[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
 
[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
 
[X] [King] Rulwyna (Main Expand Econ)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Whoever comes on their own (Chance of stability loss, +2 Econ)
The Child Shall Save Us.
Motoko Predicts it!
 
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closer ties to the north to rely on the chiefs from those provinces for advise... and letting them wedge open the door for further moves against the southern influence networks that had become increasingly entrenched against them.
So this is the real reason behind the Northern provinces slowly building up resentment. Since we never poured money into them they are comparatively poorer then their the southern counterparts who will happily hoard power and wealth away from them.
 
Ah, succession crisis.

Okay so:
Who ultimately won the struggle?
[] [King] Dythuwyn (+1 Stability, Sec Expand Econ + Sec Art Patronage)

Move towards higher centralized Monarchy, widens the gap between North and South.
Of the actions, Art Patronage is slightly ill timed, it consumes wealth to spawn Art, when we're bleeding Wealth and have enough Art.

No fatal issues in itself, just reinforces the existing woes.
Fortunately he's already quite old, so he'd probably die before much more gets done.

[] [King] Giirry (Main Distribute Land, may have other oligarchs attempt to kill him)

Lucky gold find there, but he puts out Distribute Land in the worst possible approach, and will create corruption as incompetent oversight combined with high Centralization makes him too easy to manipulate.

[] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)

Wat.
Grab a complete outsider, with no idea of the system, who then spends all the resources boosting Martial(which is helpful) at the cost of Econ(which we cannot afford)

Major nope. Not competent, not appropriate, hurts the institution

[] [King] Rulwyna (Main Expand Econ)

Move towards Hereditary rule, takes a giant axe to maintaining even the lip service of meritocracy, but also move towards normalizing female kingship.
Bad precedent, and makes it all too easy to produce a puppet king.

Change Hatvalley from a March to a Colony?
[] [Hat] No, stay a March
[] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony

March with nobody to fight, or a Colony to eat up Hathatyn Remnants? No brainer for me!

Refugee influx
[] [Refugee] Whoever comes on their own (Chance of stability loss, +2 Econ)
[] [Refugee] Encourage resettlement (-1 Stability, chance of further loss, +4-5 Econ)
[] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)

Too hard to call here since it interacts with the winning King.
I'd note that the third option would probably directly absorb existing Hathatyn settlements into the Colony.

[X] [King] Dythuwyn (+1 Stability, Sec Expand Econ + Sec Art Patronage)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)

Establishment candidate it is.
Use the Stability he buys to swallow Hathatyn whole.

Full review when bacj from lunch
 
War candidate is exactly the "expand into lowlands" pick. Also, he's the Northern candidate, so counts towards keeping the north happy as is, and is likely to use his actions to help the north himself.
Except that as a Northerner he will in fact be focused on the nomands, not actually on the lowland. Plus, there isn't anyone left to fight in the Lowlands anyway. We just need to actually get out and take it.

We can do the first the turn after we shore up his legitimacy and the second will be done on it's own since that us what conquest is taking land and the lowland is the most fertile land in the region
Yes, and then next turn something else happens, and then that turn something else... and then oops, our opportunity has passed.

Dythuwyn seems fine to me. +1 Stability and expand econ? Sure, that's good. It also sets a precedent for meritocracy... he has worked his way up and now ends up king. Not somebody from the old royal line, and not some semi-hereditary warrior. And as I've exactly argued before, I have no problem with the artisan guilds getting more power as a power centre, quite the opposite.
 
X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)

Phygrif lets us pretend towards a sort of social mobility. The Ymarin Dream if you will. If you kill enough nomads, even YOU (filthy ex-nomad) can be King!

The other two are just sort of policy by this point. Diplo vampirism and Diplo-annexation.

This does lead to the problem of Stab+Legit loss, which translates to Corruption, but we are still on Restoration I think, so Griffon should have the provinces do stab+legit actions, unless we change it up.

This may also lead to a Stelaris-like Cuthroat-politics effect, which is like a hostile ecology for politicians, leading to more hero gain or something. (In Stelaris it was bonus influence gain)
 
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Oh and another question

@Academia Nut
Do we have any hints as to what changes in the large refugee wave from Hatvalley being a Colony?
I can think of arguments for basically every side, so I'm really not sure.
 
the HK is the quintessential target now for any military expansion right now.
Think I'd like their territory even more than the lowlands, honestly. But I'm not sure I'd want to bet on a war with them going well, even now.

Just, I dislike all the other options even more.

The Heaven Hawks don't count towards bringing the northern colonies closer to us.
Except, if you read the update, they explicitly do.
The first was Phygrif, the current chief of the Heaven's Hawks and the hero of the hour for finishing off the tribes that had decided to pick a fight with the People and their subordinates. The north, knowing that there would be a new heir election before news reached Valleyhome, had already started considering who to elect, and running off the old tales of Rulhuthyn were considering pushing the nomad chief. While this would undoubtedly upset many, the man wasn't entirely an outsider and understood how kingship among the People worked, and so long as he did the ceremonies of induction properly there was no rule against his leadership. He would simultaneously be enough of an outsider that he couldn't adroitly manipulate the system while being strong enough that he wouldn't bow to the interests of the south, likely relying on the closer ties to the north to rely on the chiefs from those provinces for advise... and letting them wedge open the door for further moves against the southern influence networks that had become increasingly entrenched against them.
 
Wat.
Grab a complete outsider, with no idea of the system, who then spends all the resources boosting Martial(which is helpful) at the cost of Econ(which we cannot afford)

Major nope. Not competent, not appropriate, hurts the institution
Actually he does know.


While this would undoubtedly upset many, the man wasn't entirely an outsider and understood how kingship among the People worked, and so long as he did the ceremonies of induction properly there was no rule against his leadership. He would simultaneously be enough of an outsider that he couldn't adroitly manipulate the system while being strong enough that he wouldn't bow to the interests of the south, likely relying on the closer ties to the north to rely on the chiefs from those provinces for advise... and letting them wedge open the door for further moves against the southern influence networks that had become increasingly entrenched against them.
 
[X] [King] Dythuwyn (+1 Stability, Sec Expand Econ + Sec Art Patronage)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)

DYTHUWYN, damnit! Not some warrior outsider that will derange our opportunities in the south! Vote for competence and meritocracy!
 
[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony

Are we going to be okay for econ-expansion slots if we take the max-refugee option? We seem to be getting pretty short there.
 
[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
 
And then, many months after she had sent her son out to deal with the northern issue, a breathless courier thundered into Valleyhome, bearing dread news.

The campaign in the north had gone sideways. Victory was assured already... but there had been some sort of screw up in scouting and camping and Ylrulthyn's camp had suffered a surprise raid. He was... he was dead, killed in the confusion at night.

Rulwyna heard this, blinked twice, and then keeled over.
....Fuck. D= I can't tell if this was an unfortunate crit fail (or 2?), or if the "Problems for heir" that we assumed were political meant this was scripted... I'm assuming the former, because otherwise that seems like a bit much to come from an opaque choice...

Giirry was also rather bluntly promising to distribute land to the chiefs who voted for him for their personal use, which while it rubbed many the wrong way, there wasn't actually any law against such promises, and thus it appealed to many.
haha, no. Distribute land isn't inherently terrible, but this is explicitly doing it in the worst way... He was even seeming like a decent choice until now...
a stream filled with glittering nuggets of gold
...At least there's gold...
He would simultaneously be enough of an outsider that he couldn't adroitly manipulate the system while being strong enough that he wouldn't bow to the interests of the south, likely relying on the closer ties to the north to rely on the chiefs from those provinces for advise... and letting them wedge open the door for further moves against the southern influence networks that had become increasingly entrenched against them.
Hmm...this is either great or terrible, honestly... @Academia Nut would he be trying to make the north a more powerful part of the People, or trying to reduce the ties between the north and south to get the north powerful on its own?
Phygrif - Chieftain. Agenda: Conquest. Admin: Mediocre, Diplo: Mediocre, War: Heroic. Turns King: 1, maybe 2
Uugh, conquest as an agenda, though... :/
  • Dythuwyn - Patrician. Agenda: Valleyhome Association Supremacy. Admin: Excellent, Diplo: Excellent, War: Poor. Turns King: 1​
...great stats, low turn count so not much time for his agenda...
Giirry - Golden Boy. Agenda: Land Reform/Bribery. Admin: Mediocre, Diplo: Good, War: Abysmal. Turns King: 2, maybe 1
...yeah, fuck nooooo
Who ultimately won the struggle?
[] [King] Dythuwyn (+1 Stability, Sec Expand Econ + Sec Art Patronage)
[] [King] Giirry (Main Distribute Land, may have other oligarchs attempt to kill him)
[] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[] [King] Rulwyna (Main Expand Econ)
Hmmm...
The timing of all of this was also rather unfortunate as the Hathatyn just... disappeared. The already weakened cities that remained were unable to hold together as weather patterns shifted, and people just abandoned them. There were obviously still people in the region, but they had been reduced to scattered villages working massively reduced farms, and the numerous mines that had dotted the hills were more often home to wild animals or bands of bandits preying upon what caravans tried to find trade. All of this was distinctly a problem for the People, who suddenly found themselves with many goods with no buyer. While internal trade and consumption for many luxuries and necessities was sufficient, there were many who were thankful for Giirry stumbling upon a fresh source of gold as it helped feed the need for metals to make currency even as the silver trade with the Hathatyn dried up.
Well, thats both good and bad i guess...
Because they were so useful for trading things with strangers, everyone wanted silver and gold coins.
Also, proof that we douse our coins in trade :p
The chiefs of Hatvalley in fact directly petitioned for the authority to begin extensive settlement of the abandoned regions to the west, if only to seize the mines there as quickly as possible.

Change Hatvalley from a March to a Colony?
[] [Hat] No, stay a March
[] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony

Refugee influx
[] [Refugee] Whoever comes on their own (Chance of stability loss, +2 Econ)
[] [Refugee] Encourage resettlement (-1 Stability, chance of further loss, +4-5 Econ)
[] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
I'm thinking colony + take in as many as possible; we have good stab and can survive it, and can choose to keep stab policy on to prepare for more collapses.

Son of a bitch! I bet he was gonna be another hero!
Err, we knew his stats, AN put them in the end of...last update i think? he was never a hero, "just" 3 good stats iirc?

Wait, I thought we only used Currency in Valleyhome.



If we're doing large scale implementation of our Currency what's stopping us from setting up a treasury or central bank?
Its been mentioned in updates before now that it spread quickly amongst the People as a whole, and it was suspected by many that we used them as standard weights in external trade as well; that last bit is now confirmed :)
Yeah, but she'll turn into one later, and im unsure if well have any other hero during the rest of this crisis if she isnt picked.
Err...not necessarily? Her dad certainly wasn't a hero, we know his stats...

@Academia Nut on that note, now that (i think) they're all dead, can you share our hero triumvirates stat spreads with us?
 
I'm not saying you are wrong, but the description of him is inconsistent with this,
Yes, but it also says that his loyalty to the ruling family was due their patronage of his own family. In essence, he was content to be the power behind the throne. Then the heir made it clear he planned to have the priesthood be the power behind his throne, and their agenda probably included pushing Sacred Forest's interests over Valleyhome's.
 
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Honestly, @Academia Nut , it is less salty choice then you scared us by.

[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)


Okay, problems with Phygrif: he is warmonger (which will be counterbalanced by entrenched oligarchs, so not a big deal), he is probably mysoginist as fuck (but we just had an OP Queen, so, while bad, it's not the end of the world).

Benefits: outsider, so probably less influenced by local politics, our Restoration policy means that -1 Legitimacy can be just shrugged off via Proclaim Glory, we get a 'free' March out of the deal.

As long as we can prevent him from going full hereditary and fucking over our foreign policy too badly (and we don't have much in a way of warmongering tradition, so his ways of fucking us over are limited), it is passable...oh shit.


@Academia Nut ,will we be able to continue building a current megaproject under the new king?
 
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
 
[X] [Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X] [Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
[X] [King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
 
The
Except that as a Northerner he will in fact be focused on the nomands, not actually on the lowland. Plus, there isn't anyone left to fight in the Lowlands anyway. We just need to actually get out and take it.


Yes, and then next turn something else happens, and then that turn something else... and then oops, our opportunity has passed.

Dythuwyn seems fine to me. +1 Stability and expand econ? Sure, that's good. It also sets a precedent for meritocracy... he has worked his way up and now ends up king. Not somebody from the old royal line, and not some semi-hereditary warrior. And as I've exactly argued before, I have no problem with the artisan guilds getting more power as a power centre, quite the opposite.
Theres the highland kingdoms the xoh and the thunder speakers and even the trelli. It's the bloody Iron Age? Existence is good enough reason for war. And he's a mercenary and a nomad, the lowlands would be far too appealing to pass up.
 
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