The morale system is kinda fucked up. Considering that our enemies tend to get lucky here they all look like Khornate warriors. I mean what army takes 70% casualties before actually wavering.
Place is relatively well fortified, they have the food and they can work on setting up a foreward operations base by the time we moved the civilians and our own wounded to be treated.
[X] We move as a group back to Glenshade Manor to ensure everything is secure, then march to Six Pillars (1.1x)
We should get this place setup as a forward base at some point for pushing out further. Clean out the "trophies" first, though; sounds disgusting what they found.
Not sure about if there will be an update today (for obvious reasons), but I will look into reforming the combat system a bit. This is a "tutorial" as much for me as it is for everyone else.
Not sure about if there will be an update today (for obvious reasons), but I will look into reforming the combat system a bit. This is a "tutorial" as much for me as it is for everyone else.
On that note, and in the spirit of selfishly demanding presents like a spoiled child, I have figured out what boon to choose: A commitment from you to suck it up and plow through sticking points to keep the game alive after the tutorial level is complete, or, failing that, switch attention back to Murdertank, Games of the Damned, or Smith Quest.
On that note, and in the spirit of selfishly demanding presents like a spoiled child, I have figured out what boon to choose: A commitment from you to suck it up and plow through sticking points to keep the game alive after the tutorial level is complete, or, failing that, switch attention back to Murdertank, Games of the Damned, or Smith Quest.
I'm certainly going to try, and I do have a secret out on this one: if I get myself stuck, I can just go "Okay guys, I'm stuck, want to hit fast forward past this sticking point?" The nature of the quest as presented means that moving on to a new generation is a viable way of shaking things up.
Also, I will endeavour to try to get out at least one update a day until I obtain employment, which might put a bit of a damper on things, especially if I find myself working out of a place without easy wireless access.
ei guys! how long has it been since the first star bomb fell? It's because I'm going to try and make a better omake but this time about an ex-convict... Also can I make another omake about Eugene even though he's now a named character?
btw, thanks for all the "likes" and "hugs" from the short poem...
thanks! but I thought it was more since we were shot and took time recuperating... anyway, gonna make an omake and hopefully it passes but I think this is my last one because I have no more ideas...
[X] We move as a group back to Glenshade Manor to ensure everything is secure, then march to Six Pillars (1.1x)
"Can we leave a garrison here?" Eugene asks as you begin to pack up and shut down Librarian's Nook.
"Not enough food production to leave a significant one, which is a problem considering the presence of grenade throwing raiders, and we're too far away from friendly territory to adequately supply a larger force," you explain. "Similarly, the food they have stored here is mostly useless to us now, its not field rations which require less preparation and have a higher caloric density, so it won't extend our logistical range meaningfully. The extra fuel and water we would have to carry to make it worth eating would consume our weight budget, requiring more caching and stops and thus food. It will be useful for the civilians, but not really for us."
"Huh," Eugene noted.
"Yeah. We might as well be moving through those deserts you hear about on other planets for all the resources we actually have available to us," you comment.
Rolled 1d5 -> 1
Rolled 38 + 12 + 9 = 59
Going through the archives of Librarian's Nook, you try to keep your looting to the more "useful" books, followed by more "cultural" ones. There are few of the former, but you do make sure to obtain a few illuminated manuscripts on ancient law that would be a shame to lose track of. Among them there is a treatise on inheritance law in the context of cybernetics and cybernetic resurrection that has such detailed images of the cybernetics involved that you can't help but wonder if this might be of use in the future.
New research project available! Basic Cybernetics, 32/1000
Rolled 69 + 12 + 9 = 90
There was not much else of interest about. It looked like all of whatever grenades they were using had been emptied out, so you can't even figure out what the bloody things were and where they might have got them. For your own personal use though you found a nifty archival tool for organizing academic information and making it easily searched and summarized.
Archival Tool obtained! +1 Learning
Leaving Librarian's Nook as intact and sealed up as possible as you leave with as much food and valuables as you can carry out on the backs of your soldiers, captives, and civilians as you can, you march everyone off to Glenshade Manor, passing by a surprised by not necessarily shocked remaining population of Amethyst Gardens. Close to a hundred of the civilians break off from you there. Making the march to Glenshade Manor, you have a sizable number of militia waiting for you there to escort the rest of the population out and find settlement for them.
You
Rolled 40 + 28 + 20 Military power = 88
vs.
Eugene
Rolled 6 + 26 = 32
vs.
Yuri
Rolled 99 + 30 - 40 Captive raiders = 89
45/10/45 split
As it turns out, the civilians are far more interested in promises of stability over political freedoms, and despite the fact that they were raiders, it seems that about the same number of the civilians would rather follow the Dragonflies as you, both of you taking the lion's share in comparison to a rather embarrassed looking Eugene.
177 labourers gained
Marching back out once more, you make the 17 day long trip to Six Pillars, finding no resistance along the way, although your jaegers report the occasional transient contact with figures moving through the forest. It seems that you weren't the only one to look into training forces to operate in the forest for an extended period of time, which is troubling to say the least.
Rolled 30
Your arrival at Six Pillars is... upsetting, to say the least. The settlement is almost entirely gone. There are less than three dozen survivors, all of them fairly young as survival was based on the ability hide in tight, dark corners when the Recyclers came, less than a week ago when you were marching past Amethyst Garden. Normally the community would have just given them whatever tribute they demanded to avoid a fight, but this time the Recyclers had made no demands and just attacked from every direction, killing and looting with total abandon, carrying off everything they could. It was worse than even the first days after the starbombs fell.
And you don't have the logistical reach to go after them for this.
Then again they might have struck and killed all the civilians you were evacuating from Librarian's Nook, especially since your troops on the ground were reporting tails. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. You're not even sure that it's safe to leave Amethyst Gardens like this right now.
You
Rolled 41 + 28 = 69
vs.
Eugene
Rolled 30 + 26 = 56
vs.
Yuri
Rolled 22 + 30 = 52 Sucess! Gained 35 labourers
You fairly readily convince the survivors to come with you. There's not much left of Six Pillars other than the infrastructure, which you make a best effort to ensure is left in as intact and stable as possible.
There is, unfortunately, nothing of value left in Six Pillars besides it buildings. Everything of value has been looted and carried off.
It is with a heavy heart that you trek back to Glenshade Manor, stopping along the way to inform the population of Amethyst Gardens of the fate of Six Pillars. You also make the argument that they should transfer over to Glenshade Manor as soon as possible.
Rolled 68 + 28 + 20 Good point = 116
Success
Everyone agrees with this assessment. The 504s and Dragonflies begin marching back to Shattersaw while you assist with the evacuation of the people in Amethyst Gardens, who seem particularly sad to consider what will happen to all the trees and vineyards they have so carefully tended for so many years be left alone, but they can't argue with the fact that if the Recyclers are no longer accepting tribute but are in pillage and burn mode they are definitely no longer safe.
212 labourers gained for Glenshade Manor
It is such with a particularly heavy heart that you finally make your way to the newly built temple in Glenshade Manor, the Temple of the Restful Sepulchre, which is a somewhat creepy place all things considered, but there is an air of solemnity to it to that does make it also peaceful. Unlike the ossuary that Grave Keeper made out of the former hospital in Shattersaw, the Restful Sepulchre has less of bones turned into artwork and more the bones of the dead on contemplative display, and its clearly only a few dozen at a time instead of thousands.
"Ah, the Baroness, you grace us with your presence," the man who is dusting the skulls says when he notices you enter.
"Hello," you say, offering your hand, which the man gladly accepts. "You have me at something of a disadvantage here."
"Ah, yes, I am Custodian Velar Domon, although you don't really need to call me anything so fancy as 'Custodian'," he explains. "What can I do for you today?"
You hesitate for a moment before he answer honestly, "I'm not sure. I... things have been hard - an understatement to be sure - and I just... wanted to know what had brought you all together here. I've never really experienced faith like yours before, so I guess I wanted to talk."
Velar nods at that and says, "A lot of people say that, and I can't say I blame them. I never really believed in anything like this before, and I'm not sure I believe the way some people do now. I sort of fell into this role I guess. I... well, we don't really know if there is an afterlife, per se, but we like to tell each other stories. We like to remember our friends and loved ones who have passed, and like to sit and think about things. Some of us profess to feel that we can still sense those who have passed lingering nearby, and even ask for their intercession, but mostly I think what brings us all together is a feeling of... acceptance for death I suppose. Where was it...?"
Looking over the skulls, Velar picks one of them up, and there is a strip of attached plas-paper to it.
"We're still trying to decide over whether or not its respectful to inscribe our own thoughts into the bones of those who we knew nothing about the way Grave Keeper does, but for now we're attaching poems or thoughts to skulls while we wait for one of us to pass on. A sort of stand in for traditions we're thinking of implementing. To literally leave our final thoughts on our skulls. One of the members came up with a bit of a poem recently and I added it to the current display," Velar explains. He then clears his throat and reads out:
"While you live, shine
Don't suffer anything at all;
Life exists only a short while
And time demands its toll."
"Pretty," you mention, while you try to sort out your own thoughts. You weren't quite sure what you expected of the Grave Tenders, but this isn't quite it. You were expecting more superstition, perhaps even promises of supernatural assistance, but instead they seem to be more about acceptance of death and continuing on with life.
Do you...
[] Leave, you have satiated your curiosity (0.8x)
[] Sit a while and contemplate the dead (1.2x)
[] Attempt to write a poem of your own (1x)
[] Quietly pray for intercession for Anna (0.9x)
How active was chaos at this point? Because I'd be very, very cautious about offering prayers for Anna if they're even a little active(paranoid? Yes, justified? Maybe?).
How active was chaos at this point? Because I'd be very, very cautious about offering prayers for Anna if they're even a little active(paranoid? Yes, justified? Maybe?).
[X] Leave, you have satiated your curiosity (0.8x)
One, I don't want Dia to even think of supernatural assistance for Anna. She never was religious or had been exposed to a habit for prayer in her society.
Also being seen as practicing this new faith as the leader would be same as endorsing it. Do you really want to make publicity for the Grave Tenders? It would be increasing their power and the Grave Keeper's who may still be potential Chaos follower.
