Did we not manage to recoup any profit from our sale of the iron plough or did I just miss that?
Industrialization Quest
- Thread starter Rockeye
- Start date
- Original
Powerofmind
In Madness Fallen
- Location
- United States
We paid no profit for the plough, and a single sale isn't worth enough to qualify as a full profit I assume.
we don' t owe money until the winter of 39'
its the end of the summer of 38'
we have 6 turns to pay that 10 profit.
- Location
- Australia
Two turns now with us moving to quarterly turns.
Powerofmind
In Madness Fallen
- Location
- United States
At the end of next turn, it will be winter 39, because years turn-over at the start of winter.
[x][Tithe] Moderate. Publicly name and shame the guilty, then assess a fine to each family for tax-dodging.
Winter of 39 comes at the end of Autumn of 38.
Winter of 39 comes at the end of Autumn of 38.
Last edited:
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
[x][Tithe] Moderate. Publicly name and shame the guilty, then assess a fine to each family for tax-dodging.
I don't believe that's true. Yeah, the fields aren't fenced but where i live fields are almosr always not fenced. Only pastures are.
Field boundaries existed for a long time, definitely in the medieval times. They were not fences but tiny paths of unworked ground leading "from that tree to that tree, then to this big rock and ending on the stream".
Field boundaries were always a Big Thing, yes they were sometimes crossed by mistake but nothing that could last for a long time.
Moreover fields were "standardized" by furlongs, rods and oxgangs and i don't believe someone was planting on someone's else field by mistake.
We don't owe the money until the end of Winter '39.
That said, I do think we should prioritize "quick" and small investments next turn, just in case there's a bad roll or our family wants more money. For example, if Timothy's forge costs 2 Profit and starts producing 1 Profit per quarter the following quarter, I'd vote for that even though we're not likely to get all of the money back before the end of winter because long-term Profit sources are useful, and we've got around 10 Profit of wiggle room. If the cost of the forge is 5 Profit, then I'd want to wait until winter to make sure that we'll have enough money to pay the Governor's penalty first.
While I'd like to do the Monster Manual, I suspect the process is going to be, "Spend Profit to buy books and study them, spend an action to write your own book with the help of Cornet Renns and the retired general, and then spend an action to sell the book with widely variable Profits in return". It should increase our Martial and our standing with the military, but I want to be more financially secure before investing in that.
Does anyone else get the feeling that we really dodged a bullet there?
- Location
- somewhere
[X][Tithe] Moderate. Publicly name and shame the guilty, then assess a fine to each family for tax-dodging.
[X] Yes.
[X] Yes.
- Location
- NY
Am I the only one who noted that this is apparently the only warning we got about distillation? There seems to be SOME level of knowledge of distillation already, but we really don't need to sell a bottle of methanol by accident.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
Turn 9 planning post progress:
Top section/results of tax dodgers' punishment: ❌
Martial actions: ✅
Stewardship actions: ✅
Learning actions: ✅
Diplomacy actions: ✅
Intrigue actions:❌
Piety actions:❌
Personal actions:❌
Probably going to bed soon: ✅
Somewhat dreading work tomorrow morning but also feeling conflicted because at least I still have work: ✅
Top section/results of tax dodgers' punishment: ❌
Martial actions: ✅
Stewardship actions: ✅
Learning actions: ✅
Diplomacy actions: ✅
Intrigue actions:❌
Piety actions:❌
Personal actions:❌
Probably going to bed soon: ✅
Somewhat dreading work tomorrow morning but also feeling conflicted because at least I still have work: ✅
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA, United States
Yo, hey everyone! I just caught up and am eager to participate.
- Location
- Somewhere.
Welcome aboard!
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA, United States
Alright, so, there are three things/innovations that I think we should pursue:
So, it may be better to focus on the first and/or do four-crop rotation first. What are your guys' thoughts?
- The Watermill
- The Cast Iron Plow
- Vodka
So, it may be better to focus on the first and/or do four-crop rotation first. What are your guys' thoughts?
- Location
- Italy
For vodka we still have to complete the codex action. After that we should have an experimentation phase (with an unknown cost and duration), and only THEN we can start the profitable part.
In the meantime iron plows and watermill are more simple: 16 profits and 8 months for the mill, and with iron plows we can probably start the moment greens has his own forge.
At this point I don't think we should start 4-crop until we have safe profit income from.at least two of the above projects. It's just too slow for us right now, we need quick return on investments to pay the 10-15-20 debt (and the 8+8 mill)
Turn 9 Planning, Autumn 1138 - October/November/December
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
You are Harold Bismarck, and you hope you made the right decision here. A moderate punishment for a bunch of tax dodgers. You feel the pressure - expectations from the distant bureaucracy of the Lord Governors, and the local villagers who don't want too much interference and don't see you as a lord. Your power is much softer and weaker here than it would be in your manor, even if the expectations are rather lower too. In the end, you didn't want to be lenient and invite chastisement from the tax office, nor harsh and incite resentment in Nesiwald after you worked so hard to get them, if not to like you, to at least be neutral towards you.
Your guilt-inflicting speech with Renns's soldiers standing behind you seemed to suitably shame the families, and you were gratified when the glares and muttering of the villagers was mostly directed at the tax-dodgers in question, rather than you. 'How dare they cheat out of their tithe while we have to pay the whole thing? That money keeps us safe from foreigners!' - was a common thought. Good. The fees you demanded of the families in question will probably be paid up by the time you send off the harvest, and you can hand them over to Genevieve directly, give her an explanation of the whole matter in person, and ask her to tell her boss about it. If you can get good words about you moving around in that office it will serve you later.
Things seem to speed up now that you're really established in Nesiwald... Focusing more on single projects instead of switching from task to task too often, the days seem to pass by faster than before. There's a lot to do after all... You have the Lord Governor's fees to worry about, due at the end of Winter. You received a sternly-worded letter from a passing merchant just last week reminding you of it. A neat stack of gold coins, due 'in recompense for the damage your poor leadership has caused to 5th Company, 3rd Regiment, 1st Infantry Group, Eastern Army'.
Well, you have the money... You're capable of paying it back, even if the amount will increase later. It's just that those funds would be much better spent on all the projects you have in mind instead of going back to the crown, in your opinion. Things that will pay off in another year or two, leaving you with far more money than before.
Hmph. Well, there's only so much you can do, and you have to plan out what you're going to do to advance your goals in the next few months as the harvest picks up in October and winter crops are planted over the course of November and the first part of December. Everyone will be busy readying themselves for the winter in a dozen minor ways - winters are always tough. But your progress can't wait forever.
Please make sure to read the below. Many things have been changed.
Now that you've settled in to Nesiwald, your "base" one free action has been changed to one Stewardship action. You have the same number of total actions, but now only have one Free Action from your part-time assistant Abram Waller helping you out.
You currently have 16 Profit, 4 Profit invested for 1 season. You owe 10 Profit to the Lord Governor at the END of NEXT TURN.
Plan Vote. You have one Free Action that can be applied to any category in addition to the per-category actions.
Martial. 1 action.
You're starting to improve yourself. You know, at least, how to carefully think about martial matters and try to understand them - no general, but the ability to follow a general's thinking. If you're going to end up making equipment for soldiers, that's probably a good thing! Though you wonder what you can do to improve further...
Not to mention, the persistent rumors of zombies to the north despite Captain Varn's cavalry clearing them out just this spring has you worried. You won't be seeing such a show of force again for a year or two unless things are very dire... Even if Renns is still around with a new group of green horsemen to train up. Even if the war goes very well and wraps up quickly, you remember enough about caring for horses and how your mother practices mounted combat to realize that they will need to rest and recover, not to mention marching across the country can take a couple months all by itself.
[ ] Training Grounds. By talking with Renns and Waller, an active officer and a former soldier by turns, you can figure out what a simple training field needs to have fair enough. Currently the militia just forms up in one of the fallow fields and does drills. Maybe some weapon racks and straw dummies for target practice? You don't exactly have a lot of money going spare right now, but the shame at having some of the militia turned away should inspire some of the villagers to help out with this.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 50. Build a basic training grounds.
[ ] Monster Manual, part 1. You want to make a guide to identifying dangerous magical wildlife - a 'Monster Manual', if you will. A good reference book can be invaluable, as you well know. There doesn't seem to be anything like this in existence currently, though a couple of books seem likely to be reasonably comprehensive. You'll need to have all that information at hand to write a good reference, even if they're not great reads.
Cost: 2 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 25. Acquire books, do research.
[ ] Zombie scouting. You're no tactician or leader, and the village's real militia who actively train to fight together are all off fighting for king and country, but there are still hunters, homesteaders, and woodsmen. You could try to get them to scout the north where there are supposedly more and more zombies. They even have an interest in knowing if trouble is coming or not. Plus, maybe you can convince Cornet Renns to help? Undead are a threat to the roads and trade, after all.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Convince hunters and woodsmen to go scout the north for undead.
Stewardship. 2 actions.
Now that you're sort of settled in to Nesiwald, you can turn more of your time and effort towards making money - and improving the village's welfare and prosperity at the same time. Ah, such endeavors are beautiful! If you do it right, you will earn a profit, people will get useful work, and you can spend that profit on more industry or trade, speeding up the cycle... "Improving the land" was your favorite part of the litany of noble duties, growing up. It really makes things better for everyone, not just you.
[ ] Forgework. Devote a significant fraction of your time to managing the smithy, organizing the stock, and making good sales, and so on... You've done it before, you can keep doing it. Eventually this won't be worth your time, but for now you need every copper penny you can get!
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40 - 5 (Census Bonus) per success. Earn 1 Profit per success, up to 5.
[ ] Actual Roads. The main routes in Nesiwald are simple dirt paths. No matter how grandiosely they may be called 'roads', they simply aren't. If you are going to be in Nesiwald for a while, especially if you are going to get it to grow in size and relevance, you're going to need real roads at some point. The Codex shows you how to make a good road: Stone pavers on top of a gravel bed which is itself on a flat surface of well-compacted dirt. Write up some plans, get enough people on board with the idea, and make a lovely main road for the village.
Cost: 5 Profit burned. Difficulty: 50 - 15 (Census Bonus). Easier to move people and goods around within Nesiwald. Road-building experience.
[ ] The Watermill, Part 1. You've decided on an ambitious course of action, inspired by a quirk of geography that makes for a perfect water-drop, the ideal location for a waterwheel, to turn the power of nature into man's use. You have to lay a foundation and prepare the ground by building up and cutting away part of the hill, then start on the building's frame. This is going to be a big project, but it's not very complex or difficult, just a lot of work.
Cost: 8 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 25 - 15 (Census Bonus). First stage of Large Watermill construction.
[ ] Smithy Construction. Timothy Greens is ready to graduate to journeyman, according to the grumpy Master Smith. He just needs a smithy. If you help fund the construction, he will pay you back for the trouble out of what he earns after establishing himself. It will be a bit of a delay but there's a lot of reasons to want this - not least of which is so that you can organize the production of a lot of cast iron plows for sale!
Cost: 4 Profit Invested for 1 year. Difficulty: 40 - 15 (Census Bonus). Timothy Greens becomes a Journeyman Smith!
[ ] Better Plows for All! Locked behind Smithy Construction.
[ ] Start four-field crop rotation. One of the first things the Codex Crystal showed you was an easy-to-remember way of keeping fields fertile and healthy for longer with less work, but you've yet to see it implemented anywhere. You can offer folk loans or cheap tools to try out your instructions. Improving local food production will have some very nice knock-on effects, increasing the amount of grain that you can feed the mill you plan to build and therefore the likely profits, and freeing up more people to work on all the other projects you have in mind.
Cost: 4 Profit invested for two harvests (spring and autumn). Difficulty: 40 - 15 (Census Bonus). Four-Field Crop Rotation starts on some farms.
[ ] River Trade. The rivers leading up to Nesiwald are smaller than the great veins of water coursing across the flatter terrain down south, but they are still perfectly navigable by small boats. Occasionally someone will take a boat up or down the river carrying things or fishing. It's just that there are sections of rapids or small waterfalls between here and the great rivers in the south, necessitating procedures called 'portage' where the whole boat, contents and all, is carried over land past the river obstacle and then put back in the water. If you invest in a few river trading trips you could earn some money and encourage future trade.
Cost: 3 Profit invested for six months. Difficulty: 35. Risk some money to gain more and encourage Nesiwald trade. Cannot take this action during Winter.
Learning: 1 action.
As miraculous as the Codex Crystal is, watching someone else do something and taking meticulous notes is not enough - you'll have to work with your hands to build prototypes, test methods, and learn the pitfalls and bad ideas to make the new technologies it shows you reality. This could be expensive, depending on the item in question. At least you have plenty of paper now. But this is what separates you from a waifish scholar, performing his studies to learn about the world but never doing anything actually useful with them. You're going to make the tools and knowledge that have been gifted to you reality for everyone.
[ ] Learn more about the Codex Crystal. You don't understand the Codex. You found it in a bunch of out-of-fashion jewelry in your parents' storeroom, but that doesn't go very far to explaining why such an obviously powerful magical artifact was waiting there for you to discover it. Or why nobody else can see the light it shines for you. The Codex is a lot more cooperative and calm now, for some reason. And you could swear you heard it whisper to you once... You might make good progress this time.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 60. Gain information.
[ ] All Mine, part 1. The book on mining you purchased in Ganz describes ways to follow an ore vein as it abandons the surface and dips back into the ground. Tunneling is tricky and occasionally deadly business, but it seems that most mines worth the name have to use it. There's only so much iron right on the surface. Organize a dig of a short experimental shaft with these support structures and follow the iron into the hills.
Cost: 2 Profit invested for 3 months. Difficulty: 50. Unlock All Mine, part 2 (Stewardship).
[ ] Carpentry Studies. There seems to be a sort of cottage industry of carpentry in Nesiwald. A few folk are talking about giving up their farms completely and working with wood for a living, which is an exciting idea, a sign of the village turning into a town. You know that lumber can be a profitable industry - good furniture and solid oak timbers cost quite a pretty penny. You should poke around and investigate the possibilities here.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Investigate lumber/carpentry industry possibilities.
[ ] Seek new ideas. See what the Codex has to show you, spend time letting it wander to whatever it wants to display to you instead of directing it somewhere specific.
Cost: 0. Unlock new technology prospects depending on roll.
Diplomacy: 1 action.
Working with people is going to be important. You can't just blather on about new ideas and make new technology and expect things to go well. People need to actually use what you offer, and you need help from others to make most of your ambitious ideas a reality - and for that you need to work with them. Truly, the light of industry that the Codex shows you isn't just about machines, but about people too.
[ ] Come live with us! Your ideas for projects in Nesiwald call for it to turn to a bustling town, even a city in its own right, eventually. In particular you want mine workers. The glut of iron tools your mine and Mr. Smith's work provide should make things easier. You can offer to give homesteaders loans of tools, coin, animals, and land if they'll make their lives in Nesiwald, and start trying to induce the village to become a town.
Cost: 3 Profit Invested for one year, 3 months. Difficulty: 40. Causes Nesiwald population to grow if successful.
[ ] Can I borrow a gilder? You need money to do things. The more money you have access to, the faster you'll be able to do things. And you still have that severe penalty payment looming over your head... Maybe spending so much back in Ganz was a bit unwise? Well, you can ask both the people of Nesiwald and some creditors from the south for loans. You think the cast-iron plow is a pretty good piece of evidence that you'll be able to pay them back so you should get some decent offers!
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 20. Get loan offers from both locals and distant creditors/merchants.
[ ] I'm trying to help you! The locals in Nesiwald itself seem to more-or-less approve of you after you've 'proved yourself' and they've gotten to know you. However, the wider Rostwald region still mostly sees you as a military failure sent off here to cause trouble for someone the capital doesn't really care about. You can do your best to change that by visiting the various villages and homesteaders with cheap tools for sale and chatting about your plans for the future. The tough folk of this region are pretty insular and may be hard to convince, though.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 75. Reward: +1 Rostwald region approval. Difficulty will go down as projects complete.
Intrigue: 1 action.
There are a few sides to the matter of intrigue - information gathering and using that information, subtle acts to manipulate opinion, more direct clandestine action, and preventing spycraft against you. You don't really have much use for the third thing and the last isn't really a concern yet, you think - but those first two are something you have a use for.
[ ] More Gossip. Rumors from Nesiwald are one thing, but you need to keep an ear out for what the country as a whole considers important. Any looming disasters or great opportunities that you simply never hear of are, well, missed opportunities and possibly even dangerous. You made a few acquaintances in Ganz who should be willing to send you tidbits of news once in a while in exchange for a few coins. You're not really in a position to trade information for information, but it would be wise to keep an ear out for news from the nation.
Cost: 1 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 20. Unlock Veschwar rumor mill. May require more money occasionally to maintain.
[ ] Pricing Knowledge. Having a good idea of what is cheap and what is expensive, when movements in the markets of the country are happening, and the general state of the economy will surely be useful. The movement of money and flow of goods is something you are keenly interested in, and liable to kick over or at least somewhat disrupt eventually if things go well. You can ask Maisah about economic rumors and even send probing questions to other merchant outfits to try and assemble such a picture.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Unlock Economy rumor mill.
[ ] Groundwork for Election. The village charter of Nesiwald says that "the place known as Nesiwald be governed by the chosen Headman, who is to be elected from a Vote of all adult men." While it doesn't define any time period for the vote, it will obviously have to happen if old Ludwig dies. Morbid, but he will eventually. You can try to prepare to make yourself replacement for him as Headman, either upon his death or by calling for an election some time in the future. The position of Headman would certainly be a useful one.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Investigate how people would vote for a new Headman and how you can make yourself seem like a good candidates.
Piety: 1 action.
Gods. Divinities. You don't fully understand them, but you think nobody does. Whether the gods are truly benevolent and kind or if their blessings are some kind of partnership or hobby, or something else entirely, you're not quite sure. You've never seen an obvious miracle - a glowing bolt of light that leaves a man fully healed, or lightning from clear skies to strike an enemy - but their more subtle workings seem real to you.
Seeing an undead up close has renewed your disgust and hate for Azmal and his workings on the world. And it seems like your prayers to Ordnil may have been answered, steadying you and allowing you to defend yourself, something you had feared you would never be able to do again in the back of your mind. The simple act of praying is no longer enough - you will pray in your own time, but
[ ] Anti-Undead Education. If there are truly more and more undead in the mountains to the north, it might be a good idea to educate people on ways of warding them off. Sincere faith, salt or ash lines and a few strange chants, and solemnly intoning burial rites. These things can stop a zombie in its tracks, sometimes, according to Bertram. Make sure as many people in Nesiwald as possible know these things and don't have wrong ideas about this subject.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 30. Educate locals on how to deal with the undead.
[ ] Shrine of the Shield. There is a church of Shallya in Nesiwald, but the patron god of Veschwar, Ordnil, has no real place here. He is a god of endurance, defense, community, and hard work - all things that Nesiwald would find useful. Building a proper shrine to the god should draw some of his attention here, and make people feel better with a place set aside for their prayers besides.
Cost: 1 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 20. Build a shrine to the shield-god Ordnil in Nesiwald.
[ ] Priestly Scholarship. Occasionally priests are simply whoever is available, but most churches have tests, standards, and educational programs for their priests. Shallyan priests are not as skilled as doctors, but still must learn how to care for the sick and destitute. The other, less well-known gods might have interesting educations too - a church is more than just its god! You should write to various religious orders and learn what they can offer.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Get in contact with educated priests and clerics, especially of Shallya.
Personal: 1 action.
You can't endure every moment of your days being devoted to productive work in the long-term. Personal projects and spending time with your friends should distract you from more complicated and difficult tasks and give you a bit of time to unwind.
Personal actions don't have difficulties.
[ ] Reading and Writing. You miss books. Ledgers, tallies, and your own close-spaced notes on the things the Codex Crystal shows you aren't books. You have some paper, so perhaps you can write your own stories at some point - maybe that would be relaxing - but what you really want is to send for a few books to keep you entertained, literate and cultured, and, well, sane.
Cost: 2 Profit Burned.
[ ] State of the Realm. You should write a series of letters to Heileen. She's the oldest child of your family, and might be feeling lonely. Your father said she was helping manage the accounts - at age thirteen no less! You can ask after the state of your family's lands and manor, and perhaps serve as a sounding board and give advice to her. It would be nice to be able to help your family in some way. While Captain Varn lightly warned you not to associate with your family, but can he really enforce that or use it against you? It's not like you disobeyed orders, you were just an awful commander. You think you have enough leeway for this, at least.
Cost: 0.
[ ] Learn to smith. You're not going to make a living doing it, of course, but you've absorbed a reasonable amount of knowledge about smithing and metalworking over the last year... Having something to do with your hands that doesn't involve books and writing could be a nice change of pace, a part-time hobby to distract and decompress you from everything else you have to do. This would be more for fun than any practical purpose, admittedly.
Cost: 0.
Codex Outlines: Optional vote.
The process of studying the Codex Crystal's offerings is a little easier than before, but there's only so much time in the day and a lot of this stuff is fiendishly complicated. You can only stare at the visions in the crystal for so long until you have a headache... And locking yourself away in your room for hours and hours every day would be awkward even if you didn't start to feel dizzy and wrung-out after being hunched over your desk staring at a moving image a few inches across for hours. Perhaps there's something you can do to make this easier?
Completing the Outlines below means you have a basic understanding of the relevant technology gleaned from the Codex Crystal showing you visions of it in use and being made, and unlocks Learning actions to put the new technology into practice and/or make prototypes.
Each turn you will roll 3 x d100 dice, adding your Learning score to each die. If a topic completes, you move on to the next queued topic for all remaining rolls. 96-100 rolls explode, meaning you roll again. The second roll gets added to the same outline, even if it completes.
For example, rolling 100, then 55, on a topic you have 475/500 progress on will progress it by 100+55+Learning(16) = 171 ==> 646/500. Significantly overfilling an outline can provide bonuses, such as a DC reduction on actions to implement it.
Currently studying: Vodka Brewing Outline, 274/300.
Next topic: Not set.
[][Codex] Choose the next topic = pick from below.
[][Codex] Change the current topic to something else = pick from below.
[][Codex] No change.
Note: Progress on a topic you are no longer actively looking at will eventually begin to decay.
Niter Chemistry outline. Apparently you could possibly mine this white stuff, or extract it from... Bat poop? Well it's not any more disgusting than spreading cow dung into the fields. The Codex implies that it is very, very good for the growth of certain plants, and also good at burning, that could possibly make a nice weapon of some kind? And maybe for putting on meat to make it last longer? You're not sure about that bit, but perhaps it will clear up if you study it. Bonus applies due to having Niter on hand.
Cost: 0. Progress: 0/[??500-800??]
Standard Weights and Measures outline. What is the length of a foot? How much does a bushel of grain weigh, exactly, and how much ale is in a barrel, measured to the drop? You need to figure out a system of weights and measures that will allow a layman to measure a variety of physical properties and get the same results, every time. If you can get it to the point that others can follow a standard measure, everything will be so much easier. You could order nails exactly two and one-quarter inches long from five different smiths and know that they will all be the same. It's going to save you so many headaches down the line.
Cost: 0 Progress: 17/[??600-1000??]
Vodka Brewing outline. There are plenty of potatoes being grown in the local fields. They're an easy crop that grows in almost any kind of soil. The Codex is showing you methods to turn potatoes into a new kind of alcohol using fermenting and strange boiling processes. The new drink would probably be fairly cheap to make and could be a good source of income. Potatoes are cheap.
Cost: 0. Progress: 274/300
Beekeeping Outline. Honey is a deliciously sweet delicacy, a rare treat. Nobles love the stuff, and you would know! Given that you have to get it by tromping through forests looking for wax balls of angry and then poking them with a stick... It's understandable that few want the job of collecting honey. But the Codex Crystal has ideas about bees, and has been showing you ways to - you think - attract bees to specially made hives and collect the honey without being stung as much. A reliable source of honey could be very profitable.
Cost: 0. Progress: 0/[??300-500??]
Voting Moratorium - Don't Vote For Two Hours To Allow A Bit Of Discussion First Please
If it looks like I missed something, feel free to let me know. Also, if you have ideas for actions, tell me about them and I might add them in future turns.
Your guilt-inflicting speech with Renns's soldiers standing behind you seemed to suitably shame the families, and you were gratified when the glares and muttering of the villagers was mostly directed at the tax-dodgers in question, rather than you. 'How dare they cheat out of their tithe while we have to pay the whole thing? That money keeps us safe from foreigners!' - was a common thought. Good. The fees you demanded of the families in question will probably be paid up by the time you send off the harvest, and you can hand them over to Genevieve directly, give her an explanation of the whole matter in person, and ask her to tell her boss about it. If you can get good words about you moving around in that office it will serve you later.
Things seem to speed up now that you're really established in Nesiwald... Focusing more on single projects instead of switching from task to task too often, the days seem to pass by faster than before. There's a lot to do after all... You have the Lord Governor's fees to worry about, due at the end of Winter. You received a sternly-worded letter from a passing merchant just last week reminding you of it. A neat stack of gold coins, due 'in recompense for the damage your poor leadership has caused to 5th Company, 3rd Regiment, 1st Infantry Group, Eastern Army'.
Well, you have the money... You're capable of paying it back, even if the amount will increase later. It's just that those funds would be much better spent on all the projects you have in mind instead of going back to the crown, in your opinion. Things that will pay off in another year or two, leaving you with far more money than before.
Hmph. Well, there's only so much you can do, and you have to plan out what you're going to do to advance your goals in the next few months as the harvest picks up in October and winter crops are planted over the course of November and the first part of December. Everyone will be busy readying themselves for the winter in a dozen minor ways - winters are always tough. But your progress can't wait forever.
Please make sure to read the below. Many things have been changed.
Now that you've settled in to Nesiwald, your "base" one free action has been changed to one Stewardship action. You have the same number of total actions, but now only have one Free Action from your part-time assistant Abram Waller helping you out.
You currently have 16 Profit, 4 Profit invested for 1 season. You owe 10 Profit to the Lord Governor at the END of NEXT TURN.
Plan Vote. You have one Free Action that can be applied to any category in addition to the per-category actions.
Martial. 1 action.
You're starting to improve yourself. You know, at least, how to carefully think about martial matters and try to understand them - no general, but the ability to follow a general's thinking. If you're going to end up making equipment for soldiers, that's probably a good thing! Though you wonder what you can do to improve further...
Not to mention, the persistent rumors of zombies to the north despite Captain Varn's cavalry clearing them out just this spring has you worried. You won't be seeing such a show of force again for a year or two unless things are very dire... Even if Renns is still around with a new group of green horsemen to train up. Even if the war goes very well and wraps up quickly, you remember enough about caring for horses and how your mother practices mounted combat to realize that they will need to rest and recover, not to mention marching across the country can take a couple months all by itself.
[ ] Training Grounds. By talking with Renns and Waller, an active officer and a former soldier by turns, you can figure out what a simple training field needs to have fair enough. Currently the militia just forms up in one of the fallow fields and does drills. Maybe some weapon racks and straw dummies for target practice? You don't exactly have a lot of money going spare right now, but the shame at having some of the militia turned away should inspire some of the villagers to help out with this.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 50. Build a basic training grounds.
[ ] Monster Manual, part 1. You want to make a guide to identifying dangerous magical wildlife - a 'Monster Manual', if you will. A good reference book can be invaluable, as you well know. There doesn't seem to be anything like this in existence currently, though a couple of books seem likely to be reasonably comprehensive. You'll need to have all that information at hand to write a good reference, even if they're not great reads.
Cost: 2 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 25. Acquire books, do research.
[ ] Zombie scouting. You're no tactician or leader, and the village's real militia who actively train to fight together are all off fighting for king and country, but there are still hunters, homesteaders, and woodsmen. You could try to get them to scout the north where there are supposedly more and more zombies. They even have an interest in knowing if trouble is coming or not. Plus, maybe you can convince Cornet Renns to help? Undead are a threat to the roads and trade, after all.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Convince hunters and woodsmen to go scout the north for undead.
Stewardship. 2 actions.
Now that you're sort of settled in to Nesiwald, you can turn more of your time and effort towards making money - and improving the village's welfare and prosperity at the same time. Ah, such endeavors are beautiful! If you do it right, you will earn a profit, people will get useful work, and you can spend that profit on more industry or trade, speeding up the cycle... "Improving the land" was your favorite part of the litany of noble duties, growing up. It really makes things better for everyone, not just you.
[ ] Forgework. Devote a significant fraction of your time to managing the smithy, organizing the stock, and making good sales, and so on... You've done it before, you can keep doing it. Eventually this won't be worth your time, but for now you need every copper penny you can get!
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40 - 5 (Census Bonus) per success. Earn 1 Profit per success, up to 5.
[ ] Actual Roads. The main routes in Nesiwald are simple dirt paths. No matter how grandiosely they may be called 'roads', they simply aren't. If you are going to be in Nesiwald for a while, especially if you are going to get it to grow in size and relevance, you're going to need real roads at some point. The Codex shows you how to make a good road: Stone pavers on top of a gravel bed which is itself on a flat surface of well-compacted dirt. Write up some plans, get enough people on board with the idea, and make a lovely main road for the village.
Cost: 5 Profit burned. Difficulty: 50 - 15 (Census Bonus). Easier to move people and goods around within Nesiwald. Road-building experience.
[ ] The Watermill, Part 1. You've decided on an ambitious course of action, inspired by a quirk of geography that makes for a perfect water-drop, the ideal location for a waterwheel, to turn the power of nature into man's use. You have to lay a foundation and prepare the ground by building up and cutting away part of the hill, then start on the building's frame. This is going to be a big project, but it's not very complex or difficult, just a lot of work.
Cost: 8 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 25 - 15 (Census Bonus). First stage of Large Watermill construction.
[ ] Smithy Construction. Timothy Greens is ready to graduate to journeyman, according to the grumpy Master Smith. He just needs a smithy. If you help fund the construction, he will pay you back for the trouble out of what he earns after establishing himself. It will be a bit of a delay but there's a lot of reasons to want this - not least of which is so that you can organize the production of a lot of cast iron plows for sale!
Cost: 4 Profit Invested for 1 year. Difficulty: 40 - 15 (Census Bonus). Timothy Greens becomes a Journeyman Smith!
[ ] Start four-field crop rotation. One of the first things the Codex Crystal showed you was an easy-to-remember way of keeping fields fertile and healthy for longer with less work, but you've yet to see it implemented anywhere. You can offer folk loans or cheap tools to try out your instructions. Improving local food production will have some very nice knock-on effects, increasing the amount of grain that you can feed the mill you plan to build and therefore the likely profits, and freeing up more people to work on all the other projects you have in mind.
Cost: 4 Profit invested for two harvests (spring and autumn). Difficulty: 40 - 15 (Census Bonus). Four-Field Crop Rotation starts on some farms.
[ ] River Trade. The rivers leading up to Nesiwald are smaller than the great veins of water coursing across the flatter terrain down south, but they are still perfectly navigable by small boats. Occasionally someone will take a boat up or down the river carrying things or fishing. It's just that there are sections of rapids or small waterfalls between here and the great rivers in the south, necessitating procedures called 'portage' where the whole boat, contents and all, is carried over land past the river obstacle and then put back in the water. If you invest in a few river trading trips you could earn some money and encourage future trade.
Cost: 3 Profit invested for six months. Difficulty: 35. Risk some money to gain more and encourage Nesiwald trade. Cannot take this action during Winter.
Learning: 1 action.
As miraculous as the Codex Crystal is, watching someone else do something and taking meticulous notes is not enough - you'll have to work with your hands to build prototypes, test methods, and learn the pitfalls and bad ideas to make the new technologies it shows you reality. This could be expensive, depending on the item in question. At least you have plenty of paper now. But this is what separates you from a waifish scholar, performing his studies to learn about the world but never doing anything actually useful with them. You're going to make the tools and knowledge that have been gifted to you reality for everyone.
[ ] Learn more about the Codex Crystal. You don't understand the Codex. You found it in a bunch of out-of-fashion jewelry in your parents' storeroom, but that doesn't go very far to explaining why such an obviously powerful magical artifact was waiting there for you to discover it. Or why nobody else can see the light it shines for you. The Codex is a lot more cooperative and calm now, for some reason. And you could swear you heard it whisper to you once... You might make good progress this time.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 60. Gain information.
[ ] All Mine, part 1. The book on mining you purchased in Ganz describes ways to follow an ore vein as it abandons the surface and dips back into the ground. Tunneling is tricky and occasionally deadly business, but it seems that most mines worth the name have to use it. There's only so much iron right on the surface. Organize a dig of a short experimental shaft with these support structures and follow the iron into the hills.
Cost: 2 Profit invested for 3 months. Difficulty: 50. Unlock All Mine, part 2 (Stewardship).
[ ] Carpentry Studies. There seems to be a sort of cottage industry of carpentry in Nesiwald. A few folk are talking about giving up their farms completely and working with wood for a living, which is an exciting idea, a sign of the village turning into a town. You know that lumber can be a profitable industry - good furniture and solid oak timbers cost quite a pretty penny. You should poke around and investigate the possibilities here.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Investigate lumber/carpentry industry possibilities.
[ ] Seek new ideas. See what the Codex has to show you, spend time letting it wander to whatever it wants to display to you instead of directing it somewhere specific.
Cost: 0. Unlock new technology prospects depending on roll.
Diplomacy: 1 action.
Working with people is going to be important. You can't just blather on about new ideas and make new technology and expect things to go well. People need to actually use what you offer, and you need help from others to make most of your ambitious ideas a reality - and for that you need to work with them. Truly, the light of industry that the Codex shows you isn't just about machines, but about people too.
[ ] Come live with us! Your ideas for projects in Nesiwald call for it to turn to a bustling town, even a city in its own right, eventually. In particular you want mine workers. The glut of iron tools your mine and Mr. Smith's work provide should make things easier. You can offer to give homesteaders loans of tools, coin, animals, and land if they'll make their lives in Nesiwald, and start trying to induce the village to become a town.
Cost: 3 Profit Invested for one year, 3 months. Difficulty: 40. Causes Nesiwald population to grow if successful.
[ ] Can I borrow a gilder? You need money to do things. The more money you have access to, the faster you'll be able to do things. And you still have that severe penalty payment looming over your head... Maybe spending so much back in Ganz was a bit unwise? Well, you can ask both the people of Nesiwald and some creditors from the south for loans. You think the cast-iron plow is a pretty good piece of evidence that you'll be able to pay them back so you should get some decent offers!
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 20. Get loan offers from both locals and distant creditors/merchants.
[ ] I'm trying to help you! The locals in Nesiwald itself seem to more-or-less approve of you after you've 'proved yourself' and they've gotten to know you. However, the wider Rostwald region still mostly sees you as a military failure sent off here to cause trouble for someone the capital doesn't really care about. You can do your best to change that by visiting the various villages and homesteaders with cheap tools for sale and chatting about your plans for the future. The tough folk of this region are pretty insular and may be hard to convince, though.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 75. Reward: +1 Rostwald region approval. Difficulty will go down as projects complete.
Intrigue: 1 action.
There are a few sides to the matter of intrigue - information gathering and using that information, subtle acts to manipulate opinion, more direct clandestine action, and preventing spycraft against you. You don't really have much use for the third thing and the last isn't really a concern yet, you think - but those first two are something you have a use for.
[ ] More Gossip. Rumors from Nesiwald are one thing, but you need to keep an ear out for what the country as a whole considers important. Any looming disasters or great opportunities that you simply never hear of are, well, missed opportunities and possibly even dangerous. You made a few acquaintances in Ganz who should be willing to send you tidbits of news once in a while in exchange for a few coins. You're not really in a position to trade information for information, but it would be wise to keep an ear out for news from the nation.
Cost: 1 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 20. Unlock Veschwar rumor mill. May require more money occasionally to maintain.
[ ] Pricing Knowledge. Having a good idea of what is cheap and what is expensive, when movements in the markets of the country are happening, and the general state of the economy will surely be useful. The movement of money and flow of goods is something you are keenly interested in, and liable to kick over or at least somewhat disrupt eventually if things go well. You can ask Maisah about economic rumors and even send probing questions to other merchant outfits to try and assemble such a picture.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Unlock Economy rumor mill.
[ ] Groundwork for Election. The village charter of Nesiwald says that "the place known as Nesiwald be governed by the chosen Headman, who is to be elected from a Vote of all adult men." While it doesn't define any time period for the vote, it will obviously have to happen if old Ludwig dies. Morbid, but he will eventually. You can try to prepare to make yourself replacement for him as Headman, either upon his death or by calling for an election some time in the future. The position of Headman would certainly be a useful one.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Investigate how people would vote for a new Headman and how you can make yourself seem like a good candidates.
Piety: 1 action.
Gods. Divinities. You don't fully understand them, but you think nobody does. Whether the gods are truly benevolent and kind or if their blessings are some kind of partnership or hobby, or something else entirely, you're not quite sure. You've never seen an obvious miracle - a glowing bolt of light that leaves a man fully healed, or lightning from clear skies to strike an enemy - but their more subtle workings seem real to you.
Seeing an undead up close has renewed your disgust and hate for Azmal and his workings on the world. And it seems like your prayers to Ordnil may have been answered, steadying you and allowing you to defend yourself, something you had feared you would never be able to do again in the back of your mind. The simple act of praying is no longer enough - you will pray in your own time, but
[ ] Anti-Undead Education. If there are truly more and more undead in the mountains to the north, it might be a good idea to educate people on ways of warding them off. Sincere faith, salt or ash lines and a few strange chants, and solemnly intoning burial rites. These things can stop a zombie in its tracks, sometimes, according to Bertram. Make sure as many people in Nesiwald as possible know these things and don't have wrong ideas about this subject.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 30. Educate locals on how to deal with the undead.
[ ] Shrine of the Shield. There is a church of Shallya in Nesiwald, but the patron god of Veschwar, Ordnil, has no real place here. He is a god of endurance, defense, community, and hard work - all things that Nesiwald would find useful. Building a proper shrine to the god should draw some of his attention here, and make people feel better with a place set aside for their prayers besides.
Cost: 1 Profit Burned. Difficulty: 20. Build a shrine to the shield-god Ordnil in Nesiwald.
[ ] Priestly Scholarship. Occasionally priests are simply whoever is available, but most churches have tests, standards, and educational programs for their priests. Shallyan priests are not as skilled as doctors, but still must learn how to care for the sick and destitute. The other, less well-known gods might have interesting educations too - a church is more than just its god! You should write to various religious orders and learn what they can offer.
Cost: 0. Difficulty: 40. Get in contact with educated priests and clerics, especially of Shallya.
Personal: 1 action.
You can't endure every moment of your days being devoted to productive work in the long-term. Personal projects and spending time with your friends should distract you from more complicated and difficult tasks and give you a bit of time to unwind.
Personal actions don't have difficulties.
[ ] Reading and Writing. You miss books. Ledgers, tallies, and your own close-spaced notes on the things the Codex Crystal shows you aren't books. You have some paper, so perhaps you can write your own stories at some point - maybe that would be relaxing - but what you really want is to send for a few books to keep you entertained, literate and cultured, and, well, sane.
Cost: 2 Profit Burned.
[ ] State of the Realm. You should write a series of letters to Heileen. She's the oldest child of your family, and might be feeling lonely. Your father said she was helping manage the accounts - at age thirteen no less! You can ask after the state of your family's lands and manor, and perhaps serve as a sounding board and give advice to her. It would be nice to be able to help your family in some way. While Captain Varn lightly warned you not to associate with your family, but can he really enforce that or use it against you? It's not like you disobeyed orders, you were just an awful commander. You think you have enough leeway for this, at least.
Cost: 0.
[ ] Learn to smith. You're not going to make a living doing it, of course, but you've absorbed a reasonable amount of knowledge about smithing and metalworking over the last year... Having something to do with your hands that doesn't involve books and writing could be a nice change of pace, a part-time hobby to distract and decompress you from everything else you have to do. This would be more for fun than any practical purpose, admittedly.
Cost: 0.
Codex Outlines: Optional vote.
The process of studying the Codex Crystal's offerings is a little easier than before, but there's only so much time in the day and a lot of this stuff is fiendishly complicated. You can only stare at the visions in the crystal for so long until you have a headache... And locking yourself away in your room for hours and hours every day would be awkward even if you didn't start to feel dizzy and wrung-out after being hunched over your desk staring at a moving image a few inches across for hours. Perhaps there's something you can do to make this easier?
Completing the Outlines below means you have a basic understanding of the relevant technology gleaned from the Codex Crystal showing you visions of it in use and being made, and unlocks Learning actions to put the new technology into practice and/or make prototypes.
Each turn you will roll 3 x d100 dice, adding your Learning score to each die. If a topic completes, you move on to the next queued topic for all remaining rolls. 96-100 rolls explode, meaning you roll again. The second roll gets added to the same outline, even if it completes.
For example, rolling 100, then 55, on a topic you have 475/500 progress on will progress it by 100+55+Learning(16) = 171 ==> 646/500. Significantly overfilling an outline can provide bonuses, such as a DC reduction on actions to implement it.
Currently studying: Vodka Brewing Outline, 274/300.
Next topic: Not set.
[][Codex] Choose the next topic = pick from below.
[][Codex] Change the current topic to something else = pick from below.
[][Codex] No change.
Note: Progress on a topic you are no longer actively looking at will eventually begin to decay.
Niter Chemistry outline. Apparently you could possibly mine this white stuff, or extract it from... Bat poop? Well it's not any more disgusting than spreading cow dung into the fields. The Codex implies that it is very, very good for the growth of certain plants, and also good at burning, that could possibly make a nice weapon of some kind? And maybe for putting on meat to make it last longer? You're not sure about that bit, but perhaps it will clear up if you study it. Bonus applies due to having Niter on hand.
Cost: 0. Progress: 0/[??500-800??]
Standard Weights and Measures outline. What is the length of a foot? How much does a bushel of grain weigh, exactly, and how much ale is in a barrel, measured to the drop? You need to figure out a system of weights and measures that will allow a layman to measure a variety of physical properties and get the same results, every time. If you can get it to the point that others can follow a standard measure, everything will be so much easier. You could order nails exactly two and one-quarter inches long from five different smiths and know that they will all be the same. It's going to save you so many headaches down the line.
Cost: 0 Progress: 17/[??600-1000??]
Vodka Brewing outline. There are plenty of potatoes being grown in the local fields. They're an easy crop that grows in almost any kind of soil. The Codex is showing you methods to turn potatoes into a new kind of alcohol using fermenting and strange boiling processes. The new drink would probably be fairly cheap to make and could be a good source of income. Potatoes are cheap.
Cost: 0. Progress: 274/300
Beekeeping Outline. Honey is a deliciously sweet delicacy, a rare treat. Nobles love the stuff, and you would know! Given that you have to get it by tromping through forests looking for wax balls of angry and then poking them with a stick... It's understandable that few want the job of collecting honey. But the Codex Crystal has ideas about bees, and has been showing you ways to - you think - attract bees to specially made hives and collect the honey without being stung as much. A reliable source of honey could be very profitable.
Cost: 0. Progress: 0/[??300-500??]
Voting Moratorium - Don't Vote For Two Hours To Allow A Bit Of Discussion First Please
If it looks like I missed something, feel free to let me know. Also, if you have ideas for actions, tell me about them and I might add them in future turns.
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ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
Alright so I say we definitely start work on the watermill and smithy construction for stewardship actions this turn.
Powerofmind
In Madness Fallen
- Location
- United States
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
I changed how Codex rolls work again. Now they'll happen automatically in the background, 3d100/turn. They're sort of separate from the actions now, something that ticks away in the background. You vote on what to study next or to change the current topic, and don't need to (or get to) put actions into it. You can choose what topics to focus on but there's no way to speed this up available to you at the moment. Getting yourself a better study than your cramped room in the Steward's House or better understanding the Codex Crystal might let you do it.