock are vital for the peasantry, from what you understand. Aside from the meat and milk they provide, having a cow or horse to pull your plow and your mill greatly eases the burden of labor that is a peasant's lot. Redistributing some livestock should make it easier for them to grow crops. (2 dice [-5 per die], 10 R)
--[] New Crop Investigations [Research]: The western and southern continents are largely unfamiliar to the people of Belles, outside of a few small and far-flung colonies, but apparently there are many types of unfamiliar plants that could be useful. A few dozen test fields can be planted. Hopefully one of them will turn out to be useful enough to justify the cost of importing them. (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)

Land Surveying is very important, so it takes up half the dice. I think live stock should be spread out to ease the burden of the peasants, prevent them from concentrating into a few hands. Peasants need animals to work the farms. It will also buy some loyalty by giving away free animals to peasants. The crop investigation is straight forward and we might get potatoes or fun fantasy crops out of it.

-[] Industry (3 dice, +2 Free Dice, 50R)
--[] Golem Construction [Golems]: While most consider the construction of golems rank heresy, it is a knowledge and tradition your people have kept alive and one that has been formally decriminalized. The golems made during the Uprising were crude and temporary things, made to provide quick protection against arrows and labor for constructing barricades. For the sort of work that the Republic needs, better ones must be made, out of freshly quarried stone and sculpted clay. (3 dice, [-10 per die, -3 AS per die], 30 R)
--[] Mass Smithies [Metal]: Just as new methods have transformed the production of cloth, so too has the production of metal goods been changed. New smelteries and water-powered hammers have enabled the production of vast amounts of rough, simple tools and weaponry, although the more intricate gears and devices they use still require skilled smithing. Restarting the forges is more a question of organization and gathering fuel, and the matter is less fraught than other possible avenues of development. (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)

Golems are our bread and butter, let's do this. Smithies we could possibly hammer out with one dice roll. It's useful.

-[] Services (4 dice, 260R)
--[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1: The removal of church lands from their control has sharply curtailed the income of Holy Mother Church. While most of the money went to grand cathedrals and archbishops' waistlines, some did go to providing services such as medical care and education for orphanages. The state can intervene to support these institutions, or perhaps establish its own. (2 dice [-5 per die], 10R)
--[] Direct Grain Subsidies: The typical mechanisms for providing grain to the cities have largely collapsed thanks to aristocratic incompetence, but with our new position as the legal landlord of much of the farmland, things can hopefully be salvaged. Set sharp price and pay regulations for every step from farm to table and ensure grain will be affordable for everyone this season. (2 dice, 250R)

We provide care for the most vulnerable while asserting state control. Grain subsidies asserts state control and helps prevent starvation.

-[] Bureaucracy (3 dice, +3 Free Dice, 5R)
--[] Set New Tax Schedules: You have effectively declared a tax jubilee while you get things sorted out, making you very popular, but this has to be temporary. You need to decide what taxes to set, and how to collect them. (1 dice)
--[] Establish Subsidiary Offices: While the city of Belles is unquestionably the most important, there are many lesser cities and locations that you will need to operate in extensively. Establishing branch offices in some of those will be a difficult process that will take up some of your existing staff, but it will be helpful for the future. (1 dice)
--[] Create Allocations Office: Part of your Ministry's mandate is to ensure enough food and other essential goods are available. Unfortunately, you don't even know how much is produced, let alone how much is needed. The number of clerks and mages needed for this will hurt, but having even the vaguest estimate of what essential goods are needed will be helpful. (1 dice)
--[] Get Hiring!: You need people. They need to be at least somewhat literate, but past that there are few requirements. Hire as many as you can, and start filling out your desperately understaffed ministry. (1 dice [-5 per die])
--[] Find Prior Records [Knowledge]: The records of merchants, nobles, bailiffs, and more, all contain hints of land use, economic activity, and material usage. Gathering and collating all this information will be an immense task, but it will also be a vital one that will greatly simplify many of your plans and objectives. (2 dice)

All useful shit we need to get a move on.

-[] Personal (4 dice)
--[] Investigate Assembly Factions: You know there are some broad, loose coalitions forming in the Assembly, but you haven't had time to find out more than what you saw during your first meeting. (1 dice)
--[] Investigate Assembly Decrees: The first session continued for quite some time after you left, and there's currently no formal system for announcing what's been decided. You will need to pry yourself from your office and library to find out what exactly happened, perhaps from Redcap himself. (1 dice)
--[] Attend Assembly Sessions: Your first priority might be your ministerial position, but you are also an Assembly member. The issues currently being raised are the matter of several colonies that remain under the control of Royal Governors, the disposition of the army, and response to a series of letters from the Second Elven Empire. (1 dice)
--[] Hire Golem-Makers: You need people you can trust, and you need your people to be trusted. Solving two problems at once has an elegance that reminds you of your Baba's stories, and so you will hire some of your fellows to fill out the ranks of the department. (1 dice)

I don't want to stress our dude out too fast, so using a free dice to spare him the stress is important. We need golem makers to help support us in the ministry and can synergize with golem construction.

Edit: I was told free dice can't be used on personally actions, so only 1 dice used on hire golem makers. The stress isn't worth it. I moved the free dice to industry on the mass smithings, bringing the overall cost up by 10R.
 
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[] Plan Starting Small

2000 Resources in Reserve
52 AS
50 DS

5 Free Dice

Urban Infrastructure: 4 dice
-[] Urban Reconstruction Stage 1: The city has been horrifically damaged in the Uprising. While most bodies have been buried and some essential work has been completed, there is still much left to do. Given the presence of nobles and their private armies, you have been told the first priority must be defense. The walls of Belles, both internally and externally, have been badly damaged. Warding schemes failed under barrages of concentrated spellfire, sally ports were hammered off their hinges, and the First Citizen collapsed entire towers. Simply clearing away and piling up rubble will be better than what currently exists. (0/125, 5 Resources per die.)

2 dice 10 R

-[] Sewage Repair Stage 1: The sewage system in Belles has been non-functional for years outside of all but the richest districts. The Rat-Catcher's Guild and the Sewer-Repair Guild have both been neglected, leaving them incapable of fulfilling their duties, resulting in miasmas of vile gasses that are disgusting to the nose and likely poisonous to the flesh drifting throughout the city. During the spring, the smell is tolerable, but it will rapidly get worse come summer. (0/150, 10 Resources per die)

2 dice 20R

Rural Infrastucture: 6 dice

-[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic]: While the neglect of the roads might be more visible, the sorry state of the granaries is a far more serious concern. One harvest has already half-rotted away thanks to royal mismanagement. Another would be devastating. From anti-vermin wards to staddle stones, every precaution must be taken. (0/200, 15 Resources per die)
6 dice 90 R

Agriculture: 8 dice

-[] Land Survey [Knowledge]: The records for who owns what land are hard to come by. The crown bureaucracy only retained records for the greatest noble families, whose estates in Belles rarely contain more detailed information. Any major agricultural reform will require correcting this deficiency. Ideally, local bailiffs and officials can be contacted, along with leaders among the peasantry and their records examined. If not, more arduous measures may be required. (0/2???, 5 Resources per die)

8 dice 40 R

Industry: 3 dice

-[] Mass Smithies [Metal]: Just as new methods have transformed the production of cloth, so too has the production of metal goods been changed. New smelteries and water-powered hammers have enabled the production of vast amounts of rough, simple tools and weaponry, although the more intricate gears and devices they use still require skilled smithing. Restarting the forges is more a question of organization and gathering fuel, and the matter is less fraught than other possible avenues of development. (0/80, 10 Resources per die)

3 dice 30 R

Services: 4 dice

-[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1: The removal of church lands from their control has sharply curtailed the income of Holy Mother Church. While most of the money went to grand cathedrals and archbishops' waistlines, some did go to providing services such as medical care and education for orphanages. The state can intervene to support these institutions, or perhaps establish its own. (0/100, 5 Resources per die)

2 dice 10 R

-[] Direct Grain Subsidies: The typical mechanisms for providing grain to the cities have largely collapsed thanks to aristocratic incompetence, but with our new position as the legal landlord of much of the farmland, things can hopefully be salvaged. Set sharp price and pay regulations for every step from farm to table and ensure grain will be affordable for everyone this season. (250 Resources, 2 dice.)

Bureaucracy: 3 dice + 5 free dice

-[] Set New Tax Schedules: You have effectively declared a tax jubilee while you get things sorted out, making you very popular, but this has to be temporary. You need to decide what taxes to set, and how to collect them. (Max 2 dice, rolled.)

2 dice

-[] Create Allocations Office: Part of your Ministry's mandate is to ensure enough food and other essential goods are available. Unfortunately, you don't even know how much is produced, let alone how much is needed. The number of clerks and mages needed for this will hurt, but having even the vaguest estimate of what essential goods are needed will be helpful. (No dice limit, rolled.)

2 dice

-[] Get Hiring!: You need people. They need to be at least somewhat literate, but past that there are few requirements. Hire as many as you can, and start filling out your desperately understaffed ministry. (5 Resources per die.)

2 dice 10 R

-[] Find Prior Records [Knowledge]: The records of merchants, nobles, bailiffs, and more, all contain hints of land use, economic activity, and material usage. Gathering and collating all this information will be an immense task, but it will also be a vital one that will greatly simplify many of your plans and objectives. (Max 2 dice, rolled.)

2 dice

Personal: 5 dice (No free dice may be used. If all Personal Dice are used, +1 Stress)

-[] Investigate Assembly Factions: You know there are some broad, loose coalitions forming in the Assembly, but you haven't had time to find out more than what you saw during your first meeting. (1 unrolled die)

-[] Investigate Assembly Decrees: The first session continued for quite some time after you left, and there's currently no formal system for announcing what's been decided. You will need to pry yourself from your office and library to find out what exactly happened, perhaps from Redcap himself. (1 unrolled die)

-[] Attend Assembly Sessions: Your first priority might be your ministerial position, but you are also an Assembly member. The issues currently being raised are the matter of several colonies that remain under the control of Royal Governors, the disposition of the army, and response to a series of letters from the Second Elven Empire. (1 unrolled die)

-[] Hire Golem-Makers: You need people you can trust, and you need your people to be trusted. Solving two problems at once has an elegance that reminds you of your Baba's stories, and so you will hire some of your fellows to fill out the ranks of the department. (Max 2 dice, reduce unstaffed ministry penalty, potentially gain new subordinate, potentially lose AS)



While dealing with sewers is definitely a priority, the same can be said of traveling through a rubble filled city. Clean up the city in every way that matters. Outside of this I find myself agreeing with most other proposals.
 
REACTION POOST!

2000 Resources in Reserve
52 AS
50 DS
Okay. 2000 R in the kitty means that with forty-ish (?) dice, we can afford to activate them all for several turns. But until we know how long it'll take to get up to, say, 200 RpT of income (R per turn), we can't afford to spend lavishly. Expensive 10-15 R/die projects should not be pursued except where they are truly important.

Priorities:

Infrastructure

[] Sewage Repair Stage 1: The sewage system in Belles has been non-functional for years outside of all but the richest districts. The Rat-Catcher's Guild and the Sewer-Repair Guild have both been neglected, leaving them incapable of fulfilling their duties, resulting in miasmas of vile gasses that are disgusting to the nose and likely poisonous to the flesh drifting throughout the city. During the spring, the smell is tolerable, but it will rapidly get worse come summer. (0/150, 10 Resources per die)
Important.This is probably gonna cause a massive epidemic outbreak in the capital if not addressed immediately.

[] Revitalize Abello Port [Nautical]: Abello was home to the Kingdom's navy, but after several expensive overseas wars, it was largely shuttered. While the sections used for trade are still in good repair thanks to the merchants who depend on it spending significant sums to keep their livelihood intact, most of the rest has been left to languish. To many, it is a disgrace that must be corrected. (0/100, 15 Resources per die, +5 AS on completion)
Nice, and a good illustration of the principle that there's really critical stuff and there's stuff the Assembly and dragon like, and the two rarely overlap.

[] Construct Government Offices: The various newly established ministries and bureaucracies are currently operating out of whatever they managed to claim for themselves, while the Assembly itself meets in what is unquestionably a royal building. This makes even finding other government departments or Assembly members a challenge. (0/50, 5 Resources per die, +1 AS on completion)
This logistically benefits us, and probably unlocks things like per-die bonuses. Finding a die (not more than one) to spend here is in my opinion a good idea. Possibly a VERY good idea, on reflection, because we need a functioning administrative apparatus in order to collect taxes.

[] Urban Reconstruction Stage 1: The city has been horrifically damaged in the Uprising. While most bodies have been buried and some essential work has been completed, there is still much left to do. Given the presence of nobles and their private armies, you have been told the first priority must be defense. The walls of Belles, both internally and externally, have been badly damaged. Warding schemes failed under barrages of concentrated spellfire, sally ports were hammered off their hinges, and the First Citizen collapsed entire towers. Simply clearing away and piling up rubble will be better than what currently exists. (0/125, 5 Resources per die.)
Important but not QUITE as urgent, since military attack on the capital is vanishingly unlikely to succeed with the First Citizen hanging around.

[] Widening Gates: Due to the damaged walls, traveling in and out of the city has become difficult and chaotic. While this situation could be resolved simply by repairing those walls, the First Citizen has made it known that he probably won't be able to fit through the gates as they were. Enlarging them would also probably make traffic less congested in the future. (0/75, 5 Resources per die, +5 DS)
Might be a good idea to throw a die at this, preferably before Urban Reconstruction Stage 1 which would necessarily entail repairing the walls.

Rural Infrastucture

[] Road Reconstruction: The funding that the nobility was supposed to spend on provincial upkeep instead mostly went to funding lavish balls, leaving vital infrastructure rotted. Nowhere is this more visible than endless miles of roads left as masses of mud, potholes deep enough to drown a horse, and wild plants. Keeping them in good shape will make travel far easier and serve as proof of the new government's superiority. Though it will be an immense effort, it will also mostly require labor. (0/1200, 2.5 Resources per die)
This is a colossal megaproject that we will have to do soon, but that will probably be best done after we deal with immediate dumpster fire problems that might otherwise devastate the country with plague and famine in the immediate future.

[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic]: While the neglect of the roads might be more visible, the sorry state of the granaries is a far more serious concern. One harvest has already half-rotted away thanks to royal mismanagement. Another would be devastating. From anti-vermin wards to staddle stones, every precaution must be taken. (0/200, 15 Resources per die)
Important. "Harvest half rotted away" is a massive fucking disaster. If that's anything but the most blatant hyperbole, thousands may have already starved to death before the revolution and thousands of more will likely do so soon. This is critical infrastructure that was, historically, necessary to feeding people, so having it out of commission immediately means that the country's ability to feed people drops below its population and people begin to starve. I agree that we normally should try to avoid dumping a ton of dice on "shock efforts" but this may be an exception.

Some may note that harvests are classically in autumn, but in many climates many crops are traditionally harvested in what we'd normally think of as summer months- July and August. This is, incidentally, much of why school systems in real life have the summer vacation that they do.

[] Wind and Water Mills: The existing mills are largely powered by muscle power, whether that be from livestock or people. Only a few of the wealthier nobility bothered to invest in anything more. The sheer idiocy of this policy is impossible to overstate, and must be corrected at once. (0/300, 5 Resources per die)
This is also hugely important, though we grind grain AFTER it is harvested because the raw grains keep better than flour does. Thus, this is very important, but second in priority to Granary Restoration for two reasons:

1) It's less urgent to ensuring that there is actually enough food really soon, and
2) The lack of adequate mills is a problem the peasantry was already surviving; it won't get much worse if ignored for one or two turns. By contrast, the granaries are something the peasantry was already using to feed itself.

[] Canal Restoration [Low Magic]: Just as roads were neglected, so too was the network of canals. The runes that kept them clear and swift have eroded, their sides have begun to cave in, and locks have begun to falter. As the grain barges that trawl these canals are the only practical way to deliver grain to the cities, they must be repaired and restored. (0/800, 10 Resources per die)
Very important, but a megaproject that cannot be rushed and which must be completed in the 'wiggle room' around the other issues. Realistically cannot be done in less than say, a year or so, so we'll just have to hope for the best and ensure that the total food supply is large.

Agriculture: 8 dice

[] Land Survey [Knowledge]: The records for who owns what land are hard to come by. The crown bureaucracy only retained records for the greatest noble families, whose estates in Belles rarely contain more detailed information. Any major agricultural reform will require correcting this deficiency. Ideally, local bailiffs and officials can be contacted, along with leaders among the peasantry and their records examined. If not, more arduous measures may be required. (0/2???, 5 Resources per die)
This is a colossal megaproject, implied to be in excess of 2000 points. We cannot possibly handle it without a much more developed bureaucracy, in my opinion- it may turn out to be less work and a lower Progress cost after we do some government expansion functions. However, we have so many Agriculture dice that it may be possible, even necessary, to work on this anyway. It's certainly the kind of project you don't want to crash-complete in a hurry.

[] Land Distribution: Currently, all land in the republic outside of some privately owned plots is the direct property of your ministry. Turning over portions of this land, with or without compensation, could greatly benefit the position of your people, administration, and government. (0/50, 5 Resources per die, sub-votes)
Important, likely to be popular, and very cheap in both dice and R. I say put two dice on it to ensure that it happens.

[] Livestock Distribution: Livestock are vital for the peasantry, from what you understand. Aside from the meat and milk they provide, having a cow or horse to pull your plow and your mill greatly eases the burden of labor that is a peasant's lot. Redistributing some livestock should make it easier for them to grow crops. (0/150, 5 Resources per die)
This is also worth heavy, intense dice investment.

[pquote][] New Crop Investigations [Research]: The western and southern continents are largely unfamiliar to the people of Belles, outside of a few small and far-flung colonies, but apparently there are many types of unfamiliar plants that could be useful. A few dozen test fields can be planted. Hopefully one of them will turn out to be useful enough to justify the cost of importing them. (0/50, 10 Resources per die)
A tempting and interesting project and we can probably spare the dice and R for it, though deploying any new crops may prove beyond our immediate means.

[] Low Magic Support [Low Magic]: Magic is vitally useful for farming. Repelling pests, killing weeds, enhancing the soil, and accelerating the pace of labor are all common, useful spells. While the peasantry has its own low mages and hedge mages, there are many more wandering the streets of Belles. Hiring some of these mages and sending them out to assist in farming will greatly improve the availability of food come the harvest, albeit at the cost of significant urban disruption. (0/200, 10 Resources per die, will increase Resource costs for other options)
Lovely but I'm not confident that we can afford higher R cost for other options (+5 R/die in this field would mean spending 40 RpT more to activate all dice). Has to wait a bit until we figure out the budget situation.

Industry: 3 dice
[] Golem Construction [Golems]: While most consider the construction of golems rank heresy, it is a knowledge and tradition your people have kept alive and one that has been formally decriminalized. The golems made during the Uprising were crude and temporary things, made to provide quick protection against arrows and labor for constructing barricades. For the sort of work that the Republic needs, better ones must be made, out of freshly quarried stone and sculpted clay. (0/175, 10 Resources per die, -3 AS per die)
Ahhh, very interesting. A unique option we should probably take, but which we need to offset with +AS options. Maybe worth putting off one turn just to deal with immediate dumpster fires so we're more free to do that. Or at least go slow on it. Get a sense for what happens if AS is at 45 or so before pushing to go lower.

[] Re-Establish Mining Functionality [Metal]: The mines of Belledor, mostly located in the western parts of the kingdom, have produced countless minerals. Iron, gold, silver, and copper were all torn from the earth, along with more esoteric and unusual stones such as mana crystals, dragonsblood, and coal. Many of these mines have ceased production in recent years due to a series of unfortunate collapses and bloody skirmishes between mine owners and workers. To restart the flow of valuable metals, first the connections to the mines must be re-opened and the necessary supplies delivered. (0/400, 10 Resources per die, subvote upon completion)

[] Textile Factories: While the production of cloth, draperies, and clothing has always been something of a special Belledor industry, recent innovations you have begun reading about have made the process massively more efficient. Newly built factories effortlessly outproduced conventional facilities, although many of these factories were shuttered by rioting workers during the Uprising, or faces resistance from skilled artisans outcompeted. But the economic potential of these factories is immense... (0/250, 10 Resources per die, subvote upon completion)
Both interesting projects we'd need multiple turns to see fruition on.

[] Mass Smithies [Metal]: Just as new methods have transformed the production of cloth, so too has the production of metal goods been changed. New smelteries and water-powered hammers have enabled the production of vast amounts of rough, simple tools and weaponry, although the more intricate gears and devices they use still require skilled smithing. Restarting the forges is more a question of organization and gathering fuel, and the matter is less fraught than other possible avenues of development. (0/80, 10 Resources per die)
This seems like a good choice to start rapidly, as it's listed as providing "less fraught" opportunities.

Services: 4 dice

[] Develop High Magic Curriculum [Knowledge]: The secrets of High Magic have been closely guarded and carefully kept, requiring years of study and mighty oaths before one can be taught them, but the power offered by these spells is immense and invaluable. It must be unchained, the knowledge delivered to everyone. The first step in creating a schooling system is collecting and categorizing everything we can about how to perform High Magic and its attendant arts. (0/400, 5 Resources per die)

[] Establish Schools of Low Magic Stage 1 [Knowledge]: Beyond literacy, Low Magic has few requirements, but the time to learn it in any thorough, systematic way means most people only know a single spell, if that. However, there are countless mages with greater experience and knowledge, which can be drawn upon to begin teaching others more about spellcasting and spellcrafting in an organized fashion, making the people of the Republic better workers, citizens, and soldiers. (0/300, 5 Resources per die)

[] Investigate Low Magic Variations [Knowledge] [Research]: Low Magic and its associated arts are incredibly unstandardized. Every single mage does their spell just a little bit differently, making combining magical effects and maintaining enchantments far more complicated. The process of cataloging these endless variations and identifying the specific forms that are lost efficacious will be a long and tedious process, one complicated by a lack of good measuring systems, but the results will be valuable and intriguing. (0/800, 5 Resources per die)
All major projects and it's hard for me to figure out which is most important.

[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1: The removal of church lands from their control has sharply curtailed the income of Holy Mother Church. While most of the money went to grand cathedrals and archbishops' waistlines, some did go to providing services such as medical care and education for orphanages. The state can intervene to support these institutions, or perhaps establish its own. (0/100, 5 Resources per die)

[] Urban Schools Stage 1: The education of the kingdom was…haphazard, to say the least. Despite this, shocking proportions of the population is at least partially literate, something which must be taken advantage of in order to begin educating the people to make them good citizens, workers, and soldiers. The first priority will be to create adult literacy programs in urban centers. (0/150, 5 Resources per die)
These sound important and can be set up fairly quickly.

[] Rural Teachers and Officials Stage 1: The same educational difficulties afflicted the rural areas of the kingdom, complicated by the scattered nature of much of the population. Drawing upon an ancient tradition of your people, you aim to establish a corps of wandering teacher-officials who will be responsible for traveling the land to educate and appoint officials in each village and farmstead. It is, admittedly , an unconventional solution. (0/200, 5 Resources per die, -4 AS on completion)
Hrrm. Ahh, this is an interesting one, and worth exploring... but maybe not right away. May backfire somehow but we can't know until we try, so I support doing at least one phase.

[] Direct Grain Subsidies: The typical mechanisms for providing grain to the cities have largely collapsed thanks to aristocratic incompetence, but with our new position as the legal landlord of much of the farmland, things can hopefully be salvaged. Set sharp price and pay regulations for every step from farm to table and ensure grain will be affordable for everyone this season. (250 Resources, 2 dice.)
Ah. Important. This is critical if we want the capital to not explode. However, it is also unsustainable because we'd burn through the whole treasury in just eight turns even if we did literally nothing else, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be doing a lot of deficit spending during those first eight turns anyway.

Bureaucracy: 3 dice

[] Set New Tax Schedules: You have effectively declared a tax jubilee while you get things sorted out, making you very popular, but this has to be temporary. You need to decide what taxes to set, and how to collect them. (Max 2 dice, rolled.)

[] Establish Subsidiary Offices: While the city of Belles is unquestionably the most important, there are many lesser cities and locations that you will need to operate in extensively. Establishing branch offices in some of those will be a difficult process that will take up some of your existing staff, but it will be helpful for the future. (No dice limit, rolled.)

[] Create Allocations Office: Part of your Ministry's mandate is to ensure enough food and other essential goods are available. Unfortunately, you don't even know how much is produced, let alone how much is needed. The number of clerks and mages needed for this will hurt, but having even the vaguest estimate of what essential goods are needed will be helpful. (No dice limit, rolled.)

[] Get Hiring!: You need people. They need to be at least somewhat literate, but past that there are few requirements. Hire as many as you can, and start filling out your desperately understaffed ministry. (5 Resources per die.)

[] Find Prior Records [Knowledge]: The records of merchants, nobles, bailiffs, and more, all contain hints of land use, economic activity, and material usage. Gathering and collating all this information will be an immense task, but it will also be a vital one that will greatly simplify many of your plans and objectives. (Max 2 dice, rolled.)
Oooof. These are all important, enough so that I kinda want to put Free dice on them to do as many as practicable. I think top priorities are Find Prior Records and Get Hiring, with Create Allocations Office being very important too. The other two are ALSO important, but it would be very unwise for us to stack up that many actions in one go.

Personal: 5 dice (No free dice may be used. If all Personal Dice are used, +1 Stress)

[] Directed Reading: Spending time in the library idly flipping through countless tomes and perhaps discovering some lost gem of a book is a favorite pleasure of yours, but if need be you can spend the time looking into things more directly useful. (1 unrolled die, allows the players to change a die bonus. For any increase, it must be matched by a decrease.)
Not sure what this does mechanically.

[] Personal Attention: You do have assistants, able ones. Providing direct magical and intellectual support to a project could see it finished much faster, although you don't much like the idea of leaving the city. (1-3 unrolled dice, choose an action per die. Double all personal bonuses.)
Wish I knew the mechanical effect of this.

[] Investigate Assembly Factions: You know there are some broad, loose coalitions forming in the Assembly, but you haven't had time to find out more than what you saw during your first meeting. (1 unrolled die)

[] Investigate Assembly Decrees: The first session continued for quite some time after you left, and there's currently no formal system for announcing what's been decided. You will need to pry yourself from your office and library to find out what exactly happened, perhaps from Redcap himself. (1 unrolled die)

[] Attend Assembly Sessions: Your first priority might be your ministerial position, but you are also an Assembly member. The issues currently being raised are the matter of several colonies that remain under the control of Royal Governors, the disposition of the army, and response to a series of letters from the Second Elven Empire. (1 unrolled die)
These... are probably important. Knowing what is going on sounds important. Especially this early on.

[] Hire Golem-Makers: You need people you can trust, and you need your people to be trusted. Solving two problems at once has an elegance that reminds you of your Baba's stories, and so you will hire some of your fellows to fill out the ranks of the department. (Max 2 dice, reduce unstaffed ministry penalty, potentially gain new subordinate, potentially lose AS)
Very tempting but maybe wait one turn; I don't want to crash our AS on the first turn.
 
-2 per die for [Politicking] actions
Reduced gains and increases loss of Assembly Support
+3 per die for [Metal], +1 per die for [Low Magic], +2 per die for [Nautical], +5 per die for [Research] actions
+8 per die for [Golem] and [Knowledge] actions
-10 per die for all non-Personal actions. Penalty decreases by 1 per turn.


Free Dice (/5)
2 on Urban Infrastructure
3 on Bureaucracy

Budget:
475/2000 R (remember, we need to hold on to a lot)

[] Plan Attempting to Extinguish the Dumpster Fires Spring '04
-[] Urban Infrastructure (4/4 Dice + 2 Free Dice, 50 R)
--[] Sewage Repair Stage 1 0/150 (4 dice, 40 R) (??% chance)
--[] Construct Government Offices 0/50 (2 dice, 10 R) (??% chance)

-[] Rural Infrastructure (6/6 Dice, 80 R)
--[] Granary Restoration 0/200 (5 dice, 75 R) (??% chance)
--[] Wind and Water Mills 0/300 (1 die, 5 R) (1/7 median)

-[] Agriculture (8/8 Dice, 45 R)
--[] Land Distribution 0/50 (2 dice, 10 R) (??% chance)
--[] Livestock Distribution 0/150 (3 dice, 15 R) (??% chance)
--[] New Crop Investigations 0/50 (1 die, 10 R) (??% chance)
--[] Land Survey 0/2??? (2 dice, 10 R) (2/?? median)

-[] Industry (3/3 Dice, 30 R)
--[] Golem Construction 0/175 (1 die, 10 R) (1/4 median)
--[] Mass Smithies 0/80 (2 dice, 20 R) (??% chance)

-[] Services (4/4 Dice, 260 R)
--[] Orphanages and Hospices 0/100 (2 dice, 10 R) (??% chance)
--[] Direct Grain Subsidies (2 dice, 250 R) (aaah the pain)

-[] Bureaucracy (3/3 Dice + 3 Free dice, 10 R)
--[] Find Prior Records (2 dice)
--[] Get Hiring! (2 dice, 10 R)
--[] Set New Tax Schedules (2 dice)

-[] Personal Dice (4/5 dice)
--[] Investigate Assembly Factions
--[] Investigate Assembly Decrees
--[] Attend Assembly Sessions
--[] Personal Attention: NOT SURE YET



Okay, I'm trying to make this plan draft more legible by not having giant slabs of text interleaved with the items. I wish I had the energy to figure out probable success DCs for everything, but I doubt I will until tomorrow when the vote's been underway a while.
 
In other plan quests dumping a shit ton of dice to crash build stuff tends to produce low quality and leave other stuff to falter, so spreading dice out a bit tends to be a better idea even if it means progress is slow going.
Ah, that makes sense since crash-developing something would force shortcuts
 
I was told free dice can't be used on personally actions, so only 1 dice used on hire golem makers. The stress isn't worth it. I've updated my plan by moving the free dice to Industry to throw at mass smithings, bringing the overall cost up by 10R to a total of 467.5R.
 
-2 per die for [Politicking] actions
Reduced gains and increases loss of Assembly Support
+3 per die for [Metal], +1 per die for [Low Magic], +2 per die for [Nautical], +5 per die for [Research] actions
+8 per die for [Golem] and [Knowledge] actions
-10 per die for all non-Personal actions. Penalty decreases by 1 per turn.

Free Dice (/5)
2 on Urban Infrastructure
3 on Bureaucracy

Budget:
475/2000 R (remember, we need to hold on to a lot)

[] Plan Attempting to Avert the Famine Spring '04
-[] Urban Infrastructure (4/4 Dice + 2 Free Dice, -10 penalty, 50 R)
--[] Sewage Repair Stage 1 0/150 (4 dice, 40 R) (58% chance)
--[] Construct Government Offices 0/50 (2 dice, 10 R) (76% chance)
-[] Rural Infrastructure (6/6 Dice, -10 penalty, 80 R)
--[] Granary Restoration 0/200 [Low Magic] (5 dice, 75 R) (55% chance)
--[] Wind and Water Mills 0/300 (1 die, 5 R) (1/7.5 median dice to target)
-[] Agriculture (8/8 Dice, -10 penalty, 45 R)
--[] Land Distribution 0/50 (2 dice, 10 R) (76% chance)
--[] Livestock Distribution 0/150 (3 dice, 15 R) (30% chance)
--[] New Crop Investigations 0/50 [Research] (1 die, 10 R) (46% chance)
--[] Land Survey 0/2??? (2 dice, 10 R) [Knowledge] (2/?? median dice to target)
-[] Industry (3/3 Dice, -10 penalty, 30 R)
--[] Golem Construction 0/175 (1 die, 10 R) [Golems] (1/3.5 median dice to target)
--[] Mass Smithies 0/80 (2 dice, 20 R) [Metal] (57% chance)
-[] Services (4/4 Dice, -10 penalty 260 R)
--[] Orphanages and Hospices 0/100 (2 dice, 10 R) (33% chance)
--[] Direct Grain Subsidies (2 dice, 250 R) (aaah the pain)
-[] Bureaucracy (3/3 Dice + 3 Free dice, 10 R)
--[] Find Prior Records (2 dice) [Knowledge] (DC breakpoints unknown)
--[] Get Hiring! (2 dice, 10 R) (DC breakpoints unknown)
--[] Set New Tax Schedules (2 dice) (DC breakpoints unknown)
-[] Personal Dice (4/5 dice)
--[] Investigate Assembly Factions
--[] Investigate Assembly Decrees
--[] Attend Assembly Sessions
--[] Personal Attention: Find Prior Records (double bonus)

Top priorities are getting the government organized, getting SOME kind of plan in place to start collecting taxes so we're not bleeding money at nearly 500 RpT and out of cash in four turns, and rapidly re-establishing the granaries so that the next harvest doesn't rot. This last one is time-critical because many grain crops are actually harvested in late summer and it is now spring. We may or may not even have a second turn before some of the crops come in; I'm not sure if our turns are six months or twelve.

I will edit in estimated success chances later.

@GerPN76 , the plan name has been changed on reflection to Plan Attempting to Avert the Famine Spring '04.
 
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[X] Plan Attempting to Avert the Famine Spring '04

I'm going with this plan, because I agree with his reasoning. In addition, we need to show the common folk that this new system will actually improve their lot, or else we'll be overthrown in turn, dragon or no dragon.
 
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[X] Plan: Golem Making and Grain Saving
-[X] Urban Infrastructure (4 dice, 35R)

--[X] Sewage Repair Stage 1 (3 dice [-10 per die], 30R)
--[X] Construct Government Offices (1 dice [-5 per die], 5R)
-[X] Rural Infrastructure (6 dice, 67.5R)
--[X] Road Reconstruction (1 dice [-2.5 per die], 2.5R)
--[X] Granary Restoration [Low Magic] (3 dice [-15 per die], 45R)
--[X] Canal Restoration [Low Magic] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20 R)
-[X] Agriculture (8 dice 50R)
--[X] Land Survey [Knowledge] (4 dice [-5 per die], 20 R)
--[X] Livestock Distribution (2 dice [-5 per die], 10 R)
--[X] New Crop Investigations [Research] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)
-[X] Industry (3 dice, +2 Free Dice, 50R)
--[X] Golem Construction [Golems] (3 dice, [-10 per die, -3 AS per die], 30 R)
--[X] Mass Smithies [Metal] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)
-[X] Services (4 dice, 260R)
--[X] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1 (2 dice [-5 per die], 10R)
--[X] Direct Grain Subsidies (2 dice, 250R)
-[X] Bureaucracy (3 dice, +3 Free Dice, 5R)
--[X] Set New Tax Schedules (1 dice)
--[X] Establish Subsidiary Offices (1 dice)
--[X] Create Allocations Office (1 dice)
--[X] Get Hiring! (1 dice [-5 per die])
--[X] Find Prior Records [Knowledge] (2 dice)
-[X] Personal (4 dice)
--[X] Investigate Assembly Factions (1 dice)
--[X] Investigate Assembly Decrees (1 dice)
--[X] Attend Assembly Sessions (1 dice)
--[X] Hire Golem-Makers (1 dice)

Plan posted in full with so the tally actually picks up the planks. The fluff text has been removed too so it's easier to read. I'm also happy to see people supporting my plan. I think it's the first time I've made a plan for a plan quest. The format was a bit tough to get used to but it looks pretty solid.
 
I really like your plan fission and this is a very minor nitpick but would there be interest and support in changing free dice around to ensure the bureaucratic actions get higher rolls?
 
[X] Plan: Hose the Biggest Fires, Identify Everything Else
-[X] Urban Infrastructure (4 dice, 40R)
--[X] Sewage Repair Stage 1 (4 dice [-15 per die], 40R)
-[X] Rural Infrastructure (6 dice, 90R)
--[X] Granary Restoration [Low Magic] (6 dice [-14 per die], 90R)
-[X] Agriculture (8 dice, 50R)
--[X] Land Distribution (2 dice [-15 per die], 10R)
--[X] Livestock Distribution (4 dice [-15 per die], 20R)
--[X] New Crop Investigations [Research] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)
-[X] Industry (3 dice, 30R)
--[X] Mass Smithies [Metal] (3 dice [-12 per die], 30R)
-[X] Services (4 dice, 250R)
--[X] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1 (2 dice [-15 per die], 250R)
--[X] Direct Grain Subsidies (2 dice [-15 per die], 250R)
-[X] Bureaucracy (3 dice + 5 Free)
--[X] Set New Tax Schedules (2 dice [-15 per die])
--[X] Establish Subsidiary Offices (2 dice [-15 per die])
--[X] Create Allocations Office (2 dice [-15 per die])
--[X] Find Prior Records [Knowledge] (2 dice [-7 per die])
-[X] Personal (5 dice, +1 Stress)
--[X] Investigate Assembly Factions (1 unrolled die)
--[X] Investigate Assembly Decrees (1 unrolled die)
--[X] Attend Assembly Sessions (1 unrolled die)
--[X] Hire Golem-Makers (2 dice [-5 per die])
 
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So, thoughts on Golem Making and Grain Saving. To avoid any risk of falling afoul of my understanding of the spaghetti rules, my formatting's gonna be a little funny here.

[] Plan: Golem Making and Grain Saving
-[] Urban Infrastructure (4 dice, 35R)
--[] Sewage Repair Stage 1 (3 dice [-10 per die], 30R)
--[] Construct Government Offices (1 dice [-5 per die], 5R)


So one key difference between this and Attempting to Avert the Famine Spring '04 is that instead of putting two Free dice into Urban Infrastructure, this plan puts those Free dice into Industry. The price paid is that while both plans attempt the same projects, Fission Battery's has a much lower chance of project completion this turn: 30% on the sewers and 41% on the offices, versus 58% and 76% in mine. The tradeoff is much more progress on the golem factories. He has a 29% chance of finishing the project outright, whereas I'm assuredly not going to get it more than halfway done at best and probably won't even do that well.

To me, though, the golem factory may not be the best immediate project to go all in on. We're burning -9 Assembly Support to make that much progress, and this plan doesn't realistically bring us close to earning much of that support back. Meanwhile, the sewers are almost certainly a problem in the capital, and if we don't fix them and have an epidemic, we're very likely to be blamed by the Assembly itself, between ethnic prejudice and the fact that the Assembly is literally sitting on top of the problem.

Likewise, I suspect that we need the government offices for the government as a whole to function, plus it's worth a trickle of +AS. These are pretty important projects. By contrast, the golem factory is no doubt important... but I suspect its ability to achieve impressive feats is going to be gated behind more Support-costing projects, and probably expensive ones. Just because it's our special option doesn't mean it's the thing we're best off pursuing immediately in the face of needs like Sewer Repair and Granary Restoration.

...

-[] Rural Infrastructure (6 dice, 67.5R)
--[] Road Reconstruction (1 dice [-2.5 per die], 2.5R)
--[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic] (3 dice [-15 per die], 45R)
--[] Canal Restoration [Low Magic] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20 R)[/i]

This spreads dice too widely for my liking. Even given that the canals and roads need to be done gradually rather than with a surge of effort, the granaries are urgent. Again, there may be summer wheat crops coming in from harvest in July and August, and so on. And the odds of finishing them with this number of dice are very poor (about 6.2%), because of our -10 penalty. We'd need to average about 77 on each of the three d100 rolls to clear the project.

By comparison, the roads have been bad for a long time and the canals, while a problem if allowed to crumble, will not crumble overnight. Whereas rats and mold can and will ruin great quantities of grain and other foodstuffs overnight. I think that we should prioritize the granaries heavily in this first turn, and then begin a more serious effort to work on roads and especially canals.

...

-[] Agriculture (8 dice 50R)
--[] Land Survey [Knowledge] (4 dice [-5 per die], 20 R)
--[] Livestock Distribution (2 dice [-5 per die], 10 R)
--[] New Crop Investigations [Research] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)


This plan has definite virtues, but on the one hand, well, it neglects Land Distribution. This is a fairly important project, I think. We cannot afford to leave land not cultivated, and we probably need the political leverage that this could give us with the Assembly, especially if we want to enable the Golem-Industrial Revolution.

And on the other hand, the land survey is strongly implied to be a huge project, 2000+ points. While it's a great sink for Agriculture dice in general and worth starting, we have so much else that needs doing more urgently if we're to just get this year to have good agricultural output and keep people from starving.

...

-[] Industry (3 dice, +2 Free Dice, 50R)
--[] Golem Construction [Golems] (3 dice, [-10 per die, -3 AS per die], 30 R)
--[] Mass Smithies [Metal] (2 dice [-10 per die], 20R)


Naturally, this plan is stronger in this area than mine. I've already discussed my views on this above.

...

-[] Services (4 dice, 260R)
--[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1 (2 dice [-5 per die], 10R)
--[] Direct Grain Subsidies (2 dice, 250R)
-[] Bureaucracy (3 dice, +3 Free Dice, 5R)
--[] Set New Tax Schedules (1 dice)
--[] Establish Subsidiary Offices (1 dice)
--[] Create Allocations Office (1 dice)
--[] Get Hiring! (1 dice [-5 per die])
--[] Find Prior Records [Knowledge] (2 dice)


I obviously have no objections in Services, as my own plan is identical. I have no objections in Personal, below, so I'm leaving it out.

My concern is that in Bureaucracy this spreads us too wide. I suspect strongly that quality of outcomes depends on how many dice we spend, and scattershotting our dice across four activities at one die per may give us significantly worse results than concentrating on two, especially with that -10 malus still fully in play. Even though all these actions are important, we simply do not (in my opinion) have the means to make a meaningful attempt to do them all at once.

[] Plan: Hose the Biggest Fires, Identify Everything Else
...
-[] Rural Infrastructure (6 dice, 90R)
--[] Granary Restoration [Low Magic] (6 dice [-14 per die], 90R)
-[] Agriculture (8 dice, 40R)
--[] Land Survey [Knowledge] (8 dice [-7 per die], 40R)
-[] Industry (3 dice, 30R)
--[] Mass Smithies [Metal] (3 dice [-12 per die], 30R)
-[] Services (4 dice, 250R)
--[] Orphanages and Hospices Stage 1 (2 dice [-15 per die], 250R)
Six dice is arguably overkill on the granaries (75% chance, better than even odds of at least one die going to waste), but there are valid arguments that it's important enough to merit going that hard on the project, so I can respect that.

But I don't think the land survey IS "biggest fire," see. I think we have a lot else to do that's higher priority (and a lot easier to finish) in Agriculture. Likewise, the third die in Mass Smithies is very likely to be wasted and again, there's a lot else to do. It's not a "fire" in the sense of a project where we have to throw everything we can at it now now now to avert disaster, I'd say. And the survey, again, isn't a fire at all, if you ask me. Important, but not an emergency apt to cause immediate disasters.

Also, you don't seem to have actually included the grain subsidies, though you obviously budgeted for them.
...

With that said, what are your calculations on the per-die penalties? I'm pretty sure you know or believe you know something I don't, and if I've erred, I'd like to go back and fix my numbers.
 
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