Look, I just don't want the nobles to tax (read: steal) the wealth we are going to make. And tax evasion seems to be a national pastime in Firbag anyway.
But okay, we can do that without killing the nobility. We just need to be a bit creative.
Basically the big issue is that the kingdom can casually send 10 veteran men-at-arms for every man, woman, and child in Bairglad. There is essentially no way to dodge taxes with that sort of saturation and attention, and in fact most of the people currently living in the hamlet are going to pack up and leave over the next year or so. Within a generation 99% of the "locals" won't be related to the current population of Bairglad.
While they can't really put it into those sorts of numbers, Callom and Fenrick more or less understand this.
Basically the big issue is that the kingdom can casually send 10 veteran men-at-arms for every man, woman, and child in Bairglad. There is essentially no way to dodge taxes with that sort of saturation and attention, and in fact most of the people currently living in the hamlet are going to pack up and leave over the next year or so. Within a generation 99% of the "locals" won't be related to the current population of Bairglad.
While they can't really put it into those sorts of numbers, Callom and Fenrick more or less understand this.
That's a jurisdictional headache for the ages, but there's a whole pile of written legal codes, religious texts, and customary law to sort out about these sorts of things.
Anyway, this seems to be the clear consensus.
[X][Com] Build Basic Guildhall(0/2 Weeks)
-[X] Commit 1 Labour and 1 Expertise.
[X] [Per] Study Skill - Oracle
[X][CALLOM] Organize Labour
-[X] Smooth out disagreements and identify potential community roadblocks with the contacting the Baron.
@Academia Nut generally, how do personal stats map out? Like, does 1 for headsman mean that he's about average for a leader of a hamlet, where a 2 would be average for a town? Or does it mean they are pretty bad at their job?
@Academia Nut generally, how do personal stats map out? Like, does 1 for headsman mean that he's about average for a leader of a hamlet, where a 2 would be average for a town? Or does it mean they are pretty bad at their job?
Headman 1 is about average for a settlement this size. Larger settlements would have a 2 or 3, then switch over to a more powerful descriptor like Politician or what have you.
That's a jurisdictional headache for the ages, but there's a whole pile of written legal codes, religious texts, and customary law to sort out about these sorts of things.
One idea is to have Fenrick place the burial ground/catacombs, the labyrinth, and possibly the village under church jurisdiction, and call in a bishop -- preferably before word gets out to the baron or others.
If the labyrinth is 'found' on property that is legally held by the church, the king can't come in and snap it up, and neither can the baron, not without provoking an epic-level shitfit between the clergy and the king. We can probably get a monastic charter for the village, so that those who want to stay have legal protections under canon law, and title to the land -- and whatever happens, the church probably won't send an army.
Plus, there's precedent -- this is the traditional burial site of the village, and thus obviously under church jurisdiction. Also, warrior monks.
Hm, so with our actions decided for this turn, barring something opening up from the guildhall, Oracle, or some other outside factor, looks like we have three or four paths we can choose to go?
Build roads: Seems like a really good long term investment honestly. It means that the nobility/kingdom won't be taxing the shit out of travelers/residents, and might synergize with the Guildhall, as it makes it cheaper for them to move about the area. Of course, it will take 8 weeks at our current rate of production, so that is problematic when we only have 3 weeks to get in contact with the baron. So we'd pretty much have to start that asap if we don't want to lose out I'd say. Good long and short term option I think, as in the short term it makes the nobility happy they didn't have to make a road to some backwoods area and can instead let them put their attention on more important matters.
Church: This would give us a base for the clergy to counterbalance the secular forces. With them and the Adventurers having a strong base in the town from the start, that will likely allow us to play off the various forces. There's also the chance that the clergy has some abilities that could be useful in it's own right (Healers, education, etc...). Would take 2 weeks at our current rate to produce, so we'd be losing out on other options, and may not pay out for us in the short term either.
Militia + Dungeon: This would give us a nice starting wealth to work off of... if we don't get unlucky that is. It's by far the riskiest strategy, imo, as if it fails, we lose a lot of resources and get stuck at the mercy of other groups. If it succeeds, it means we can ensure the hamlet's pop is well taken care of, as well as make large strides in developing quite quickly.
Smithy: I guess we could also push for a smithy to try to boost our econ and make closer ties to the adventurers as well. It would be a solid core to start off from, but would tie us pretty firmly to the adventurers I would think. Unsure of this option.
We could also push for contacting the baron ASAP, but I'm not sure how well that would work. I'll wait to see what happens, and what info we have on the guy, before deciding.
My understanding is that long-term, we're basically the equivalent of a mining boomtown. Academia Nut can contradict me on this, but assuming that labyrinths are closer to gold than oil, we can expect:
an initial population boom of mostly (but not entirely) men;
a brief explosion of wealth as people spend money to try and strike it rich in the labyrinth;
long-term wealth to accrue to the people who supplied the expeditions, and the mining companies adventuring guilds with the capital and expertise to make long-term plays into the depths of the mine labyrinth;
a beautiful but largely-abandoned architectural heritage, assuming that nobody is going to settle long-term in an area that has to import food surplus
@Academia Nut what do we know about the baron? Even knowing that it's probably wildly off due to local biases, how is he judged compared to previous lords the hamlet has had, and have we heard any rumors about his personality/ambitions?
To add to this, I haven't mentioned it yet due to the distant long term scenario but preparing for the end of the Labyrinth is something that Callom will be invested in as the Headman.
For people thinking of rushing roads.
We don't have four weeks. We actually have a bit more.
The Baron isn't going to pop a road like an RTS the moment he finds out.
Roads take work crews to build, so if the locals already had 1/3 of it complete on their own dime...he can concentrate on preparing HIS case for the King instead of getting control of the local roads. We can expect closer to 3 weeks from the point of time we tell him.
The roads are an annoyance for him. One podunk country road's taxes and ownership is not important to him. He'd put in the road because thats what he needs to bring his escorts and knights in to secure the place and he'd tax its use because fuck, he built it, he wants money for it.
There remains no point in a guild hall for adventurers when we have no guild, much less adventurers. We do have strong young men. If we invest in equipping them immediately we can have two full missions seeking information and wealth and the resulting core of valuable veterans while still finishing the hall before the baron sends any men under arms our way. What is this rush to construct an empty and purposeless shack this very week?
There remains no point in a guild hall for adventurers when we have no guild, much less adventurers. We do have strong young men. If we invest in equipping them immediately we can have two full missions seeking information and wealth and the resulting core of valuable veterans while still finishing the hall before the baron sends any men under arms our way. What is this rush to construct an empty and purposeless shack this very week?
There remains no point in a guild hall for adventurers when we have no guild, much less adventurers. We do have strong young men. If we invest in equipping them immediately we can have two full missions seeking information and wealth and the resulting core of valuable veterans while still finishing the hall before the baron sends any men under arms our way. What is this rush to construct an empty and purposeless shack this very week?
Having some infrastructure in place before people get here will help to ensure they stick around when they show up.
Besides that, the only other option people are seriously considering is a road and I'm not to keen on building a road to nowhere, especially when it takes so long.
Adhoc vote count started by Shebe Zuu on Oct 15, 2018 at 10:35 PM, finished with 141 posts and 38 votes.
[X][Com] Build Basic Guildhall(0/2 Weeks)
-[X] Commit 1 Labour and 1 Expertise.
Having some infrastructure in place before people get here will help to ensure they stick around when they show up.
Besides that, the only other option people are seriously considering is a road and I'm not to keen on building a road to nowhere, especially when it takes so long.
We have at least four weeks before even a vanguard arrives. There is absolutely no reason for us to be building an empty shack this week instead of the veteran core of the adventurer guild who would eventually inhabit it.
-and what is this of training an oracle? We clearly need a dungeonmaster first and foremost if we are hoping to take the lead in the eventual adventurer guild.
We have at least four weeks before even a vanguard arrives. There is absolutely no reason for us to be building an empty shack this week instead of the veteran core of the adventurer guild who would eventually inhabit it.
-and what is this of training an oracle? We clearly need a dungeonmaster first and foremost if we are hoping to take the lead in the eventual adventurer guild.
[X][Com] Build Basic Guildhall(0/2 Weeks)
-[X] Commit 1 Labour and 1 Expertise.
[X] [Per] Study Skill - Oracle
[X][CALLOM] Organize Labour
-[X] Smooth out disagreements and identify potential community roadblocks with the contacting the Baron
The first week was simple enough: get things built to allow for better use of the labyrinth later. It was decided on that rather than just throwing together a shack for Katrin in a day, the community would spend the time and resources to get a proper hall constructed. Serving as a home for their new oracle, meeting place for those going into the labyrinth, and as something of a guardhouse for access in and out, the guildhall would also help to house the first few rough and tumble types that would inevitably show up.
Essentially a long meeting hall constructed with one end backing onto the entrance to the catacombs - which were now a bit of an open question as to whether they could serve as a place of interment anymore due to the transformation - with a set of private living quarters right next to the labyrinth entrance for Katrin. This gave the overall structure something of an 'L' shape when viewed from the top of the cliff. While not exactly a complex construction project since it was basically just a long log house, getting it done quickly required a concerted effort from the whole community. Trees were felled and prepped, stone was quarried, pilings were driven, and the walls were quickly erected. Still, Jellic was working almost day and night keeping axes and saws sharp and making nails for the places where others forms of joint just wouldn't work. It was a fairly frenzied pace that was unusual outside of harvest time.
While it probably wouldn't help terribly much, the guildhall might provide some defense if a lesser monster tried to wander out of the labyrinth. If nothing else, it would also help a great deal for going into the labyrinth without having to wait outside in the elements before entering.
For his part Callom went around the hamlet meeting with everyone, hearing their concerns while also trying to coordinate everything. He made sure that fuel went to the workers and Jellic and that there was hot soup available for all the men working hard in the late winter snow and slush. Unfortunately, while it worked, it also ended up accidentally reinforcing the idea that the community was screwed once the baron and his men showed up. He didn't quite mean it the way it came off, but the way he was trying to frame how everyone contributing together could be used to support their claims later only ended up reminding everyone of the fact that land that they and their families might have lived and worked on for generations was now going to be subject to appraisal and tax assessment and competing claims from nobility who had no right to land but would claim it anyway because a mouldy piece of parchment said that some king centuries ago had said that one of their ancestors owned the place.
Well, not exactly ideal, but Callom at least had learned some lessons.
Basic Guildhall Completed (0/1 PC Adventurer, 0/1 NPC Adventurer)
Demoralized (-1 Morale Until Start of Week 5)
Speaking of learning lessons, for her part Katrin decided to figure out the whole oracle thing. For the most part it involved her sitting in the stone tree chamber of the labyrinth with Fenrick and praying, or focusing on breathing, or focusing on the feeling of connection to the labyrinth, or the flames on her hands. At first it just felt like a waste of time, but by the third day she was able to feel how the sickly fire flickered in time with her breathing and heartbeat, and that in turn let her feel the connection to the labyrinth and spirits and the divine more clearly. By the time the hearth in the main hall of the guildhall was being lit for the first time to signify it's completion at the end of the week, she was able to perceive that there was a sort of flow to the spirits into and out of the labyrinth. She wasn't really able to contact them, but she felt confident that she could properly get into the necessary mindset to do it if she pushed a little harder.
Katrin Increases Oracle 0 to Oracle 1
Currently Have 2 Community Actions and 1 Personal Action for Katrin
Construction (Committed Labour X (Committed Expertise + 1))
Build Hamlet Church (0/4 Weeks)
Extend Guildhall: Barracks (0/4 Weeks) Refine Guildhall (0/8 Weeks, Requires: Expertise 2)
Build Basic Roads (0/16 Weeks)
Expand Smithy (0/8 Weeks, Expertise Multiplier -1)
Diplomacy
Contact Baron (1 Week, Commits 1 Expertise OR a Character with Diplomatic Skills, Advances Political Situation) [AUTO: 4 Weeks]
Attract Experts (Commits 1 Wealth Until Completed +4 Weeks, Checks against Prestige each Week, +1 Expertise Upon Completion)
Attract Trade (Commits 1 Wealth Until Completed +4 Weeks, Checks against Prestige each Week, +1 Wealth Upon Completion)
Hire Mercenaries (Commits X Wealth to hire a Level X Adventuring Band, Checks against Prestige each Week to hire, Wealth remains Committed until mercenaries leave contract)
Labyrinth
Explore Labyrinth (1 Week, Commits 1 Labour OR a Character with Combat/Exploration Skills, Generates Random Events, Potential Loss of Committed Resources)
Patrol Surrounding Region (1 Week, Commits 1 Labour OR a Character with Combat/Exploration Skills, Generates Lesser Random Events)
Personal
Study Skill
Organize Project
Attempt to Commune with Spirits (requires Oracle skill or similar)
Community Stats
Labour 1
Expertise 1
Wealth 1
Prestige 0
Morale 2
Buildings
Hamlet Smithy (+1 Expertise)
Priest's Hut
Headman's House
Basic Guildhall Completed (0/1 PC Adventurer, 0/1 NPC Adventurer)
Statuses
Demoralized (-1 Morale Until Start of Week 5)
Labyrinth Stats
Total Nodes 2
Level 0: 1 Capped
Level 1: 1 Unexplored
Random Threat: 1%
[X][Com] Build Militia Gear
-[X] Commit 1 Expertise
[X] Build Hamlet Church
-[X] Commit 1 Labor
[X][Per] Study Skill - Dungeonmaster
Now, as I understand it, If we try to contact the Baron now we won't be able to do anything that requires Expertise until the action completes (or we get more expertise somehow)
With that in mind, it seems prudent to build the Militia Gear first and contact him next turn.
One idea is to have Fenrick place the burial ground/catacombs, the labyrinth, and possibly the village under church jurisdiction, and call in a bishop -- preferably before word gets out to the baron or others.
If the labyrinth is 'found' on property that is legally held by the church, the king can't come in and snap it up, and neither can the baron, not without provoking an epic-level shitfit between the clergy and the king. We can probably get a monastic charter for the village, so that those who want to stay have legal protections under canon law, and title to the land -- and whatever happens, the church probably won't send an army.
Plus, there's precedent -- this is the traditional burial site of the village, and thus obviously under church jurisdiction. Also, warrior monks.
Wait, do we get to commit our labour/expertise points per community action? i'd been under the impression that we only had 1 labour point to use on projects per turn atm; i.e. we can only do one build action at a time currently, with the other one needing to go to something that doesn't require labour points. @Academia Nut ?
Also, AN, i think you forgot to add the construction header to the actions list:
