New research system or no, we are still missing a major prerequisite for Three Sisters; beans. We also aren't doing much corn/squash cultivation. Thus, we can probably trust that herding at least will complete on it's own. I can understand being worried about arboriage, but that is linked with study fire, so we should get a big boost to it when we try to grab metalworking.
EDIT- checked the tech list, we apparently do eat beans already. Oops.
I don't think this is vacation, just the standard time between updates, especially given that Redium also spent some of the time writing up the new system.
I don't think this is vacation, just the standard time between updates, especially given that Redium also spent some of the time writing up the new system.
While it may seem like this quest kinda is dead/in hiatus due to the inactivity, I'm pretty sure that the quest is not officially on hiatus as last I remember there was nothing said about it from the QM, with the last word being how the vote was closed awhile ago.
So the best we can really do right now is to just wait for the next update.
Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure it's the other prehistoric civ quest that is on hiatus from what I heard.
While it may seem like this quest kinda is dead/in hiatus due to the inactivity, I'm pretty sure that the quest is not officially on hiatus as last I remember there was nothing said about it from the QM, with the last word being how the vote was closed awhile ago.
So the best we can really do right now is to just wait for the next update.
Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure it's the other prehistoric civ quest that is on hiatus from what I heard.
OP said that he was busy so couldn't update, then he had a vacation or trip coming up so he decided to just keep it on hiatus until he finished rather then have to stop updating again.
"...Based on messengers near the front, the enemy is nearly defeated!" Anything further the young war-leader was going to add was drowned out by the applause from the council. It brought a faint smile to Luule's lips as she watched her brother try to control the crowd. No matter how hard he slammed the butt of his staff against the ground, it was insufficient to cut through the giddy jubilation that buoyed all of them, the Pareem, up.
They were a young group, all told, but if the result on the front of war were anything to go by, they were more than equal to any task set before them. Word from the front was that the enemy in Arrow Lake were nearly at the point of breaking. All it would take is concentrated push to have them defeated. Their walls were formidable, equal to the People's due to a foolish, but ancient gift, but they would not matter if none of their defenders had the strength to stand. Every member of their militia was hollow cheeked and showed thin, weakened limbs. They had mostly stopped contesting the People in their own valley entirely; all that was necessary was to do a final push and cut off their trickle of supplies from the south.
Finally managing to quiet the Council of Pareem, Luule's brother fixed them all with a gaze. "This war has taken much from us," he started. "Countless cousins, brothers and sisters, friends. The Old Warrior, Priit, himself eventually fell on the field of battle. Not to blade or stone, but his own heart failing him. He fought bravely for the People, from the moment of his birth and until his very last breath."
By the end, they had also started to call him the Weeping Warrior, Luule recalled. He cried as he fought, wiping blood and tears in equal measure from his cheeks. It made her uncomfortable to hear her brother exalt Old Priit's name and call for war. It was wrong. And, based on the looks she was receiving from several of the other Pareem, they felt the same way.
Her brother was an excellent warrior, but he was not Priit's Heir. That honour had been given to Luule herself. She was never sure why; she was the younger sibling, had none of the Old Man's talent at war, nor was her father Priit's most prestigious child. Still, among all of his children, grandchildren, kith and kin; she had been singled out. He had trained with her brother, showing him the proper way to swing a blacksword; to use its weight to generate more momentum and to understand when it was necessary to struck crushing blows with the flat of the weapon. One of their cousins was directed towards the Star Shaman, trained in their arts until she could survive the Rite of Dark Night and become recognized among their number. Another cousin, one of Priit's grandnephews, had been entrusted with the Weeping Warrior's entire kennel of dogs. Proud, vicious, and intelligent creatures, they had been the envy of all of the People and brought the man they were given to great acclaim among all of the hunters, who hopped to add one of their number to their own packs.
It wasn't any of them that Priit choose to speak to, late at night by the fireside. He had shared stories with her, of his youth and his friends. They talked about things that were reduced to all but memory; Luule suspected that she was perhaps the only one who knew the stories he told her. The stories he had entrusted her with. It wasn't... she didn't like what she had learned there and much preferred the other stories told by the elders and the shaman. Still, the Old Man had considered it important and so she learned.
It was never the lessons of another profession, that Luule encountered, but of how to lead, how to rule, and how to render decisions that would affect thousands of people. Hers was the hardest test of them all, Priit had said. To rule not only for the living, but also for the dead and those yet unborn.
Thinking about it, leading was like the Parable of the Threefold Stag, bearer of the sun. Each day, the stag was born, lived, and eventually died. They were eternal, but their life was not unending. Each night, the Threefold Stag would forget the burden they had taken on just the day previously as a new life that-was-them-but-not was born. Each and ever stag was necessary, but none of them would see the impact that they had. The sun always rose, even when the Threefold Stag was born into a weak or sickly body, even during the winter months. It was always there to provide life, light, warmth, and nourishment to every plant and beast, stone and stream. If it ever finally stopped, however; Luule was certain it would mean a slow, lingering death by winter for everything that lived under the dome of the sky.
No incarnation of the Threefold Stag was ever able to see the impact they had on the world. And yet, without their tireless work, there would be no world.
"The People will grow great when every elder plants trees whose shade they shall never rest in, Luule." Priit had said once, shortly before he died and was interred in the Cave of Stars. Think of the future and plan for your children, he had meant.
A slightly alien thought, to Luule and her council of young, confident, and brash Pareem, but it was something she took to heart. While the others won glory on the battlefield, made connections, or learned the mysteries of the spirits, she stayed up late and took stock. She counted everything: pots of grains, stores of pemmican, logs of firewood, sugar, bricks, weapons and tools. It was laborious and thankless, having her Slate count pots, buckets and stacks, and Luule wasn't certain what she would find, but what she had uncovered had left her deeply troubled.
The People had a critical shortfall: there simply wasn't enough wood or bricks to meet the People's needs. Longhouses that had once held six families now tended to hold eight. It wasn't critical, yet, but people were starting to become cramped. At the edges of the People's lands, hunters and farmers were slowly starting to stop using brick and instead turn to lesser materials, usually wood. This made sense in the short-term since it consumed far fewer resources to build a wooden longhouse, but over time brick was obviously superior. The amount of time saved in maintenance and in reducing the amount of wood necessary to keep warm during the winter were significant. A brick longhouse also simply lasted longer; the home that Luule had grown up in had been built by the grandfather of Old Man Priit's grandfather!
This shortfall also exacerbated a smaller, but no less dangerous situation; many of the Pareem living in the Fingers reported that their clients were becoming... restless. For time beyond memory, the Fingers had been the least favoured of the People's three settlements, despite being their bulwark against the Northlands and Arrow Lake. They were the second largest concentration of People, but they lacked a Hill to defend them. Why was it that clay and wood from the Fingers were sent to Crystal Lake or even Hill Guard to help them build up while their need was clear?
The fact that the Fingers also lacked a temple was not forgotten. It was another slight, another tiny insult that wounded the pride of the fierce and war-like People of the Fingers. It was not a new problem, Priit himself had remarked on the issue; much of his support base had been found among those individuals who were dissatisfied with the growing neglect heaped upon their settlement. He had started the process of reform within the People, but he had simply not had enough time to fully deal with their issues.
Status Gained: Dissatisfied Faction (The Fingers)
An element within the People has grown increasingly dissatisfied with how the People are being run. They demand change and if there desires continue to go unmet, they may eventually take things into their own hands.
Resolve: Build a Hill and Temple in Fingers
Effects: Escalating Legitimacy hit until demands are met, crisis triggered at ??? Stability.
What should have been a simple fix: building a Hill and Temple, was starting to look monumentally difficult. The People needed more resources; clay bricks, wood, and simple labour, desperately. Piling on two major projects on top of that would only exacerbate the issue, potentially critically.
There was also a second, lesser shortage for luxuries; dyes, quality furs, fine jewelry, etc. The warrior clans and the Pareem had found it necessary to cover themselves in fine panoply. On the field of battle, it was necessary to be distinctive in order to rally your followers. Given the expanding size of the People, it had even become necessary for non-warrior leaders to follow suit. It was impossible for every member of the People to recognize the Pareem; there were simply too many to know all of their faces.
The shortage wasn't nearly as critical as that of base materials, merely causing confusion and disorder among the People, but it would need to be addressed at some point. Eventually, Luule huffed.
Neither issue was a visible problem, but Luule could see them and she was in charge. Even if she wasn't an unlimited leader, like the Weeping Warrior had been in his last days, Luule knew exactly how to get things done. Finding the correct leader and empowering them was exactly how she excelled.
"Great Leader." A voice tugged on Luule's consciousness. The speaker was short, she realized, enough that it was quite obvious she was the taller of the two. The speaker was almost child-sized; one of the Northlanders, then. Glinting, golden eyes greeted Luule beneath a mop of short, black hair; revealing that the speaker was only half-Northlander.
"Speak," Luule said, finishing her measuring of the stranger. He was clearly half-Northlander since he had the eyes of one of the People, but he wore a long cloak in the style of the northerners, but made with the traditional softskin leather of the People. He was a walking pastiche of everything within both cultures.
Something clicked in Luule's mind. "You're the son of one of the People's hunters, are you not? One of the ones who went north?"
"My name is Jeree," he said to begin. "I'm from the White North, but also from the People; as you've surmised. I've come down south to observe, and potentially to talk."
"Why speak to me?" Luule asked, proclaiming ignorance. "My brother is likely the one that you need to speak to. He leads the warriors and Speaks-In-Second for the hunters. I'm only the kernel counter." She offered one of disparaging nicknames that one of the other Pareem had given her... shortly before her brother had broken their nose.
The northerner grinned. "Aye, you count out ears of corn and scope bits of pemmican into the cook pot; I've heard that before. How many who've slighted you have gone mysteriously hungry as a bit of food was misplaced? How found that replacement tools or weapons weren't quite available yet?"
Luule said pretended to focus on the stitch work pattern of her skirt. "Why would such a thing be necessary?" she eventually asked.
Jeree laughed. "I might not be fully one of you, but I know how the People work. Half of your young men are convinced that the proper way to greet someone is to grab them by the shoulder and then smash skulls together. This council you've got, it's filled with young men."
"I would hardly call it filled." Luule denied the only part of the statement she could. "What is it that you wished to ask, Jeree? You've clearly come well informed and with an agenda. How may I be of help?" It would be a stretch to say that Luule liked the strange little man that had sat down beside her, but if the Old Man had imparted one lesson, it was to listen to everyone and know how to make friends. Even if it was with those you disliked. It was impossible to know when a friend could offer a helping hand or even save your life.
"Simple," Jeree smiled. "I want your help to kill my sister."
Luule was struck dumb. It was like her thoughts — normally a grand edifice like a temple — sudden cracked and then came cascading down. Kinslaying? How could anyone plot something so accursed? It must have been a bad joke. One that left her uncomfortable to even consider it.
"You'd be surprised," Jeree said. That last part must have been said out loud, Luule realized. "The circumstances come up. As for the why? To save the life of your brother."
"What do you mean?" Luule hissed. She pulled him aside into an alcove, using her advantage in height to nearly pin him in place. A part of her was tempted to signal her brother or flag down the guards. The only thing that stopped her was the sheer lack of concern on Jeree's features.
All of this was part of a plan.
"My sister has listened a little bit too closely to the old stories of the Ivory Chief. She's rejected our mother, disdaining her for betraying the Northern tribe and taking a southern huntsman as husband. I'm not sure where she heard it, but before she assumed the mantle as Most Holy, rebellion was a dying whisper. Now it's an ember threatening to burst into flame."
"You'd sell out your own kin?" Luule asked, mind aching at having to comprehend it. "And what does this have to do with my brother?"
"There's a lot I would sell for peace," Jeree said. His gaze was tightly fixed, conviction firm. It looked strange on the little man; seriousness did not suit his features at all. "And as for your brother? He would be the first to die. My sister, for all of her... insanity, she knows how wars work with the People. The Antlered Lord is your war-leader and when the Weeping Warrior donned the mask, it was the only thing that prevented your destruction. To kill your current war-leader, smash his antlered helm and mount his head on a spike, would be devastating. The People would fall apart and the North's Horned Riders would once more grind you underfoot."
Jeree smirked. "Of course, my sister could fail. Your brother might live and war would come to the People on two fronts. You know what that would mean."
Luule did, perhaps better than even her brother. Organization was her strength and it was easy to predict how the People would respond to war, even if the details were beyond her. Subjugating the Northlanders a second time would be all be impossible. If it even became a possibility that they might lose, they would flee. Perhaps for only a few years, before they eventually returned and struck when the People least expected it. Fighting them would be like trying to kill smoke.
That didn't even begin to touch on how much ground they would lose in the south, against Arrow Lake.
"Why do you need my help?" Luule eventually asked.
"Legitimacy," Jeree shrugged. "I can kill my sister, of that I am absolutely certain. What happens afterwards, though? Anarchy, most likely. For all that my sister is the Most Holy, she is not well liked. But, she is all we have. Her line has provided us spiritual advice for time beyond memory. If I move against her, I will need something, a system, to replace it."
Slowly, Jeree gestured to the long tables the dominated the center of the gathering longhouse. "That can always be made bigger, can it not?"
A ??? Hero of the Northlands is offering to off the current Grand Shaman and formerly subsume the Northlanders into the People, provided they are recognized as Pareem, aristocracy. In exchange, they are offering to teach Technologies that the Northlanders have finished researching. More Tech will be given for a closer union.
[ ] [Kin] Capture and execute the one who offends the laws of the spirits. (Legitimacy rises)
[ ] [Kin] Reject the abominable offer. The People do not slay kin! (Legitimacy rises)
[ ] [Kin] Accept the offer, but only name Jeree Pareem. Keep the Northlanders at arms length. (Northlands become a Vassal)
[ ] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
[ ] [Kin] Tell Jeree he has his deal, but lie. After his sister is dead, all that he'll get is an arrow to the heart. (If successful: Stability boost, Legitimacy falls. If failure: War and Jeree's anger.)
Pick: 3 Actions, 3 Empowerment, and 1 Admin Action.
Annual Festival [Art] - The People deserve to party! Build morale by opening up the stockpiles and having a night of feasts, dancing, music and fun. Cost: Luxuries, Staples. Produces: Legitimacy.
Artisans [Art] [Elitism] - A very rare occupation, artisans are the group of individuals which make things beautiful. Their work can most often be found within the People's temples or adorning the bodies of the rich and powerful. To be an artisan means to be a craftsmen that's a cut above even the rest. Costs: Materials, Craftworks. Produces: Luxuries.
Building Breweries [Art] [Admin] [Vendetta] - An ingenious way to make use of food that would otherwise go to waste, the People regularly make pots full of mashed grains and water that go subtly off. The resulting drink is quite bitter, but also extremely fun! Costs: Staples, Materials. Produces: Luxuries.
Clay Pits [Admin] [Art] - Dirt is not always dirt, as the People have realized. Sometimes, it is stone waiting to be formed. By finding the right source, it's possible to create numerous, useful constructs out of earth. Cost: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Materials. (Soft Cap Reached) Direly needed.
Craftsmen [Art] - For the most part, the People make their own tools. Mostly they are crude implements of bone, stone and wood, but in recent days there has been the creation of a new group. These individuals create only the finest of crafts, producing tools that last far longer than most would expect. Costs: Staples, Materials. Produces: Craftworks.
Create Warrior Clan [Might Makes Right] [Vendetta] [Elitism] [Martial] [Admin] - The People have warriors well trained in the art of killing. By diverting more young people into these professions, preparations for war can be established. In a way, it is like knapping obsidian into a knife. An action that takes deliberation and planning, forethought, to be useful. Costs: Staples, Craftworks, Luxuries. Produces: Martial.
Encourage Arborists [Admin] - While the forests provide the least of the People's food, they have provided that which is most useful. Sugar is wonderous in taste and highly sought after as a trade goods. Evergreen tea soothes aching bodies and quiets headaches. There is much to be found in the unknown, perhaps rare, but of significant value. Costs: Craftworks, Staples. Produces: Materials.
Expand Farming [Familialism] [Admin] - The People have come to realize the bounty of the world is often not enough. They need to tame it and carefully manage the foods that are so important in sating their appetites. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Staples. (Soft Cap Reached)
Expand Fishing Fleets [Familialism] [Admin] - Most of the People live close to a river and are able to gather one of numerous sources of food. Often much easier to obtain than food from hunting and much less risky, these sources of food are much more vulnerable to shifts of the seasons and that of the weather. Costs: Craftworks. Produces: Staples.
Explore (Specify Direction?) [Mastery of Nature] [Martial] [Diplomacy] - There is much to be found in the world. Countless things, often placed by the hand of the spirits themselves. It is up to the People to find them. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Can reveal new resources.
Found Settlement (includes: Brick Wall, Shrine, Sugar Shack) [Mastery of Nature] [Familialism] [Elitism] [Admin] - While the People build homes where they will, often where food or resources can easily be found, these places are settled without organization or care. By founding a formal settlement, it becomes possible for central authority to exert itself before the People become too fracas. Current locked due to Materials shortage.
Help Holy Orders [Art] [Martial] [Admin] [Might Makes Right] [Mastery of Nature] - The People have numerous traditions of secretive cults. Groups that practice true magic, something that is rare but unbelievably potent. Provided it is harvest reliably; many have killed themselves in this mad pursuit. Costs: Staples, Craftworks, Luxuries. Produces: Martial, Magic. (Soft Cap Reached)
Make Miners (Crystal) [Art] [Mastery of Nature] - Stone has always been a resource used widely by the People. Not all stone, however, is created equal. Some is better than its cousins, whether because it is harder, sharper, or simply more beautiful. Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Luxuries. [Hard Cap Reached - Need Exploration]
Make Miners (Obsidian) [Art] Mastery of Nature] [Might Makes Right] - Stone has always been a resource used widely by the People. Not all stone, however, is created equal. Some is better than its cousins, whether because it is harder, sharper, or simply more beautiful. Costs: Staples. Produces: Craftworks. [Hard Cap Reached - Need Exploration]
Manage Hunting [Elitism] [Mastery of Nature] [Martial] - Improve upon the hunting techniques of the People. Work to increase the amount of meat that is available to consume and empower the People. A risky activity and one that requires a great investment of skill and energy, this provides the largest gains of food. Cost: Nothing. Produces: Staples, Martial. [Hard Cap Reached]
Raid (Mountain Clans, Arrow Lake, Pearl Divers, Island Makers, Peace Builders, Enemies of the Peace Builders) [Might Makes Right] [Vendetta] [Martial] - The hunting of beasts turns now into the hunting of men. Strike down those who oppose the People so that we may be kept safe. Cost: Risks Temporary Damage to Martial score. Produces: Dead Enemies.
Study (Travel, Fire, Stone, Life, Beasts, Magic) [Art] - The world works in mysterious ways. It is not incomprehensible, however, merely opaque. The People just need time in order to unravel the hidden world. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Boosted [Tagged] research.
Sugar Shack [Admin] - The trees are love, the trees are life. Their sweet nectar is something that can be easily boiled down into a substance that can only be called the blessing of the spirits. We. Need. MORE! Costs: Materials, Staples. Produces: Luxuries.
Trade Caravan [Diplomacy] [Martial] - It is clear that the People do not hold all that is significant within the world. There are other tribes that hold interesting, useful or beautiful objects. By offering up some as gifts, things that the People do not have will be provided in return. Costs: Luxuries, Staples. Produces: Diplomacy, Magic.
Trade Post [Diplomacy] [Admin] - Sometimes other people have things of interest and they come willing to the People's lands in order to offer them up! By being welcoming and accommodating, it would be easily possible to convince them to hand over an even greater fraction of their stuff. Costs: Diplomacy. Produces: Luxuries.
Prepare for Ordeal [Ordeal] [Admin] - The spirits test the People, always. These tests are ones that require careful preparation and forethought. The People will be prepared. A crisis well managed is a sign of spiritual favour, one that's botched causes the People to further suffer. Cost: Nothing. Produces: Bonus to all stability checks this turn.
Empower Actions
Select three individuals to take (1) action on the People's behalf. The same individual may be selected multiple times. Tag votes as [Empower], if someone is being empowered multiple times, use a multiple (x2, x3, etc.).
Elder
Ember-Eye Shaman
Fang Pack-Leader
Frontier Leader
Frost-Scarred Warrior
Headman of Crystal Lake
Headman of Fingers
Headman of Hill Guard
Star Shaman
Trader
Urbanite
Megaprojects:
Artificial River [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
The Dam [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Inspired by the feats of ingenuity demonstrated by a large, but common, rat, the People have decided to emulate their creations on a more massive scale. By blockaded a river, it would be possible to accumulate an enormous amount of water, something that could easily be put to use. Costs: Craftworks, Materials. Produces: Staples.
The World, A Shield [Supernal Symphony] [Flat Arrow Outlook] [Martial] [Admin] (12 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
The World in Miniature [Supernal Symphony] [Diplomacy] [Admin] (7 actions) - The world is a grand place, seemingly endless in scope. The People's exploration and search for wonders has pushed them to find a way to more effectively communicate discoveries with each other. Trail markers are a start, but they are not easily portable. More can be done. Costs: Magic? Produces: Efficiency.
A Temple, Grand [Supernal Symphony] [Art] (8 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
The Sisters Three [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
A Field of Gold [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
Extended Projects:
Archaic Charcoal Kilns (Crystal Lake, Hill Guard, The Fingers) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] [Art] - The Ember-Eyes have discovered a secret of wood and fire. By carefully burning it, they can render it blackened and fragile. Somehow, this makes fire burn far hotter. How is it the elements dance when burning wood is not the same as wood cooked by fire? Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Greatly Elevated Materials Efficiency.
Extend Fire Relay (Hill Guard) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (1 Action) - The Fire Relay has served as the backbone of the People's communication and movement between The Fingers and Crystal Lake for longer than memory. With the recent founding of Hill Guard, the vaunted relay no longer stitches the People from one end to the other. This oversight must be corrected. Costs: Craftworks, Staples. Produces: General Efficiency.
Raise Temple (The Fingers) [Admin] [Art] (2 Actions) - A ritual place where the spirits and those they touch can work. Special facilities for magic, resources, teachings and the spirits themselves are included. Costs: Materials, Craftworks, Luxuries, Magic. Produces: Mysticism.
The Hill (The Fingers) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (2 Actions) - A hill made by man. A simple construct, but one that greatly raises the defensive value of a settlement. Costs: Materials, Craftworks, Martial. Produces: Defense.
New Trails [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (9 or 12 Actions) - Inspired by the Fire Relay, these small trails are cut into the innumerable forests that surround the People. Serving as akin to veins in the body, they promote the free movement of goods and people. Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Efficiency, increases Soft Resource Cap.
Automatic Actions: Are being discontinued. Every action you now take will produce permanent changes in the People's ability to marshal resources. At your current level of sophistication, you can't tell exactly how an individual action will effect your stats. Be careful if you plan on taking a lot of actions that spend Staples. You currently have enough of a reserve that you can't go to famine in one turn, but expect to have to take a large number of Staples actions as a matter of course.
Note: Failing to take a [Mastery of Nature] action will cost Stability! Can Double Down at cost of 15 Stability on an action by adding a sub tag to that specific action.
AN: Vote is currently locked until a threadmark is put up in the morning.
As automatic actions are being discontinued, will that mean we need to constantly keep up certain actions that should be automatic such as having farmers farm? Or is that just for increasing capacity?
Secondly, are locking in buildings by having all of our settlements have them mechanically sound? Such as with hills and temples? Or is that changed.
Finally, who do we pick if we want to empower the warleader? As that isn't a listed position.
Well, discontinuing automatic actions certainly causes a massive shift in priorities.
It's unfortunate that we're losing a convenient list of "this is stuff that your populace are constantly working on", too. Knowing that there was a Prepare for Ordeal action being taken every single turn really said something about our culture and habits, for example, and did our consistent emphasis on aquaculture over agriculture and list of reliable trade partners. Without the automatic action list I kind of feel like we no longer can tell as much about our culture as we used to.
How does Empowerment actually work? Is this "pick a person and they choose the action" or "pick a person and an action for them to lead"? If the former, do we have a solid idea what the priorities of each person would be, or is that up to guesswork?
The "Artisans" and "Craftsmen" actions could really use verbs. Presumably it's an action to train/support more members of that social class but having only one word clashes with the pattern established by other actions.
Neither Trade Caravan nor Trade Post specifies a target. Is this intentional? If yes, since we no longer have the ability to direct trade toward particular targets, what action should we take in order to do outreach toward someone?
A few questions @Redium:
1) how many actions do the kilns need to complete?
2) What are the consequences from having a deficit in Craftworks (since many of the things we want need them)?
3) What is the difference between the 9 action and 12 action versions of New Trails?
A slightly alien thought, to Luule and her council of young, confident, and brash Pareem, but it was something she took to heart. While the others won glory on the battlefield, made connections, or learned the mysteries of the spirits, she stayed up late and took stock. She counted everything: pots of grains, stores of pemmican, logs of firewood, sugar, bricks, weapons and tools. It was laborious and thankless, having her Slate count pots, buckets and stacks, and Luule wasn't certain what she would find, but what she had uncovered had left her deeply troubled.
The People had a critical shortfall: there simply wasn't enough wood or bricks to meet the People's needs. Longhouses that had once held six families now tended to hold eight. It wasn't critical, yet, but people were starting to become cramped. At the edges of the People's lands, hunters and farmers were slowly starting to stop using brick and instead turn to lesser materials, usually wood. This made sense in the short-term since it consumed far fewer resources to build a wooden longhouse, but over time brick was obviously superior. The amount of time saved in maintenance and in reducing the amount of wood necessary to keep warm during the winter were significant. A brick longhouse also simply lasted longer; the home that Luule had grown up in had been built by the grandfather of Old Man Priit's grandfather!
This shortfall also exacerbated a smaller, but no less dangerous situation; many of the Pareem living in the Fingers reported that their clients were becoming... restless. For time beyond memory, the Fingers had been the least favoured of the People's three settlements, despite being their bulwark against the Northlands and Arrow Lake. They were the second largest concentration of People, but they lacked a Hill to defend them. Why was it that clay and wood from the Fingers were sent to Crystal Lake or even Hill Guard to help them build up while their need was clear?
The fact that the Fingers also lacked a temple was not forgotten. It was another slight, another tiny insult that wounded the pride of the fierce and war-like People of the Fingers. It was not a new problem, Priit himself had remarked on the issue; much of his support base had been found among those individuals who were dissatisfied with the growing neglect heaped upon their settlement. He had started the process of reform within the People, but he had simply not had enough time to fully deal with their issues.
Status Gained: Dissatisfied Faction (The Fingers)
An element within the People has grown increasingly dissatisfied with how the People are being run. They demand change and if there desires continue to go unmet, they may eventually take things into their own hands.
Resolve: Build a Hill and Temple in Fingers
Effects: Escalating Legitimacy hit until demands are met, crisis triggered at ??? Stability.
There was also a second, lesser shortage for luxuries; dyes, quality furs, fine jewelry, etc. The warrior clans and the Pareem had found it necessary to cover themselves in fine panoply. On the field of battle, it was necessary to be distinctive in order to rally your followers. Given the expanding size of the People, it had even become necessary for non-warrior leaders to follow suit. It was impossible for every member of the People to recognize the Pareem; there were simply too many to know all of their faces.
The shortage wasn't nearly as critical as that of base materials, merely causing confusion and disorder among the People, but it would need to be addressed at some point. Eventually, Luule huffed.
Neither issue was a visible problem, but Luule could see them and she was in charge. Even if she wasn't an unlimited leader, like the Weeping Warrior had been in his last days, Luule knew exactly how to get things done. Finding the correct leader and empowering them was exactly how she excelled.
"Simple," Jeree smiled. "I want your help to kill my sister."
Luule was struck dumb. It was like her thoughts — normally a grand edifice like a temple — sudden cracked and then came cascading down. Kinslaying? How could anyone plot something so accursed? It must have been a bad joke. One that left her uncomfortable to even consider it.
"You'd be surprised," Jeree said. That last part must have been said out loud, Luule realized. "The circumstances come up. As for the why? To save the life of your brother."
"What do you mean?" Luule hissed. She pulled him aside into an alcove, using her advantage in height to nearly pin him in place. A part of her was tempted to signal her brother or flag down the guards. The only thing that stopped her was the sheer lack of concern on Jeree's features.
All of this was part of a plan.
"My sister has listened a little bit too closely to the old stories of the Ivory Chief. She's rejected our mother, disdaining her for betraying the Northern tribe and taking a southern huntsman as husband. I'm not sure where she heard it, but before she assumed the mantle as Most Holy, rebellion was a dying whisper. Now it's an ember threatening to burst into flame."
"You'd sell out your own kin?" Luule asked, mind aching at having to comprehend it. "And what does this have to do with my brother?"
"There's a lot I would sell for peace," Jeree said. His gaze was tightly fixed, conviction firm. It looked strange on the little man; seriousness did not suit his features at all. "And as for your brother? He would be the first to die. My sister, for all of her... insanity, she knows how wars work with the People. The Antlered Lord is your war-leader and when the Weeping Warrior donned the mask, it was the only thing that prevented your destruction. To kill your current war-leader, smash his antlered helm and mount his head on a spike, would be devastating. The People would fall apart and the North's Horned Riders would once more grind you underfoot."
And the Northlands try to break away. Hmm...
Likely to keep happening.
A ??? Hero of the Northlands is offering to off the current Grand Shaman and formerly subsume the Northlanders into the People, provided they are recognized as Pareem, aristocracy. In exchange, they are offering to teach Technologies that the Northlanders have finished researching. More Tech will be given for a closer union.
Intrigue Hero?
[ ] [Kin] Capture and execute the one who offends the laws of the spirits. (Legitimacy rises)
Straightforward, kicks the problem down the road.
Damages Familism though it might support our Justice value.
[ ] [Kin] Reject the abominable offer. The People do not slay kin! (Legitimacy rises)
Strengthens Familism, but we're likely to eat a war.
[ ] [Kin] Accept the offer, but only name Jeree Pareem. Keep the Northlanders at arms length. (Northlands become a Vassal)
Useful, because the Northlands are agriculturally poor, and helps avoid compounding our infrastructure gap. They'd break away every so often, but they won't be as demanding. We'd get less techs however.
[ ] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
Assimilates them, pushes our Tall strategy back by 9 turns.
We COULD do this, but the environment differences will suck balls when they demand to have the same facilities.
[ ] [Kin] Tell Jeree he has his deal, but lie. After his sister is dead, all that he'll get is an arrow to the heart. (If successful: Stability boost, Legitimacy falls. If failure: War and Jeree's anger.)
Monkey business against what sounds like intrigue hero. Pass
Craftsmen [Art] - For the most part, the People make their own tools. Mostly they are crude implements of bone, stone and wood, but in recent days there has been the creation of a new group. These individuals create only the finest of crafts, producing tools that last far longer than most would expect. Costs: Staples, Materials. Produces: Craftworks.
Artisans [Art] [Elitism] - A very rare occupation, artisans are the group of individuals which make things beautiful. Their work can most often be found within the People's temples or adorning the bodies of the rich and powerful. To be an artisan means to be a craftsmen that's a cut above even the rest. Costs: Materials, Craftworks. Produces: Luxuries.
Building Breweries [Art] [Admin] [Vendetta] - An ingenious way to make use of food that would otherwise go to waste, the People regularly make pots full of mashed grains and water that go subtly off. The resulting drink is quite bitter, but also extremely fun! Costs: Staples, Materials. Produces: Luxuries.
Make Miners (Crystal) [Art] [Mastery of Nature] - Stone has always been a resource used widely by the People. Not all stone, however, is created equal. Some is better than its cousins, whether because it is harder, sharper, or simply more beautiful. Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Luxuries. [Hard Cap Reached - Need Exploration]
Sugar Shack [Admin] - The trees are love, the trees are life. Their sweet nectar is something that can be easily boiled down into a substance that can only be called the blessing of the spirits. We. Need. MORE! Costs: Materials, Staples. Produces: Luxuries.
Clay Pits [Admin] [Art] - Dirt is not always dirt, as the People have realized. Sometimes, it is stone waiting to be formed. By finding the right source, it's possible to create numerous, useful constructs out of earth. Cost: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Materials. (Soft Cap Reached) Direly needed.
Encourage Arborists [Admin] - While the forests provide the least of the People's food, they have provided that which is most useful. Sugar is wonderous in taste and highly sought after as a trade goods. Evergreen tea soothes aching bodies and quiets headaches. There is much to be found in the unknown, perhaps rare, but of significant value. Costs: Craftworks, Staples. Produces: Materials.
Make Miners (Obsidian) [Art] Mastery of Nature] [Might Makes Right] - Stone has always been a resource used widely by the People. Not all stone, however, is created equal. Some is better than its cousins, whether because it is harder, sharper, or simply more beautiful. Costs: Staples. Produces: Craftworks. [Hard Cap Reached - Need Exploration]
We need more roads/explorations for these. Or a new settlement.
Arborists would worsen the Craft deficit to meet the Material Deficit, so not a solution in itself.
Obsidian mines would be ideal for the current situation. If we had sites.
Study (Travel, Fire, Stone, Life, Beasts, Magic) [Art] - The world works in mysterious ways. It is not incomprehensible, however, merely opaque. The People just need time in order to unravel the hidden world. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Boosted [Tagged] research.
Prepare for Ordeal [Ordeal] [Admin] - The spirits test the People, always. These tests are ones that require careful preparation and forethought. The People will be prepared. A crisis well managed is a sign of spiritual favour, one that's botched causes the People to further suffer. Cost: Nothing. Produces: Bonus to all stability checks this turn.
This is a good way to tread water since they cost nothing
Expand Farming [Familialism] [Admin] - The People have come to realize the bounty of the world is often not enough. They need to tame it and carefully manage the foods that are so important in sating their appetites. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Staples. (Soft Cap Reached)
Expand Fishing Fleets [Familialism] [Admin] - Most of the People live close to a river and are able to gather one of numerous sources of food. Often much easier to obtain than food from hunting and much less risky, these sources of food are much more vulnerable to shifts of the seasons and that of the weather. Costs: Craftworks. Produces: Staples.
Manage Hunting [Elitism] [Mastery of Nature] [Martial] - Improve upon the hunting techniques of the People. Work to increase the amount of meat that is available to consume and empower the People. A risky activity and one that requires a great investment of skill and energy, this provides the largest gains of food. Cost: Nothing. Produces: Staples, Martial. [Hard Cap Reached]
Raid (Mountain Clans, Arrow Lake, Pearl Divers, Island Makers, Peace Builders, Enemies of the Peace Builders) [Might Makes Right] [Vendetta] [Martial] - The hunting of beasts turns now into the hunting of men. Strike down those who oppose the People so that we may be kept safe. Cost: Risks Temporary Damage to Martial score. Produces: Dead Enemies.
@Redium
Do we still need to raid Arrow Lake to finish it or are they done for already?
Create Warrior Clan [Might Makes Right] [Vendetta] [Elitism] [Martial] [Admin] - The People have warriors well trained in the art of killing. By diverting more young people into these professions, preparations for war can be established. In a way, it is like knapping obsidian into a knife. An action that takes deliberation and planning, forethought, to be useful. Costs: Staples, Craftworks, Luxuries. Produces: Martial.
Help Holy Orders [Art] [Martial] [Admin] [Might Makes Right] [Mastery of Nature] - The People have numerous traditions of secretive cults. Groups that practice true magic, something that is rare but unbelievably potent. Provided it is harvest reliably; many have killed themselves in this mad pursuit. Costs: Staples, Craftworks, Luxuries. Produces: Martial, Magic. (Soft Cap Reached)
Trade Caravan [Diplomacy] [Martial] - It is clear that the People do not hold all that is significant within the world. There are other tribes that hold interesting, useful or beautiful objects. By offering up some as gifts, things that the People do not have will be provided in return. Costs: Luxuries, Staples. Produces: Diplomacy, Magic.
Trade Post [Diplomacy] [Admin] - Sometimes other people have things of interest and they come willing to the People's lands in order to offer them up! By being welcoming and accommodating, it would be easily possible to convince them to hand over an even greater fraction of their stuff. Costs: Diplomacy. Produces: Luxuries.
The Dam [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Inspired by the feats of ingenuity demonstrated by a large, but common, rat, the People have decided to emulate their creations on a more massive scale. By blockaded a river, it would be possible to accumulate an enormous amount of water, something that could easily be put to use. Costs: Craftworks, Materials. Produces: Staples.
Would solve a lot of problems...except it fixes the reverse of our current deficit.
The World in Miniature [Supernal Symphony] [Diplomacy] [Admin] (7 actions) - The world is a grand place, seemingly endless in scope. The People's exploration and search for wonders has pushed them to find a way to more effectively communicate discoveries with each other. Trail markers are a start, but they are not easily portable. More can be done. Costs: Magic? Produces: Efficiency.
This would be the long term patch to things. More efficient travel means our roads go further.
Archaic Charcoal Kilns (Crystal Lake, Hill Guard, The Fingers) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] [Art] - The Ember-Eyes have discovered a secret of wood and fire. By carefully burning it, they can render it blackened and fragile. Somehow, this makes fire burn far hotter. How is it the elements dance when burning wood is not the same as wood cooked by fire? Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Greatly Elevated Materials Efficiency.
Our Craftworks deficit will hurt like hell. We can afford one. Not three.
Extend Fire Relay (Hill Guard) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (1 Action) - The Fire Relay has served as the backbone of the People's communication and movement between The Fingers and Crystal Lake for longer than memory. With the recent founding of Hill Guard, the vaunted relay no longer stitches the People from one end to the other. This oversight must be corrected. Costs: Craftworks, Staples. Produces: General Efficiency.
Raise Temple (The Fingers) [Admin] [Art] (2 Actions) - A ritual place where the spirits and those they touch can work. Special facilities for magic, resources, teachings and the spirits themselves are included. Costs: Materials, Craftworks, Luxuries, Magic. Produces: Mysticism.
The Hill (The Fingers) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (2 Actions) - A hill made by man. A simple construct, but one that greatly raises the defensive value of a settlement. Costs: Materials, Craftworks, Martial. Produces: Defense.
New Trails [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (9 or 12 Actions) - Inspired by the Fire Relay, these small trails are cut into the innumerable forests that surround the People. Serving as akin to veins in the body, they promote the free movement of goods and people. Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Efficiency, increases Soft Resource Cap.
Okay, so we have a giant mess, and it says we need more Craftworks. Which says we need Materials.
We have two routes:
1) Assimilate the Northlands, spend their Staples production to rush out enough Material production to ram the Hill and Temple for Fingers(note they will be about as happy about this as the Fingers were)
2) We double down on efficiency boosters this turn, hope the Fingers will resist throwing a fit until we can take the vastly more efficient actions next turn. I just did the math, we're going to redline next turn if we do this because we can't expand our staples without more settlements and we can't build any.
So proto-plan.
[] Plan Life On the Edge
-[] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
-[][Action] Clay Pits
-[][Action] Archaic Charcoal Kilns(The Fingers)
-[][Action] Craftsmen
-[][Admin] New Trails
-[][Empowerment] Elder
-[][Empowerment] Frost-Scarred Warrior
-[][Empowerment] Fang Pack-Leader
Craftworks: Tiny Deficit predicted to become Moderate Deficit
Staples: Tiny Surplus predicted to become Tiny Deficit
Materials: Moderate Deficit predicted to become Tiny Deficit
Note that this surfs very damned close to the edge. If we didn't have an admin hero I wouldn't try.
Why Empower the choices I did?
-Frost-Scarred and Fang Pack Leaders know their war stuff. They should be able to prosecute the Arrow Lake war on their own, especially when our Hero leader has unremarkable Martial.
-Elder is likely to take agriculture, or prepare ordeal actions. With the new Northlands settlement they can take care of using it to produce more Staples.
-Luule is an Admin Hero, so using her personal admin powers to make sure we don't redline the three critical supplies(Clay, Bricks, Craftsmen).
@Redium
Clarification on what Frontier Leader means?
My preferred option, gives the most tech, and they have a hero that will become part of our tribe that can help them catch up to the rest of the settlements.
Herding is (237/250) [Beast] [Travel] we might finish it if the Northlands knows about it.
Empower:
At least one to support the war
Headman of Fingers: giving them support from the rest of the tribe will help keep the crisis under control.
Ember-Eye Shaman: with us at the soft cap for holy orders odds are good they will do a study action(fire) boosting Arboriculture (212/300) [Fire] [Life] and Copper Smelting (126/300) [Fire] [Stone]
@Redium Will we continue the attack on arrow lack if we take no raid action/actions to empower the military orders?
Or will we continue the attack anyway with actions taken reinforcing the attack?
Can you tell us more about the current holders of these three and their personalities? Is Luule one of them? Which one?
Also, is the Pareem a single body for all three settlements?
If yes, where is t based and how do its far off members manage to travel and administrate all the time?
If no, which Pareem does Luule belong to and how/why do the other two Pareems defer to her as Great Leader (or whatever the current title is).
"...Based on messengers near the front, the enemy is nearly defeated!" Anything further the young war-leader was going to add was drowned out by the applause from the council. It brought a faint smile to Luule's lips as she watched her brother try to control the crowd. No matter how hard he slammed the butt of his staff against the ground, it was insufficient to cut through the giddy jubilation that buoyed all of them, the Pareem, up.
They were a young group, all told, but if the result on the front of war were anything to go by, they were more than equal to any task set before them. Word from the front was that the enemy in Arrow Lake were nearly at the point of breaking. All it would take is concentrated push to have them defeated. Their walls were formidable, equal to the People's due to a foolish, but ancient gift, but they would not matter if none of their defenders had the strength to stand. Every member of their militia was hollow cheeked and showed thin, weakened limbs. They had mostly stopped contesting the People in their own valley entirely; all that was necessary was to do a final push and cut off their trickle of supplies from the south.
So in essence all we need to do to finish off Arrow Lake is to keep up the pressure on them.
Their warriors and people are currently emaciated and starving. The only thing preventing their defeat is their walls. We learned the lesson of what happens when you leave an enemy be after you've thought them beaten the hard way when the Fingers were burned by the Hundred Bands. Let's not make the same mistake again.
While it's true we do have other pressing domestic issues to deal with, with the new system I think we have enough leeway to either take a raid action ourselves or empower one of the warriors to do so for us. When we fight an enemy we should do so with the intent of finishing them.
By the end, they had also started to call him the Weeping Warrior, Luule recalled. He cried as he fought, wiping blood and tears in equal measure from his cheeks. It made her uncomfortable to hear her brother exalt Old Priit's name and call for war. It was wrong. And, based on the looks she was receiving from several of the other Pareem, they felt the same way.
Well that didn't end too badly but I still don't see any tangible effect so far.
Anyways as much as it is regrettable that we will have to continue the war despite Priit's regrets, that would be the pragmatic thing to do as we cannot let Arrow Lake recover when we have them on the ropes. We finish then now and with all of our other fronts dealt with we should be able to focus on ourselves until the next crisis blows up.
As a reminder, this here is their current state. Their army is essentially in tatters as we've beaten them black and blue on the battlefield, their earlier pride broken and with that their moral. Due to that their economy is getting crushed as we are essentially strangling them and pushing them towards capitulation. Unlike the Northlands who are/were nomads, they are not, and they will have to sue for peace so long as we keep up the pressure and end this. We can't afford to take half-measures here. We need to end this war this turn.
Thinking about it, leading was like the Parable of the Threefold Stag, bearer of the sun. Each day, the stag was born, lived, and eventually died. They were eternal, but their life was not unending. Each night, the Threefold Stag would forget the burden they had taken on just the day previously as a new life that-was-them-but-not was born. Each and ever stag was necessary, but none of them would see the impact that they had. The sun always rose, even when the Threefold Stag was born into a weak or sickly body, even during the winter months. It was always there to provide life, light, warmth, and nourishment to every plant and beast, stone and stream. If it ever finally stopped, however; Luule was certain it would mean a slow, lingering death by winter for everything that lived under the dome of the sky.
No incarnation of the Threefold Stag was ever able to see the impact they had on the world. And yet, without their tireless work, there would be no world.
Interesting. We are very close to having created our own formal religion with set beliefs and a religious pantheon to base them off of. I am curious to see how that shapes up, especially as we are very close to finishing the research on gods and deities.
"The People will grow great when every elder plants trees whose shade they shall never rest in, Luule." Priit had said once, shortly before he died and was interred in the Cave of Stars. Think of the future and plan for your children, he had meant.
The People had a critical shortfall: there simply wasn't enough wood or bricks to meet the People's needs. Longhouses that had once held six families now tended to hold eight. It wasn't critical, yet, but people were starting to become cramped. At the edges of the People's lands, hunters and farmers were slowly starting to stop using brick and instead turn to lesser materials, usually wood. This made sense in the short-term since it consumed far fewer resources to build a wooden longhouse, but over time brick was obviously superior. The amount of time saved in maintenance and in reducing the amount of wood necessary to keep warm during the winter were significant. A brick longhouse also simply lasted longer; the home that Luule had grown up in had been built by the grandfather of Old Man Priit's grandfather!
According to the front page stats sheet, which was just recently updated, we are hurting hard for materials. From what the action list indicates to us our best bet of resolving this issue is to firstly build more clay pits to help satiate the demand for clay pits, and increasing efficiency in terms of how we use our resources, which can be done through creating new trails as well as building more kilns, something we know we need to do. If we let this persist and don't act quickly we'll likely see our people switch from brick to wood even though the former is more logistically sound.
This shortfall also exacerbated a smaller, but no less dangerous situation; many of the Pareem living in the Fingers reported that their clients were becoming... restless. For time beyond memory, the Fingers had been the least favoured of the People's three settlements, despite being their bulwark against the Northlands and Arrow Lake. They were the second largest concentration of People, but they lacked a Hill to defend them. Why was it that clay and wood from the Fingers were sent to Crystal Lake or even Hill Guard to help them build up while their need was clear?
The fact that the Fingers also lacked a temple was not forgotten. It was another slight, another tiny insult that wounded the pride of the fierce and war-like People of the Fingers. It was not a new problem, Priit himself had remarked on the issue; much of his support base had been found among those individuals who were dissatisfied with the growing neglect heaped upon their settlement. He had started the process of reform within the People, but he had simply not had enough time to fully deal with their issues.
Status Gained: Dissatisfied Faction (The Fingers)
An element within the People has grown increasingly dissatisfied with how the People are being run. They demand change and if there desires continue to go unmet, they may eventually take things into their own hands.
Resolve: Build a Hill and Temple in Fingers
Effects: Escalating Legitimacy hit until demands are met, crisis triggered at ??? Stability.
Right...well, this isn't surprising at all, and while I am not happy about it, this was something that was predicted and has now come home to roost.
At least compared to Priit's Warrior Faction this one seems a little easier to resolve due to having much more tangible solutions.
Taking our current situation into account, what with our materials deficit, we are going to find it hard to simply finance one, let alone two, of these constructions. If we had to do so I would rather we do the Hill first, as it only requires materials, craftsworks, and martial, rather than the luxuries that the Temple requires.
My one hope regarding this current situation is that, assuming our war with Arrow Lake goes well, we should be able to recoup something from them regarding this that could help us with pleasing the Fingers, such as potentially doing what we did with the Cracktooth and Bitter-Water Tribe captives and simply have them build the Hill for us. @Redium Would that still be viable even with the new mechanics?
If not, by defeating Arrow Lake we should be able to extract some form of tribute out of them, such as taking their lapis lazuli, and hopefully appease some of our current luxury deficits.
What should have been a simple fix: building a Hill and Temple, was starting to look monumentally difficult. The People needed more resources; clay bricks, wood, and simple labour, desperately. Piling on two major projects on top of that would only exacerbate the issue, potentially critically.
Meaning we will have to eat some legitimacy and stability hits, as while displeasing the Fingers at this point is not favorable, crashing our economy due to a resource deficiency is even worse.
There was also a second, lesser shortage for luxuries; dyes, quality furs, fine jewelry, etc. The warrior clans and the Pareem had found it necessary to cover themselves in fine panoply. On the field of battle, it was necessary to be distinctive in order to rally your followers. Given the expanding size of the People, it had even become necessary for non-warrior leaders to follow suit. It was impossible for every member of the People to recognize the Pareem; there were simply too many to know all of their faces.
The shortage wasn't nearly as critical as that of base materials, merely causing confusion and disorder among the People, but it would need to be addressed at some point. Eventually, Luule huffed.
This seems to be a much longer term problem, not ideal, but not as catastrophic as our current materials shortage and the Fingers faction could turn out to be. We can work on this later after we solve the other two issues first.
"Simple," Jeree smiled. "I want your help to kill my sister."
Luule was struck dumb. It was like her thoughts — normally a grand edifice like a temple — sudden cracked and then came cascading down. Kinslaying? How could anyone plot something so accursed? It must have been a bad joke. One that left her uncomfortable to even consider it.
"You'd be surprised," Jeree said. That last part must have been said out loud, Luule realized. "The circumstances come up. As for the why? To save the life of your brother."
"What do you mean?" Luule hissed. She pulled him aside into an alcove, using her advantage in height to nearly pin him in place. A part of her was tempted to signal her brother or flag down the guards. The only thing that stopped her was the sheer lack of concern on Jeree's features.
All of this was part of a plan.
"My sister has listened a little bit too closely to the old stories of the Ivory Chief. She's rejected our mother, disdaining her for betraying the Northern tribe and taking a southern huntsman as husband. I'm not sure where she heard it, but before she assumed the mantle as Most Holy, rebellion was a dying whisper. Now it's an ember threatening to burst into flame."
"You'd sell out your own kin?" Luule asked, mind aching at having to comprehend it. "And what does this have to do with my brother?"
"There's a lot I would sell for peace," Jeree said. His gaze was tightly fixed, conviction firm. It looked strange on the little man; seriousness did not suit his features at all. "And as for your brother? He would be the first to die. My sister, for all of her... insanity, she knows how wars work with the People. The Antlered Lord is your war-leader and when the Weeping Warrior donned the mask, it was the only thing that prevented your destruction. To kill your current war-leader, smash his antlered helm and mount his head on a spike, would be devastating. The People would fall apart and the North's Horned Riders would once more grind you underfoot."
Jeree smirked. "Of course, my sister could fail. Your brother might live and war would come to the People on two fronts. You know what that would mean."
Luule did, perhaps better than even her brother. Organization was her strength and it was easy to predict how the People would respond to war, even if the details were beyond her. Subjugating the Northlanders a second time would be all be impossible. If it even became a possibility that they might lose, they would flee. Perhaps for only a few years, before they eventually returned and struck when the People least expected it. Fighting them would be like trying to kill smoke.
That didn't even begin to touch on how much ground they would lose in the south, against Arrow Lake.
"Why do you need my help?" Luule eventually asked.
"Legitimacy," Jeree shrugged. "I can kill my sister, of that I am absolutely certain. What happens afterwards, though? Anarchy, most likely. For all that my sister is the Most Holy, she is not well liked. But, she is all we have. Her line has provided us spiritual advice for time beyond memory. If I move against her, I will need something, a system, to replace it."
Slowly, Jeree gestured to the long tables the dominated the center of the gathering longhouse. "That can always be made bigger, can it not?"
What did we roll to deserve this? I had thought we were integrating rather well with the Northlands before this, but considering that the sentiment of the Grand Shaman is not exactly shared by the rest of her people we should be able to manage this.
Anyways, from how he is described Jeree does not seem to be a regular hero like we're used to. While he could be one of the Horned Riders of the Northlands, what with his size likely being small enough to allow him to do so, I feel like that would've been mentioned rather than have him be described as a ??? Hero. Furthermore when we add in all of the insights he made to Luule, especially when it is known that he is a foreigner so to speak, it makes me think that he is either a new type of hero, an Intrigue Hero, or a variation of a current hero type such as a Diplomacy hero of some kind. Either way, he seems like someone we should have on our side rather than have against us.
Just to be clear, are we simply assassinating her or are we going to war with a Northlands faction? @Redium
A ??? Hero of the Northlands is offering to off the current Grand Shaman and formerly subsume the Northlanders into the People, provided they are recognized as Pareem, aristocracy. In exchange, they are offering to teach Technologies that the Northlanders have finished researching. More Tech will be given for a closer union.
[ ] [Kin] Capture and execute the one who offends the laws of the spirits. (Legitimacy rises)
[ ] [Kin] Reject the abominable offer. The People do not slay kin! (Legitimacy rises)
[ ] [Kin] Accept the offer, but only name Jeree Pareem. Keep the Northlanders at arms length. (Northlands become a Vassal)
[ ] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
[ ] [Kin] Tell Jeree he has his deal, but lie. After his sister is dead, all that he'll get is an arrow to the heart. (If successful: Stability boost, Legitimacy falls. If failure: War and Jeree's anger.)
Taking all of this information into account, I think we can quickly eliminate the first two options presented.
The first option, of killing him now, doesn't really benefit us at all. This simply allows the problems he brought up to fester. Furthermore even if this does benefit his sister in that by killing her brother we rid her of someone who is standing in opposition to her, even with our justification for why we did so I don't think it will take much for her to spin his execution into a justification for war. As was indicated above in the excerpt we cannot afford another war with the Northlands, fighting a two front war when we already have issues internally will only exacerbate those issues.
The second option is even worse, as by rejecting him we could make an enemy out of him and cause the situation in the North to boil over. Having a hero as an enemy is not something that will help us at this point in time, especially when their demands actually benefit us somewhat.
Vassalizing the Northlands as the third option indicates seems to be the compromise option. Jeree gets what he wants, sort of, and we keep the Northlands within the fold...in the immediate term anyway. However considering the nature and distance of the Northlands it wouldn't surprise me if the Northlands goes against us again when Jeree dies and there is less ties binding us together with them. We would also likely get some research with this option but not as much as one of the closer options.
The fourth option, assimilation, is my preferred option for the moment. Yes, we will have a new settlement from which we will need to both build infrastructure for, and one that will set back our current build tall strategy. However, in return this option does grant us some boons that will benefit us immensely.
With this option we are likely to get a lot of their techs, which mostly seems centered around Beasts. This likely means we will complete or simply absorb the Herding technology that they likely already have developed alongside the Caribou Taming option seeing as they have already done so, likely incorporating their Horned Riders as a new Holy Order for which we could call upon in terms of magic and martial. While initially gaining herding from them is unlikely to change our current status for Staples in either direction, as I am assuming that getting access to their herds will be a neutral change as those herds will likely be used to support the former Northlanders and the settlement we are founding up north, in the long term getting herding now will likely give us another avenue to further boost our Staples production by opening up another source of Staples down south which isn't currently capped.
Secondly if we assimilate the Northlands and make Jeree one of us we will obviously gain him as a hero. While right now we are not entirely sure as to what type of hero he is, with some guesses as to him being a new type of hero specializing in intrigue, with the possibility of him simply being a Martial/Diplo hybrid, either way gaining him would be a big boon for us. It would obviously help us in terms of the boosts he gives to certain actions, but it would also help bolster our action economy by giving us a free action slot for which we could spend a choice on. All in all it would be better to have him as a friend than an enemy in this case.
However, while speaking about the benefits I will acknowledge that there will be deficits. Right now we know very clearly the troubles of neglecting infrastructure, and adding a new settlement which is leagues away from our nearest settlement is likely to exacerbate that and cause problems in the future similar to the issue with the Fingers right now. We will likely need to extend a whole new section of the Fire Relay up to the new settlement up north as they will likely want the same comforts as the rest of the settlements such as brick buildings, and as of this moment I doubt that we have that available for them. Compounding that as was mentioned before this will likely set back our building tall strategy in that we will have another settlement for which we will need to build a Temple and Hill at, meaning our expansion is curtailed once again until we can lock those in.
Despite all of these detriments I believe that in the current situation we are finding ourselves in these detriments are merely long term setbacks which we can address later, while the benefits offer us immediate boons and solutions to help us deal with our current dilemmas and crises right now. That is why I believe we should take this option.
Finally for the fifth option my answer is a straight up nope. Luule is an admin hero while Jeree seems to be an intrigue hero of some type, the odds are stacked against us if we try this, and we do not need that kind of trouble right now.
Automatic Actions: Are being discontinued. Every action you now take will produce permanent changes in the People's ability to marshal resources. At your current level of sophistication, you can't tell exactly how an individual action will effect your stats.
So, quick question regarding this. Due to how our actions seem to have changed in wording and mechanics, how does this affect the trade and production actions we had locked in before? For example, will all of our locked in trade partners no longer receive trade delegations from us regularly? Will our locked in food producing actions of before mean that our Hunters won't hunt, or does that simply mean we aren't expanding hunting, or expanding the number of farmlands, which is what I am interpreting as?
Because if I am understanding things right now, when it comes to our Staples producing options, by taking those options we expand the amount of farmers/farmland and fishermen/fishing boats compared to our previous point and increases the amount of cap they take up, but by not taking it the staples producers simply continue to do as they did before and produce at the previous rate, something that doesn't increase our staples but does not lower it inherently either unless we take too many options that use it up. Is that right @Redium
When it comes to the items of note above, our current tiny surplus of craftworks is likely to turn into a deficit due to our likely building spree this turn in order to alleviate our materials deficit. As indicated in the update we have a luxuries deficit at the moment, however as luxuries aren't too much of an immediate priority right now I think we can let that one go for the time being. Our moderate materials deficit however is of much larger concern as materials trickle down to almost all of our other stats and is something we need to immediately rectify.
Aside from that, the other issue we may be having soon is the fact that while we have a moderate staples surplus, much of it is at near capacity for the farming and hunting portions. Considering how many staples we are likely to consume with both our efforts to rectify our materials shortage and also our building for the Fingers, we will likely need to expand fishing and expand herding once it becomes available.
At least endurance wise our stats are fine right now, which will hopefully allow us to tank the legitimacy hits we will take if we don't act on the Arrow Lake issue soon. We also seemed to have gained another point of prestige, likely from our thrashing of Arrow Lake who lost some more.
Annual Festival [Art] - The People deserve to party! Build morale by opening up the stockpiles and having a night of feasts, dancing, music and fun. Cost: Luxuries, Staples. Produces: Legitimacy.
Artisans [Art] [Elitism] - A very rare occupation, artisans are the group of individuals which make things beautiful. Their work can most often be found within the People's temples or adorning the bodies of the rich and powerful. To be an artisan means to be a craftsmen that's a cut above even the rest. Costs: Materials, Craftworks. Produces: Luxuries.
Clay Pits [Admin] [Art] - Dirt is not always dirt, as the People have realized. Sometimes, it is stone waiting to be formed. By finding the right source, it's possible to create numerous, useful constructs out of earth. Cost: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Materials. (Soft Cap Reached) Direly needed.
Craftsmen [Art] - For the most part, the People make their own tools. Mostly they are crude implements of bone, stone and wood, but in recent days there has been the creation of a new group. These individuals create only the finest of crafts, producing tools that last far longer than most would expect. Costs: Staples, Materials. Produces: Craftworks.
This is also something we should probably prioritize, though I am not sure if we need to so do now compared to later. Right now with the tiny surplus we do have I think we can better afford to take the hit here in craftsworks as our likely increased number of materials and hopefully staples will alleviate the issue any deficit caused by this will have. While I do acknowledge that we are likely to have an issue with this later, as this will likely consume a lot of our tools due to our building efforts, I think we can save that for next turn.
Create Warrior Clan [Might Makes Right] [Vendetta] [Elitism] [Martial] [Admin] - The People have warriors well trained in the art of killing. By diverting more young people into these professions, preparations for war can be established. In a way, it is like knapping obsidian into a knife. An action that takes deliberation and planning, forethought, to be useful. Costs: Staples, Craftworks, Luxuries. Produces: Martial.
Encourage Arborists [Admin] - While the forests provide the least of the People's food, they have provided that which is most useful. Sugar is wonderous in taste and highly sought after as a trade goods. Evergreen tea soothes aching bodies and quiets headaches. There is much to be found in the unknown, perhaps rare, but of significant value. Costs: Craftworks, Staples. Produces: Materials.
Expand Farming [Familialism] [Admin] - The People have come to realize the bounty of the world is often not enough. They need to tame it and carefully manage the foods that are so important in sating their appetites. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Staples. (Soft Cap Reached)
This would've been an ideal way of increasing our staples, especially as it costs nothing, however with the cap having been reached obviously we can't pick this now.
Expand Fishing Fleets [Familialism] [Admin] - Most of the People live close to a river and are able to gather one of numerous sources of food. Often much easier to obtain than food from hunting and much less risky, these sources of food are much more vulnerable to shifts of the seasons and that of the weather. Costs: Craftworks. Produces: Staples.
I think we should take this option as a lot of our choices right now will cost staples to implement, and as the QM noted earlier having a deficit in staples is not very conducive to our stability or prosperity.
Staples: Are food and other basic everyday necessities. The sub-sections underneath food show you roughly how much space you still have to expand within your current territory. Once you hit that cap, you'll either need to innovate or capture territory from elsewhere. Running out of Staples tends to do Bad Things.
In the 2.0 mechanics sheet it has been emphasized twice how having a deficit of staples, essentially having people starving, is a very bad thing. While having a deficit in craftsworks and tools is bad, it is not as bad as angry, hungry people. Considering that this is our only staples producing action which isn't capped at the moment we definitely need to take this as we are going to be spending staples this turn in order to rectify our materials issue. And while I would rather we solve the issue quickly, I would not do so at the expense of sending us into starvation which creates a whole host of new problems, more immediate ones, that will derail our long term issues.
Explore (Specify Direction?) [Mastery of Nature] [Martial] [Diplomacy] - There is much to be found in the world. Countless things, often placed by the hand of the spirits themselves. It is up to the People to find them. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Can reveal new resources.
Found Settlement (includes: Brick Wall, Shrine, Sugar Shack) [Mastery of Nature] [Familialism] [Elitism] [Admin] - While the People build homes where they will, often where food or resources can easily be found, these places are settled without organization or care. By founding a formal settlement, it becomes possible for central authority to exert itself before the People become too fracas. Current locked due to Materials shortage.
Help Holy Orders [Art] [Martial] [Admin] [Might Makes Right] [Mastery of Nature] - The People have numerous traditions of secretive cults. Groups that practice true magic, something that is rare but unbelievably potent. Provided it is harvest reliably; many have killed themselves in this mad pursuit. Costs: Staples, Craftworks, Luxuries. Produces: Martial, Magic. (Soft Cap Reached)
Make Miners (Crystal) [Art] [Mastery of Nature] - Stone has always been a resource used widely by the People. Not all stone, however, is created equal. Some is better than its cousins, whether because it is harder, sharper, or simply more beautiful. Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Luxuries. [Hard Cap Reached - Need Exploration]
Make Miners (Obsidian) [Art] Mastery of Nature] [Might Makes Right] - Stone has always been a resource used widely by the People. Not all stone, however, is created equal. Some is better than its cousins, whether because it is harder, sharper, or simply more beautiful. Costs: Staples. Produces: Craftworks. [Hard Cap Reached - Need Exploration]
Manage Hunting [Elitism] [Mastery of Nature] [Martial] - Improve upon the hunting techniques of the People. Work to increase the amount of meat that is available to consume and empower the People. A risky activity and one that requires a great investment of skill and energy, this provides the largest gains of food. Cost: Nothing. Produces: Staples, Martial. [Hard Cap Reached]
Raid (Mountain Clans, Arrow Lake, Pearl Divers, Island Makers, Peace Builders, Enemies of the Peace Builders) [Might Makes Right] [Vendetta] [Martial] - The hunting of beasts turns now into the hunting of men. Strike down those who oppose the People so that we may be kept safe. Cost: Risks Temporary Damage to Martial score. Produces: Dead Enemies.
Depending on whether or not if we need to actively take this option to continue the war and finish it with Arrow Lake, we might need to take this, or otherwise empower a leader who likely will do so.
Study (Travel, Fire, Stone, Life, Beasts, Magic) [Art] - The world works in mysterious ways. It is not incomprehensible, however, merely opaque. The People just need time in order to unravel the hidden world. Costs: Nothing. Produces: Boosted [Tagged] research.
Sugar Shack [Admin] - The trees are love, the trees are life. Their sweet nectar is something that can be easily boiled down into a substance that can only be called the blessing of the spirits. We. Need. MORE! Costs: Materials, Staples. Produces: Luxuries.
Trade Caravan [Diplomacy] [Martial] - It is clear that the People do not hold all that is significant within the world. There are other tribes that hold interesting, useful or beautiful objects. By offering up some as gifts, things that the People do not have will be provided in return. Costs: Luxuries, Staples. Produces: Diplomacy, Magic.
Trade Post [Diplomacy] [Admin] - Sometimes other people have things of interest and they come willing to the People's lands in order to offer them up! By being welcoming and accommodating, it would be easily possible to convince them to hand over an even greater fraction of their stuff. Costs: Diplomacy. Produces: Luxuries.
Prepare for Ordeal [Ordeal] [Admin] - The spirits test the People, always. These tests are ones that require careful preparation and forethought. The People will be prepared. A crisis well managed is a sign of spiritual favour, one that's botched causes the People to further suffer. Cost: Nothing. Produces: Bonus to all stability checks this turn.
Select three individuals to take (1) action on the People's behalf. The same individual may be selected multiple times. Tag votes as [Empower], if someone is being empowered multiple times, use a multiple (x2, x3, etc.).
Elder
Ember-Eye Shaman
Fang Pack-Leader
Frontier Leader
Frost-Scarred Warrior
Headman of Crystal Lake
Headman of Fingers
Headman of Hill Guard
Star Shaman
Trader
Urbanite
The Elder will likely try to take an action in either improving food or potentially stability through an ordeal action of some sort, though it's somewhat ambiguous as to what they will do.
The Ember Eye Shaman if we empower them will likely either study stone or fire, or build those archaic kilns as it would help with their research, though there is a possibility they would disagree with that as they would see it as people infringing upon their magic. There is a slight chance they would prosecute the war against Arrow Lake for us, but considering how the Fangs and Frost-Scarred took prominence in that war I doubt it.
The Fang Pack-Leader is likely to to continue to prosecute the war against Arrow Lake, unless we've been reading things wrong and Priit's last words dissuaded them from doing so, which is a distinct possibility. Otherwise they might just choose to research more things on beasts.
The Frontier Leader, from what I can recall about the Frontier would likely try to do something for the farmers at the frontier such as expanding farms, even though we are soft-capped there, or through building trails in order to better connect the frontier to the settlement.
The Frost-Scarred Warrior will likely continue to prosecute the war, and unlike the Fangs who were closely associated with Priit I doubt they will be too impacted by the regret choice. I see research as farther off second action they could do.
The Headman of Crystal Lake is somewhat of an unknown as they haven't exactly been screaming in need of anything so they could do anything with the action we give them. Not worth rolling the dice here as we need every action we can get.
Considering how there is a Faction based around the Fingers the Headman of the Fingers is likely to either do one of two things with their action, build a Hill or build a Temple, which makes it tempting for me right now to choose it as this action is almost guaranteed compared to the others.
Not entirely sure what the Hill Guard Headsman will do. But if I had to make a guess I would say that they would probably take an action to extend the fire relay to them as they still haven't been connected, either that or maybe build trails.
For the Star Shaman, I think they are likely to spend an action on either studying something or possibly preparing for an ordeal as they seem to focus on that there.
Trader is also one of the more obvious ones as they will likely pick one of the two trade actions.
For the Urbanite my guess is something to do with increasing either luxuries or crafts works as that is what they do.
Artificial River [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
The Dam [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Inspired by the feats of ingenuity demonstrated by a large, but common, rat, the People have decided to emulate their creations on a more massive scale. By blockaded a river, it would be possible to accumulate an enormous amount of water, something that could easily be put to use. Costs: Craftworks, Materials. Produces: Staples.
The World, A Shield [Supernal Symphony] [Flat Arrow Outlook] [Martial] [Admin] (12 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
The World in Miniature [Supernal Symphony] [Diplomacy] [Admin] (7 actions) - The world is a grand place, seemingly endless in scope. The People's exploration and search for wonders has pushed them to find a way to more effectively communicate discoveries with each other. Trail markers are a start, but they are not easily portable. More can be done. Costs: Magic? Produces: Efficiency.
A Temple, Grand [Supernal Symphony] [Art] (8 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
The Sisters Three [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
A Field of Gold [Supernal Symphony] [Admin] (6 Actions) - Prerequisites not met.
If we had the actions both of the megaproject we have available would probably be good choices as they do address some of our current and future problems. The problem is they are too lengthy to be useful right now.
Archaic Charcoal Kilns (Crystal Lake, Hill Guard, The Fingers) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] [Art] - The Ember-Eyes have discovered a secret of wood and fire. By carefully burning it, they can render it blackened and fragile. Somehow, this makes fire burn far hotter. How is it the elements dance when burning wood is not the same as wood cooked by fire? Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Greatly Elevated Materials Efficiency.
This should be mandatory. By greatly elevating our materials efficiency we will conversely greatly reduce our materials deficit as the more efficient kilns will make it so that we use less wood and probably clay when it comes to making our bricks, thereby giving us a net increase in materials as the draw on them will be reduced.
Considering how we will likely be building a lot more at the Fingers and the current issues we are having with them we might as well build kilns there to both placate them and make things marginally easier.
Extend Fire Relay (Hill Guard) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (1 Action) - The Fire Relay has served as the backbone of the People's communication and movement between The Fingers and Crystal Lake for longer than memory. With the recent founding of Hill Guard, the vaunted relay no longer stitches the People from one end to the other. This oversight must be corrected. Costs: Craftworks, Staples. Produces: General Efficiency.
Raise Temple (The Fingers) [Admin] [Art] (2 Actions) - A ritual place where the spirits and those they touch can work. Special facilities for magic, resources, teachings and the spirits themselves are included. Costs: Materials, Craftworks, Luxuries, Magic. Produces: Mysticism.
The Hill (The Fingers) [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (2 Actions) - A hill made by man. A simple construct, but one that greatly raises the defensive value of a settlement. Costs: Materials, Craftworks, Martial. Produces: Defense.
While we definitely need to get started on the two of these issues in order to avoid the crisis with the Fingers I don't think we need to use dedicated actions for these, rather we should instead just empower the Fingers Headsman, who as their representative, will likely just do one of these for us and thus allow us to use our more reliable actions to pick more specific choices.
New Trails [Mastery of Nature] [Admin] (9 or 12 Actions) - Inspired by the Fire Relay, these small trails are cut into the innumerable forests that surround the People. Serving as akin to veins in the body, they promote the free movement of goods and people. Costs: Staples, Craftworks. Produces: Efficiency, increases Soft Resource Cap.
As this both increases our efficiency in terms of both moving everything around, plus the emphasis that was put upon them earlier by the QM, I think this would be something we should look into this turn.
[] Plan Life On the Edge
-[] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
-[][Action] Clay Pits
-[][Action] Archaic Charcoal Kilns(The Fingers)
-[][Action] Craftsmen
-[][Admin] New Trails
-[][Empowerment] Elder
-[][Empowerment] Frost-Scarred Warrior
-[][Empowerment] Fang Pack-Leader
Craftworks: Tiny Deficit predicted to become Moderate Deficit
Staples: Tiny Surplus predicted to become Tiny Deficit
Materials: Moderate Deficit predicted to become Tiny Deficit
Note that this surfs very damned close to the edge. If we didn't have an admin hero I wouldn't try.
Why Empower the choices I did?
-Frost-Scarred and Fang Pack Leaders know their war stuff. They should be able to prosecute the Arrow Lake war on their own, especially when our Hero leader has unremarkable Martial.
-Elder is likely to take agriculture, or prepare ordeal actions. With the new Northlands settlement they can take care of using it to produce more Staples.
-Luule is an Admin Hero, so using her personal admin powers to make sure we don't redline the three critical supplies(Clay, Bricks, Craftsmen).
While I agree with most of your plan and it's general strategy and emphasis there are some specifics I disagree with.
Firstly, the change I think needs to made most is that of switching out Craftsmen for Expanding Fishing Fleet. I acknowledge the fact that we will likely run into a deficit based on our current courses of action if we don't take said action this turn. However, considering our current likely expenditures in terms of Staples I would much rather have us having a shortage of craftsmen than a shortage of food, as a shortage of Staples will likely reverberate across all of our civ.
Be careful if you plan on taking a lot of actions that spend Staples. You currently have enough of a reserve that you can't go to famine in one turn, but expect to have to take a large number of Staples actions as a matter of course.
Yes, I realize that we won't likely go into the red this turn as seen by the QM's statement, however that being said I would rather we not push too hard now only to hamstring ourselves next turn. I would much rather we moderate our current course of action by expanding our fishing fleet now, as that is the only staples producer that is not capped, so that once we gain herding from the Northlands we will be able to make sure we have enough of a surplus to take some of the more costly measures.
Aside from that, I also do not believe your choices in the empowerment section are optimal for a number of reasons. Firstly I do not like the Elder option as it's a little too variable, meaning we aren't entirely guaranteed what that action will end up being. Furthermore even if it does happen to be an agriculture action, due to expanding agriculture currently being capped I still believe that would be a suboptimal choice anyways. Secondly, I don't think we really need to have two actions dedicated to the war against Arrow Lake. Personally I believe the Frost-Scarred Warrior choice for empowerment is better than that of the Fangs for the reasons illustrated above. Due to Priit's connection with the Fangs, and especially the reminder about Priit's regret I am worried that picking the Fangs we might not get a choice that allows us to finish off Arrow Lake. That is why I would prefer just taking the Frost-Scarred Warrior.
Here is the plan I would go with:
[] Plan Resettling Foundations
-[] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
-[][Action] Clay Pits
-[][Action] Archaic Charcoal Kilns(The Fingers)
-[][Action] Expand Fishing Fleets
-[][Admin] New Trails
-[][Empowerment] Frost-Scarred Warrior
-[][Empowerment] Headman of Fingers
-[][Empowerment] Headman of Fingers
As for my reasoning for these choices, the choice regarding the Northlands option is explained above.
The Clay Pits and Kilns are mandatory due to how they would alleviate our materials shortage problem.
The fishing fleet is here to make sure that we are producing enough staples to avoid any kind of starvation as while a tiny deficit in Staples may look small and may seem worth it for us, I highly doubt the majority of the People would agree with that assessment.
The New Trails will likely help increase our efficiency in everything.
As for the empowerment options my reasoning for them are as follows.
Unless @Redium adds in a warchief option, as was mentioned much earlier:
Empowerment is basically a replacement of Tribute focus. Instead of picking a Tribute policy, you pick a beneficiary who executes actions for you; i.e. a warchief, elder, landholder, shaman, etc.
The Frost-Scarred Warrior is our best bet among our options for continuing the war against Arrow Lake and finishing them off..
As for picking the Headman of the Fingers, as I said earlier he is much more predictable compared to his counterparts, and thus is much more likely to spend at least one option on building a Hill or Temple.
I acknowledge that this will likely create a deficit in craftsmen for us, but I am leaving that as an issue for later with which we can resolve as I would prefer that to a deficit in Staples.
As for picking the Headman of the Fingers, as I said earlier he is much more predictable compared to his counterparts, and thus is much more likely to spend at least one option on building a Hill or Temple.
This post is related to the 'choose fingers empowerment for them to build a hill and/or temple while not adding craftsmen to the plan' point in the post.
With what resources? The fingers are us, they take from our resource pool. The craftsmen deficient, while the fingers finally have a voice and enough food, is potentially problematic if we leave out the craftsmen. "How convenient! The fingers needs are delayed from a deficient of craftsmen for war purposes."
This post is related to the 'choose fingers empowerment for them to build a hill and/or temple while not adding craftsmen to the plan' point in the post.
With what resources? The fingers are us, they take from our resource pool. The craftsmen deficient, while the fingers finally have a voice and enough food, is potentially problematic if we leave out the craftsmen. "How convenient! The fingers needs are delayed from a deficient of craftsmen for war purposes."
With what resources could be said for any of the other empower options. While I do acknowledge that the Fingers Headman will be spending resources and craftsmen on one of projects for improvements, I do believe that they won't totally double down on completing one of the two projects in an entire turn, rather I am hoping they will spend one of the other action points on actions that will assist them in building said project, such as craftsmen or something else. I'd rather we at least attempt to make it look like we are making progress showing to them we are working towards their goal than not.
[] Plan Not Perfect
-[] [Kin] Embrace them fully, once the firebrand Grand Shaman is dead. (Additional settlement founded for free, Northlands folds into the People.)
-[][Action] Clay Pits
-[][Action] Archaic Charcoal Kilns(The Fingers)
-[][Action] Craftsmen
-[][Admin] Extend Fire Relay (Hill Guard)
-[][Empowerment] Frost-Scarred Warrior
-[][Empowerment] Frontier Leader
-[][Empowerment] Headman of Fingers
The 'Extend Fire Relay' takes 1 action, just 1 to increase general efficiency. Meaning this will complete far faster than trails and give us the efficiency boost near immediately. We could work on the trails after. This stops fears of Hill guard behaving like the fingers and creates better links with them. Hmmm, it likely also gives our admin hero more time to coordinate for the ongoing war.
Frost-Scared for the fight in south. And frontier leader cause I think that's the admin hero's brother. If we ignore him I don't know what might happen to him and the admin hero. Finger's headsman for them to build a temple or hill.
Integration was the goal there, always was. We would have expanded eventually to compete with the build large groups that could somehow build tall as well, just well enough to beat everyone at once.
We can't survive if the nomads go raider. We can tight rope walk if we integrate the nomads fully.
I'm worried South Lake will be integrated with us as well if we don't spend actions ourselves, but am willing to risk an unwanted expansion if peace is guaranteed for one turn after the fight ends.
