Try to survive the Winter: A planquest in Fantasy Colonial America

Hello everyone.
My hard drive has recently died, and with it my work in progress and my notes for this quest. So I am going to need some time to recuperate everything. Expect a few weeks without updates.
I will perhaps do a less mechanically intensive quest in the meantime will rebuilding my documents, we will see.
Sorry everyone, I will make better backups later.

This Summer is a season of work, after the changes of last Season.
The farmers gather and discuss amongst themselves, timidly. They may have once argued and fought with their neighbors for land and tools, but they now realize their new responsibilities : If their children lack food this Winter, it will be their collective failure.

In the Town, craftsmen grumble. They have come to this land with their craft, and now, because they do not work as visibly hard as some household of Winter Walker, they should lose their tools. As far as their unofficial leader, Arnaud Fabre the smith is concerned, their tools are their. And his future step family of the Golden Maize from the Winter Walkers will not get one nail ! no matter what is fool of a son says.

And Sara is, as always, lost but hiding it. She is not a priest, and must wed people. She is the only person who can in the town.

On the winds, whispers are heard, For war rage in the Woods, and even if vile trees are stronger this season, there advances are few, for the servants of Winters are distracted and the King's Will is against them. We of the Freed fear.

Due to political choices last turn, plan objectives votes have been unlocked at the beginning of each Year. Main factors for now : The Council's Will (voters) and the People's Will (morale and curent public interests).

Fields

[X] The Berries of Fire [75/25] (68+7) (1 Colonist Die)

Over roll go to actions []Razorweed [] Plot and [] The Fruits of Flesh

The farmers did good work this summer, using their ample free time in the growing season to test all the strange plants from the wilds, planting, working and watching.

First, the fire berries. After a few failures, the farmers are able to transplant a bush of fire berries that would have been lost in the war of the trees.
The bush survived, and grew. However, there is no sign of the spots on the branches where the sunlight should be absorbed in the summer, to allow fire berries to appear before Winter. In the nights after work, the farmers discuss, and think that, like some plants of the Old World, fire berries bush need to be around particular trees to produce fruits.
Unproductive fire berries bush transplanted into the garden of Union Town. New avenues of testing opened.

Second, upon isolated stakes of wood planted in the ground, the pods of razorweed are set. Under the shade of the rising walls, they grow rapidly, sprouting on the stakes in a thin web of thorny vines.
Now, when torn or pods are needed, we will simply take a basket under one of the stakes, and trash the razorweed with a stick until what we desire falls in the basket.
Razorweed Plot planted, source of razorweed thorns and pods obtained.

And finally, with the greatest of care, a flesh fruit of the eyeless vine is left on an isolated tree in a fallow field. The fruit do not move in the days, but when night comes, tendrils spread around the tree, dinging deep inside. During the season, the tendrils grow into strong vines, but at the same time, the vines slowly lose their blood red colors, growing lighter and lighter, until in certain parts the vines go from pink to white and crumble away.
What should be done with the vine ?


[] [Eyevines] Give it bloody scraps

We shall leave to the vines some uneatable scraps from hunting and fishing, what is rotten and the most putrid of offal.

[] [Eyevines] Give it eyes
The vine needs eyes. Give them to it, those that are weak and clouded, and only from dead beings.


[] [Eyevines] Let it whiter

If the vine cannot grow without blood, it does not deserve to be. We shall let this one starve, and then use this knowledge to starve all of their kin in the wilds.



Wilds (+1 to rolls)


[X] Rebuild the Peaceful Wilds
-[X]Rebuild what Once Was [146/100] (90+3;50+3)(2 Natives Dices)

This season, almost half the Winter Walkers of Union go into the wilds. In the depth of the woods, they sing old songs. Songs of a time where the dark, terrible forest had been turned by hard work into a beautiful place, of lights and shadows, filled with food and game for those that knew how to find it.

Through the songs, they remember the old places, the old actions. What to trim, what to help and what to dig out. Despite all their works, the old forest is not completely restored.
But now, for all the people of union, there will be paths made easier, where one can walk without fear of thorns or ambush. And if they are lost and hunted like prey, they will know safe haven to hide and know how to lose their foes in traps of branches, vines and thorns.

When they return, the Winter Walkers hold their heads a little higher, their back a little straighter. The past is not yet lost.

The Old Places become The Old Ways : As long as one Workforce dice is attributed to Wilds actions, a minor amount of a random resource is earned. +2 to dice attributed to Wilds actions. Count as a primitive early warning system. One reroll per Season for fights taking place in wilds covered by the Old Ways.
Increased Morale of the natives. Winter Walkers conservatives are pleased.

The Old Ways bonus trigger, + Herbs


[X] War in the Woods
-[X]The Wounded and Dying [Tasks] [Any Workforce die] 1 Silent Blades die
-[X] Poisoned Giants [245/150] (1 Silent Blades die)
Action combined into Clearing the Battlefield

On the land where we live, there is a battlefield, with trees dead and trees cursed. Here they lie, in the shadows, bleeding, poisoned sap filling the ground.
Then came the dead, almost-empty blades, carried by vessels of yellow bones. Day and night they cut, cut, cut. Until the dead and wounded are nothing but cleaned trunks and branches, carried away on the river, to the land of the burners.
Fall, fall, fall, do the giants, poisoned gut taken away and burn. Sawed, Sawed, Sawed their remnants, until hard dark wood flowed down the river. Scared, Scared, Scared are the living men, watching the blades fall, carrying back poisoned sap for the wise ones away.
Tired, Tired, Tired is Sara, who hears the dead, with a home full of fresh wood and a back bent under the weight of blades.

Hear, Hear, Hear our voices, flesh-people of Union. Cleaned we are, of death and curse, but know we do not like dead blades or living thieves. The corpses of our fallen will be our thanks for the labors of cutters.
Come, Come, Come to us after the Winter, if you still can enjoy the sun. We will discuss in the tongues of soul.

This was heard in the dreams of every person in Union. Now, they look with fear upon the woods and the Blades.
+++++ Woods, obtained Giant wood, bark, and poisoned sap. Voices of the Sun-loving Wood meet. An offer extended.
Lose 1 Morale due to general Oh Fuck moment.


[X]We need allies [Risky]
-[X]Along the Coast, [104] (97+4) (1 Colonist die 97)

104, over 50, 75 and 100, discover Escapees, Shepherds and Mistmen

Old Seadog Jones once again did go on waves, on the best rafts and with the best crews that you can get with one-Season old mariners.

Up and down did he goes, seeking any folk that were not worshiping some God-forsaken monsters to help against those Thrice-Damned Winter beasts.

First he came upon a shipwrecked galleon of Spanish make south of the town. Seeking to make some loot and spite the crowded fools of the Peninsula, Old Seadog ordered to go into the galleon, but woes, it was inhabited.

Some folks like the Winter Walkers, but darker, and some folk dark as night. Looked like some Moor to the mariner, but what the Devill were they doing here ! When we came near the guards of the little settlement they were building, they shouted alarms and shooted us too !

Old Mariner knew when to flee, and so he did. Me think we should send some darker folk to talk to them, if they were taken by spaniards, doubt they have any godly feelings for people that look like them. Or we could just steal from them. Don't like it one bit, but Old Seadog know sometime you need to take someone livelihood to have one for yourself.

Then, in the North, he came upon some weird folks. Wretched they were, with no clothes on their back. Looked like shepherds, but 'was hard to make any differences between herd and shepherd ! They spoke the Winter Walker tongue, and told us they were from towns razed by the Tribute Takers scums. They lived, but can't make the difference no more between beast and men, or living and death, and roam the land without a home to their names. Got mangy herds, and are ready to trade for what they use as cattle and dogs, or even for some meat. Probably should do this, if only to do some charity.

Then, when Seadog was coming back, he was almost lost in some Devil-made fog ! But he did not lose his good old sea-legs, and traced a path through the fog. And where did he end up ? In a village of mariners. Good folk, but weird, more obsessed by the sea than even himself. Say they worship something in the water, and that the beasty makes the mist to protect them.

Don't know if it's true, but friendly mariners are always good in Old Seadog book. Probably should send Sara to speak to them, weird understand weird.
And that all Old Seadog has to say. Now can I go back working on my raft ? Hard to get the thing in order without tar.

Contacts made with the Escapees, Shepherds and Mistmen. Unlock new diplomatic and raiding actions.


-[X]West, toward the mountains 24 (22+2) (1 Natives die)

The scouts came back to town hurt and tired, their ranks thinner. There are beasts towards the west, Lords leading host of vermin toward...something.
There are also tribes that fight against them. However, the tribes shoot everything that comes near the mountain, including men.
We should find a way to prove we are not monsters before talking to them again.

1 Native Die will be unavailable next turn. Beasts and hostile tribes in the west.



Town

[X] A Stronger Wall [Militia] [56/150] (12) (1 Generic Dice) Unassigned dice added to this project (13+7)
The walls do not rise much. The soil under them is found this season to be unstable, disturbed by husks trying to dig under them last Winter. The husks were discovered and dug out after a few times where work on the Wall collapsed, and after all of this, much work is still needed for the wall.


[X] Atelier [169/100] (83,6) (1 Colonist Die, 1 Native Die)

Contrary to the walls, work on the Atelier goes fast and well this season, even if the Winter Walker has little idea how an Old World's atelier is supposed to be made.
The Atelier is a building made to look like a monastery made of wood, a square thing with an inner court and enough space for a smithy, a carpenter workshop, a tannery (even if people already complain about the smell) and a textile workshop. Good walls to protect tools, stocks and craftsmen, and space to work.
Built next to one of the two waterways that go through town, there are already plans to build a watermill to use it, even as the various workshops are set in place.
Wonder of wonder, the work goes so fast that Fabre the smith can do some work already ! Tools are sharpened, straightened and sometimes reforged, and people are promised that soon they will all work with tools of steel.


(look somewhat like that, made of wood and less tall)


Crafting projects unlocked !
Smiting unlocked ! 2 units of Mediocre Steel (scavenged steel) and 1 unit of Good Steel (Riversteel) in stocks !
Weaving unlocked ! 1 unit of Excellent Threads (Woodspider silk) in stocks !
Carpentry unlocked ! 1 unit of Excellent Timber (Giant Wood) and Bark (Giant Bark) in stocks !
Tanning unlocked ! 2 units of Normal Leather (hunted animals) in stocks !
Gunpowder Making Project Chain unlocked !
1 Tools produced ! When you reach 3 Tools, you will earn 1 Generic Die and fulfill the People's Will.


[X] Town Hall [114/100] (60+7;40+7)(2 Colonist dice)

Once, Sara's father dreamed of a church. A beautiful, simple place, where a whole community could gather under a stoot roof and join as one.
The Town hall is such a place. Here, the Council gathers everyday to discuss and plan, many still believing I am too young and too naive to understand ruling.
Here, the militia assembles to prepare their training and work and children go to play when it rains.
And every week, the Town gathers here. They debate, they vote, they demand judgment from the council, and divide themselves over many conflicts.
But they also listen to my preaching after this, silent, and after that eat together, tasting each other's cooking.

It is not much, but it is better than before.



Town hall built ! +1 Council Dice, +5 Morale, Unlock Organisation projects.
Weekly meetings of the Town for vote, justice and community building.


[X] Train Scouts [Militia] [138/75] (58+2;76+2) (Warrior's Son and Militia die)

The Son is a brave, but haunted person. He hid it well, but I can see his father over his shoulders, judging his every action, harming him at the same time as he pushed his son to excel. The Warrior merely needs to prove his value.
When tasked to train scouts for Union, first he met with the old soldiers of the town. After their nightly meeting, those scarred elders now look at him with eyes full of sorrow, like he reminds them of many other youth, lost in past battlefields. They do not want such a loss to happen again. So they help him.
They select the swift and the quick-witted, those that know how to hunt but seek more than to simply bring back meat to the people. Then, they go into the wilds.
The fallen whispers their training to my ears. How they learn to move in the wilds like the Warrior's Son, like a hunter. How they learn how to shoot and fight like the soldiers of the Old World.
And more than all, how they learn the art of bringing death to foes in one instant before dispersing and fading away in the wilds. All of this will the Son earn their respect, and the old soldiers nurture his prowess.

Those that come back at the end of the season are no mere scouts. They are skirmishers, raiders, night fighters. And they are ready for battle, their leader commanding them with nothing more than nods and gestures.
The father judging over his son is silent.


Generic Workforce Die consumed.
Son's Skirmisher formed !

2 Specialist Militia Wild Dice earned !
Those Dices have the traits :

Son's soldiers : If assigned to the same project as at least 1 Warrior's Son die, all Son's Skirmisher and Warrior's Son dice have a +10 Bonus.
Skirmishers : Increased effect of Raid Project. Can be used in battle against trained soldiers without malus.

The Son's Skirmisher are Followers of the Warrior's Son, and the Warrior's Son can handle twice his Die of Follower Dice before the dice lose the Son's Skirmisher traits.
Warrior's Son at max capacity for Followers (2/2).


[X] The Fallen Homes, Part 2 (old settlement) [Death] [88/100] (81+7) (1 Colonist die)

Every day, at dawn, workers went to the old settlement, and worked. They arranged remnants according to patterns they heard in the winds. They raised rotten buildings and new walls with wood and dirt, planted a circle of stacks around the town, and dispersed ashes all around.
Then, bit by bit, they watched the result of their work. Now, when the sun goes down and twilight comes, the town changes. Specters appear and walk the streets, will ruined buildings are replaced by ghostly, translucent ones. A wall of shifting, spectral mist rose around the town, and the roads began to shift and twist.
When the sun is down, one wrong turn and one end up next to a Winter Walker longhouse, a home from the Old World, or even a ghostly ship, crewed by dead mariners.
The work is almost done, it could be finished if the workers were asked to stay a little longer. At night.

[][Fallen Home] Give the Order

Project finished, -5 Morale

[][Fallen Home] Do not


[X] Questions of leadership 45 (43+2)(1 Council die)

The debates at the weekly gatherings are animated this season. It seems like everyone has their own idea on how to lead the town, and not one person agrees with any other person's opinion.
In effect, Union holds 3 bodies of decision, the Council, The popular will of the Assembly from the weekly gathering and the Captain, and most of the debates are on how to balance those powers.
In the end, the most ambitious plans are scrapped, and a few proposals are sent to the votes.

Choose 2 reforms that were adopted by Union

[][Reform] Captain Succession

If the Captain is dead or incapable to do their duty, a new captain will be selected by...
- [] The Council, in a public vote

- [] The Assembly, in a public vote

- [] (must be combined with one of the other suboption) The selection will be done from a pool of candidates chosen by the previous Captain, unless more than half of the voting body vote for a candidate outside of this pool.

[] [Reform] Council Member Selection
When a Council member die or his incapable to do their duty, a new one will be selected by...

- [] The Assembly, in a public vote

- [] The Captain

- [] (must be combined with one of the other suboption) The other body will have a right of veto on any candidate chosen (at will for the Captain or by a majority vote by the Assembly).


[][Reform] Censure
If considered incapable, the Captain or a Council member can be demoted from their post by a simple majority vote of the Assembly for a Council member or a two-third vote of the Assembly for the Captain.

[][Reform] Captain's Surrogate

If the Captain is temporarily incapable to do their duty (illness, away in an expedition…), a surrogate chosen by the Captain will take on their duties and rights for the time of the emergency. Both sub options can be taken at the same time

[] The Captain's choice of Surrogate can be veto by a simple majority vote of the Council

[] The Captain's choice of Surrogate can be veto by a simple majority vote of the Assembly

[][Reform] Define status of Council and Assembly

The role of the Assembly, as the people gathered, is to express the people's desire. The role of the Council, as the wise tasked with thinking over physical work, is to transform the Assembly's will into actual decisions and actions. The Assembly's will is expressed and plans drafted by the Council's…

-[] Every week at the weekly Gathering

-[] At the beginning of every Season

-[] At the beginning of the year, after Winter

[][Reform] Define power of the Captain

The Captain is given absolute power over the town and its inhabitants during :

- Times of emergency, invoked after a vote by a simple majority of the Assembly and Council, and revoked by the Captain or after the same vote by both bodies.

- During an attack by a hostile force on Union Town.
- During the entire season of Winter, from the last Twilight of Autumn until the First Dawn of Spring.

[] Write-in, propose a reform
Take into account the somewhat undefined and chaotic structure of the current leadership of the Town, and that people mostly agreed to define the chain of commands to prevent another case of the Union being leaderless. Subject to GM veto.


[X] Shepherds for Corpses [Death Singing]
- [X] Bones Hives [27/150] (27-2) (1 Mourner die)

My mourners do not do good work this season. Even if they have learned Death Singing, they still have the taint of Cold upon their souls, and so the Hives, the Many-in-One, hear their songs with fear and suspicion. Many songs will be needed before the buzzing bees or the crawling knuckles in their lairs under the earth answer us with more than Away.


[X] Nature of Faith 69 (NEW) (9+2;56+2) (2 Sara dice)

When my duties are over, each night I go into my one, my humble hut. There, I wash myself with river water, set the fire in the chimney, cook my gruel, and then I pray.
I throw in the fire some of the herbs of the Winter Walkers, I sit on the piles of grass and furs that I use as beedings, I take out my old, scraped wood crucifix, and pray.
I pray for my people, I pray for a defense against Winter, and now, I pray for a way to unite my people, to wed them as one, and not simply make them tolerate one another because they need allies against the Winter.
I pray, and I breathe in the sweet smoke of the herbs, until I finally fall asleep, and dream. But inevitably, I have to wake up, and the cycle comes anew.
Until in my dreams a vision comes to me.


Choose your path of Syncretism
- [][Faith] The Sun's Glory

The sun is life, the sun is the might and generosity of the Lord upon the Earth and His children. All the people of Union honor the sun in some ways, even those that have not heard the Savior's Words. Let's honor the Sun, honor light, honor fire, gift of the Most High ! Cult of Light, focuses on the central nature of the Sun in Winter's Walker beliefs to fuse their faith with Christianity.

- [][Faith] Path of the Wise and Blessed

Remember Mary, remember Saint Michael, Saint Francis, remember The First Walker and the Awakes Heroes of old, for they are blessed, touched by the Holy Ghost to bring protection and prosperity to the Lord's Children. Cult of the Saints and Heroes, focused on christening Winter Walkers heroes and making the Saints palpable to natives sensibility, will focusing local Christianity on the Saints.

-[][Faith] The Endless fight against Wickedness

All the people fight against Evil. Every Winter, they defy the spawns of Satan, and defeat them once again. They shall fight with all your might, protect the innocent, and banish sins from their minds. The wicked shall find no purpose upon them, and their blades will cut away all the Devil's artifices. Cult of the Evil Slayers, focus on the general fight against evil, assimilating Winter and the Force of Hell to slowly fuse all the beliefs in Union.

I am back people. Finally solved most of my issues, so now that I have some free time, it is back to writing the quest !
I am truly sorry it took so long.