The word of AN i remember was the opposite order; that is, if we integrate the march, then either immediately make a new one via propagating, or make a new one within 3 turns, then what we'd be doing is going "hey, those guys know how to do this, they can go make another up farther". If we integrate after having a second march, then i'm sure some would move/be assigned to the other march during integration, and having the second march does make the integration plan less complete/useful, but unless i missed an AN post, we dont in fact have word of AN on the point youre making.
The situation AN talked about was forming a new March *after* integrating. So, we call for a show of hands, Who wants to go form a new border to protect the People? And of course, all the ex-Stallions volunteer.
But with the HH March, there's no such call. We already have a full tribe forming the March; we're not asking for anyone extra at this point.
So I think integrating the Stallions is unaffected by the HH.
That said, we really should try to integrate the HH within a few generations, not leave them for centuries. They're far more culturally divergent than the Stallions ever were. Once everyone in the tribe has grown up within the People (ie immediately *after* we replace the Stallion March), let's bring them all the way in - and free up more Centralization to build trails.
Basically, if you immediately found a new march, most of the people you wanted to integrate in will go to the new march. You have to wait for them to die off and the culture to blend out first.
I'm not saying that integrating the stallion tribes is going to fix the damn issue. I'm saying that the stallion tribes members being able to move to a different subordinate is not a factor in whether or not they should be integrated.
The main reason why we want to integrate the ST isn't even cultural in the first place. It's to disarm the strongest army that the North has, and to neuter the most obvious leader in a insurrection. If the ST are no longer protecting the North, that means that the North will be reliant on the Heaven's Hawk (which is less prestigious, less developed, and less culturally similar than the ST) and ourselves for their defense.
Without an obvious leader for an insurrection, the rebels would find it harder to marshal resources, unify against us, and spread their propaganda to their people.
Thinking further on subject further, I stumbled upon something hilarious.
Academia told us that to fully integrate the Stallions, we should not build a March for 3 turns. The reasoning behind that being that any of the holdouts would just migrate to the new March. Guess what we're building next turn? A New March! Even deeper in the steppes too!
Nowhere did I say that it is not something we should do. I noted that the task was going to be harder to complete as the drifting values now effectively have a backup cave to runoff to.
[X][King] Phygrif (-1 Legitimacy, Main Build Chariots, Heavens Hawk become a March)
[X][Hat] Yes, become a Colony
[X][Refugee] Take in as many as possible (-2 Stability, chance of further loss, +6-8 Econ, different benefits if Hatvalley a colony)
In Phygrif's opinion, the southerners were a very odd people. They did many things that were very foolish or weak in his opinion, but they were also incredibly loyal to those they had a relationship with, and that had included his own tribe. For the most part he had considered the relationship to be one where they paid him and his warriors in nice things so that they could still have wealth to obtain wives without raiding the farmers, but they could gain honour fighting against poorer enemies further out into the steppes. Only when their enemies had decided to press them harder than usual the southerners had shown up with many, many warriors to assist in pushing back. To some extent Phygrif had rankled at this, he did not need their help, but from his understanding through trade and contact it was not that they felt that he could not do it alone, but rather that their own honour called for them to aid all. They had even sent the heir to their tribes to assist, and from initial contact Phygrif had had a good opinion of him. He seemed to know what he was doing.
Unfortunately, as it turned out, that wasn't quite enough. A significant number of the troops they had brought with them were trained for a different kind of warfare. Phygrif had seen it immediately, that they were meant for a strategically slower but tactically more intense kind of fight than the fluid back and forth of raid and counter raid on the steppes. Whenever the Red Banner came into actual contact with the enemy they crushed them utterly, but they had great difficulty actually catching the enemy. Ylrulthyn had, sensibly enough, deferred to Phygrif and the Stallion Tribes war leader whenever it made sense, but unfortunately the leader of the Stallions had been a poor choice, and he had ended up scattering the forces, spreading them too far apart and making a hash of the scouting. And thus Ylrulthyn's camp had been left vulnerable to a night raid, and the heir had been killed in a sneak attack.
Even as he got everyone's act together in the shocking wake of that and began to crush the encroaching tribes, Phygrif was shocked when about a moon later a rider - such a curious development, he was making sure the youngsters in his tribe were picking it up! - came to him with news of activity in the south. The news of the death of the heir had caused their elderly king to fall into a fell slumber and pass away, and their chiefs had gathered to decide upon a new king. A sensible enough practice once it had been explained to him, it still felt a bit odd to him. What truly hit him as completely mad though was the fact that he was being offered the kingship. Apparently he had allies among the northern chiefs, who, hearing the news of the death of Ylrulthyn first and having the greatest access to horse couriers, had managed to coordinate. They wanted the hero of the hour - and who none of the northern chiefs had competing interests with and thus could agree as a cohesive block instead of squabbling among each other - to take up the kingship. All he had to do was perform their adulthood induction rites, the rites to their gods - he could include his own if he wanted! - and to delegate leadership of his tribe to his own heir, and he would be given control of the entire southern kingdom. There were certain responsibilities and traditions he had to follow, but he could essentially do what he wanted with the power.
Phygrif was not the sort of adept political mastermind that seemed to infect the south like termites, but he knew that this offer wasn't entirely for his benefit. But he also knew an offer too good to refuse when he saw one, and he also felt more than a little indebted to the southerners. They had moved to support his people and had lost their king and heir in the process. It seemed only right that he shoulder the burden for the remaining years of his life. Plus it would massively increase the prestige of his family.
Heading south, into their hilly, rainy land, Phygrif went to their honestly quite magnificent main temple to perform the rites of kingship and then to their primary capital - both the settlements of Sacred Forest and Valleyhome were terrifying in how each one had neighbourhoods at least as large as his entire tribe - admittedly, they were the large neighbourhoods, but still! He met with the white haired, hard faced and flinted eyed patrician who had been the frontrunner for this new election before the northern chiefs had swept Phygrif to power, and Phygrif knew not to cross this man. Despite the fact that Phygrif would probably outlive him, Dythuwyn was made heir to cover for some of the administrative difficulties the nomad king would have while the actual next heir was informally sorted out among the various influence networks that were mostly invisible to Phygrif. Instead, he talked to all the People he was supposed to and tried to figure out what their problems were. It was how he dealt with things in his tribe.
First off, the north was a bit upset that the south had a whole bunch of nice things that they didn't share equally. The north wanted roads and temples and more luxuries and a chance to prove themselves. Meanwhile, the gods had apparently decided to dump continual light rains upon the south, such that their forests were growing sick and some of their buildings were even sinking in the muck. Phygrif figured they should probably move away, but they apparently had significant spiritual attachment to the place, and even the northern herdsmen didn't begrudge the farmers being attached to their land. Phygrif didn't really get it, but their shamans were on the job and all he had to really do was say that they would get the resources they needed to determine how to appease the gods. Not one to meddle in the affairs of the supernatural, Phygrif gave his assent. Then, given the losses from the fighting up north, he authorized the expansion of their elite chariot warriors. They would need them, because...
"So, who do we need to kick the shit out of?" Phygrif asked of his short council once he had finished settling in after about a month of rather confusing ceremony.
"Sir?" The War Chief asked.
"The north is biting for a fight, and the south wants someone to blame for all of this. I'm moving some warriors from my tribe and the rest of the tribes to the Red Banner so everyone gets a chance at glory, and then I'm going to go take the head off of whoever is to blame for this," Phygrif explained.
The council seemed to not get his point, not even the northern chiefs who had put him there, but the War Chief said, "Well, all of our neighbours aren't really a problem... well, other than in the north and those tribes have already been dealt with. I suppose the Xohyssiri's practices could be a problem, but we've been dealing with other things and they're a bit far..."
"The Xohyssiri? What's with them?" Phygrif asked, eagerly.
"Human sacrifice, including of young children and babies. The Red Banner fought against them under the employ of the Thunder Speakers and the Highlanders and learned of this practice, but we were unable to follow up after that," the Spirit Chief explained in disgust.
Phygrif blinked a few times before he clapped his hands together and said, "Right then, there's your problem! I'll be taking the Red Banner to go kill them now!"
It of course took a solid year to get everything ready, but it was a year that the king used to get everything in order among his own people, and to get the Red Banner in order with a fresh influx of warriors. The new charioteers would take some time to be ready, but the only major threats for the moment were in the south anyway, and there were other major garrisons to take care of any major situation that might come up. And with everything in order, they were off!
Marching first east into Redhills, Phygrif was actually impressed by the way the rains seemed to just stop shortly after they got out of the eastern hills and started to enter the lowlands proper. He had heard stories, but to actually be here, in this hot grasslands was something else. Apparently the rains mostly fell in the east and hills and fed into the lowlands, so away from the rivers things hadn't changed much, but closer to the rivers the banks had become mires of overgrown reeds. It was supremely poor terrain from which to raid, but it was excellent terrain for the moving wall of spears supported by archers that was the Red Banner Company. He only had a few Blackbirds, but they were scary in the marshes and scrubby forests.
About the only annoying thing was that the People asked that he not loot everything in his path, especially if the locals actually surrendered, which they did with somewhat alarming readiness once the warriors of the Xohyssiri had been killed or driven off. Apparently the first territory they had encountered was part of the periphery and was used to getting passed back and forth between competing kingdoms. After a season of this, Phygrif had the profound epiphany that no wonder the People were so soft: the lowlands were no fun and they had pushed their borders so far north only some of them got to get in on the action against northern tribes! Well, the fighting in the lowlands was actually fairly fun, when it happened, but once they started to get into well watered areas their pace slowed to a crawl. There was only three or four months a year they could fight before the flooding shut down all significant movement, and then they had to spend another season making sure their food supplies were in order. But those remaining few months of the year? Oh, that was great fun! The Xohyssiri fought hard even as they got pushed back with every heavy step the Red Banner took forward, and villages willingly surrendered, providing tribute, food, and fresh warriors.
At some point Phygrif looked up and realized that nearly a generation had passed and he was an old man and he had carved the northern-western quarter off the Xohyssiri territory.
Oh, songs would be sung about this!
New vassal acquired: Lowland Minors (North-west)
Over limit! -1 Diplo, +1 Prestige
New Legacy Gained: One of Each (Five): +1 Subordinate State New Legacy Gained: Vassal Lords (Five): Subordinates states less likely to break away No longer over limit
Also, apparently the traders and clerks and what not were happy about having new people to trade with because their other trading partners were suffering and they weren't sure what to do. He didn't quite get it, but his subordinates were happy, so that was good. Also, there was apparently some news the traders were going on about, something about some really far away kingdom building their own mountain or something? Whatever.
Wonder Announcement: The Khemetri have completed a true wonder, their megalithic buildings reaching nearly unimaginable heights. Any other projects along those lines would seem like pale imitators. The Mountain megaproject is no longer available to cultures that do not already have it completed
Art Patronage - Wealth of the first and second kind can be used to create wealth of the third kind to the benefit of all
* S: -1 Wealth, +2 Art
* M: -1 Econ, -2 Wealth, +4 Art, +1 Prestige, potential innovations
Black Soil - There are many places that could benefit from further black soil, but making more is starting to take up more resources than it is currently returning
* S: -1 Econ, chance of +1 Econ next turn, +2-3 Econ Expansion
* M: +2-3 Econ Expansion
* used 3 times
Build Chariots - The vehicle of the elite, chariots are the most effective way of waging war the People know.
* S: -1 Econ, -1 Wealth, +2 Martial, +1 Art
*M: -1 Econ, -2 Wealth, +4 Martial, +1 Art
Build Docks - With large numbers of ships being built, a new place to store them all, the goods they bring in, and a place to build them might be a good idea
*S: -1 Econ, +1 Diplo, increased trade power
*M: -1 Econ, +1 Diplo, increased potential for new innovations, increased trade power
Build Glassworks - A new material discovered recently, new luxuries and trade goods could be made from relatively cheap materials
*S: -1 Econ, +1 Wealth, +1 Art, small chance of new innvoations
*M: -1 Econ, +2 Art, increased chance of new innovations
Build Mills - By harnessing the power of flowing water, work can be done, freeing up considerable amounts of labour
*S: -2 Wealth, -1 Art, +2 Econ, potential for innovation
*M: -3 Wealth, -1 Art, +3 Econ, increased potential for innovation
Build Wall - The practice of building city walls has reached new heights with access to superior tools making the cutting of stone simpler (60% light walls, 30% significant walls, 10% massive walls)
*S: -1 Econ, +5% light walls
*M: -2 Econ, +5% significant walls
*2M: -4 Econ, +5% massive walls
Build Watchtowers - Stone and brick towers for warriors to sit in and scan the horizon for trouble, these towers can help stave off raids and improve response against attacks. (40% coverage)
*S: -1 Econ, +5% coverage
*M: -1 Econ, +10% coverage
Change Policy - Adjust the current Policy to one better fitting the situation
*S: Change Policy to one of the available ones listed below
Balanced - Takes whatever actions seem reasonable. Expand Economy is considered a Policy action for interaction with other effects
Defence - Builds walls and watchtowers
Expansion - Builds new settlements, expands economy, expands forests, and can even create new provinces
Infrastructure - Extended projects
Megaproject Support - Provinces can spend actions in support of a megaproject
Offence - Can recruit warriors and specialists, can send war actions against declared enemies
Progress - Takes studying actions and art patronage Restoration - Takes stability improving actions
Spirits - Builds temples
Trade - Sends out trade missions, produce art and luxuries
Distribute Land - By reworking the distribution of land, the king can improve tax income and reduce pressures administrative overhead
*S: -1 Centralization, +1 Wealth
*M: -2 Centralization, +3 Wealth
Enforce Justice - The king is a servant of the law, and he can use the army to remind people of that fact [GJ]
* S: 1 Stability, +1-3 Centralization
* M: 1 to 2 Stability, +2-3 Centralization
* the more settlements with walls outside of the capital, particularly large walls, the less effective this action is
*Max Stability: Legitimacy
Expand Economy - Encourage the growth of food producing activities such as farming, pastures, or fishing, depending on where focus is placed
*S: +2 Econ, -2 Econ Expansion, potential additional effects
*6 Econ Expansion available (max 11 to keep Sacred Forest True City; max 15 for Valleyhome)
Expand Forests - The People have knowledge of how to regrow and repair forests, which extends to bringing them to places they have never been, with considerable effort. With charcoal now in higher demand, can also provide a sustainable supply (7/7 currently locked up)
* S: -1 Econ, -1 Econ Expansion, grows forest, +1 Econ next turn if in settled territory and controlled
* M: -1 Econ, -1 Econ Expansion, grows forest, +2 Econ next turn if in settled and controlled territory
Expand Snail Cultivation - While now more reliably grown and harvested, the snail domestication has only managed to hold environmental changes at bay rather than increase production. More investment would increase cultivation
* S: -1 Econ, +1 Wealth
* M: -1 Econ, +1 Wealth, +1 Art, potential additional effects
Expand Vineyard - There is a location in Blackriver that is judged an ideal place to grow the small fruits that are favoured for making a particularly potent drink
*S: -1 Econ, -1 Econ Expansion, +2 Wealth next turn
*M: -1 Econ, -1 Econ Expansion, +1 Wealth, +1 Art
Expand Warriors - More men can be inducted into the ranks of the warriors every year and not face major food shortfalls
* S: -1 Econ, +1 Martial
* M: -1 Econ, -2 Wealth, +3 Martial, +1 Art, potential additional effects
Found Colony - When a province gets too distant, sometimes it is best to grant it additional autonomy so that they can get down to the business of working the land and gathering resources without needing to talk to the king about every little thing. Current Target: Greenshore
*S: Change Greenshore Trading Post to a Colony
*M: 4 Econ Transfer, -2 Martial, founds colony to produce raw resources
Found March - Sometimes you need an extra buffer between you and hostile powers, or a place to stash excess warriors. Current Target: North-East
*M: -5 Martial, 2 Econ transfer, founds march to take independent martial actions
Found Mercenary Company - With new coinage, those who fight for less than savoury reasons can be bargained with more effectively. Paid well they can enhance your forces, or can be hired out to other groups, but beware of having them sit around without pay!
*M: -5 Martial, -1 Wealth per turn in your employ, +1 Wealth per turn if hired out to another group, or 0 Wealth per turn and adds directly to Martial score
Found Trading Post - When doing long distance trading, sometimes having your own infrastructure in place at the other end can be quite useful. Current Target: Far North (dangerous), Near Trelli (risky)
*M: -3 Diplo, -2 Wealth, 2 Econ Transfer, -2 Martial, founds trading post to generate Diplomacy
Integrate Colony - Part of the colony of Western Wall or Hatvalley can be integrated into the People more fully, transitioning from a Colony to a province
*M: -6 Diplomacy, gain Econ and Martial from integrating Colony
Integrate March - Better communications and administration means that the Stallion Tribes or Heaven's Hawk can be integrated into the People more fully, transitioning from a March to a province
*M: -6 Diplomacy, gain Econ and Martial from integrating March
Improve Annual Festival - A festival for every season, but their expansion can help put the People at ease and teach good practices.
* M: -1 Econ, -2 Wealth, +1 Stability, +2 Art, chance for additional effects
* 2M: -2 Econ, -2 Wealth, +1 Stability, +4 Art, chance for additional effects
* Max Stability: Legitimacy - 1
More Blackbirds - Elite scouts and woodsmen, the Blackbirds are a potent force, if not exactly mainline fighters. More of them could prove useful
* S: -1 Mysticism, -1 Wealth, +1 Martial, +1 Art, more Blackbirds
* M: -1 Econ, -1 Mysticism, -1 Wealth, +2 Martial, +1 Art, many more Blackbirds, additional effects
More Carrion Eaters - Keepers of sacred and profane knowledge, the Carrion Eaters thread a dangerous path but bring valuable knowledge for treating wounds and inspiring courage, greatly bolstering the morale of warriors by ensuring them that their companions are not doomed if they fall. More could prove useful.
*S: -1 Mysticism, -1 Wealth, +1 Martial, +1 Art, more Carrion Eaters
*M: -1 Econ, -1 Mysticism, -1 Wealth, +2 Martial, +1 Art, many more Carrion Eaters, additional effects
More Boats - The things are expensive but oh so useful, so having more of them will increase your capacity for trade, travel, and fishing
* S: -2 Econ; +1 Econ, +1 Econ Expansion, and +1 Diplo next turn, other potential effects
* M: -2 Econ, -1 Wealth, +1 Art; +1 Econ end of turn, +1 Econ, +1 Econ Expansion and Diplo next turn, additional effects,
* used 6 times
New Settlement - There are a few new sites that could have new settlements placed on them: northern Blackriver, far eastern Redhills, far north-eastern Redhills, south of cataracts
* S: +1 Econ next turn, increases number Econ Expansion depending on environment
* M: +1 Econ and +1 Mysticism end of turn, increases Econ Expansion
Special: Main new settlement in south of cataracts, far eastern Redhills, or far north-eastern Redhills can produce new provinces. Far eastern Redhills will also give territorial continuity with your vassal and allow for their integration
New Trails - There are many settlements with only marginal trails, so more could be useful
* S: -1 Econ, +1 Centralization, other effects
* M: -1 Econ, +1 Centralization, +1 Diplo, other effects
Proclaim Glory - By using art the King can promote people to trust his decisions; modified by Diplomacy skill
* S: -2 Art, +1 Legitimacy
* M: -3 Art, -1 Econ, +1 Legitimacy, +1 Stability, potential +1 Prestige
* Max Stability: Legitimacy
Restoration of Order - The people are uncertain, and into that uncertainty bad behaviour can flow. Send in the warriors to reassure people and root out corruption and dissent, restoring the proper function of the People, at the cost of disturbing their confidence that the king has their best interests at heart. Max Stability: Legitimacy-1
* S: Gain 0 to 2 Stability at a cost of -1 Legitimacy
* M: Roll twice, take best result
* modified by Administrative skill
Sailing Mission - Boats have proven themselves capable of exploring long distances, so what else might they discover along the shores of the sea?
* S: Potential new discoveries
* M: -1 Econ, improved odds of success
Salt Gift - With the saltern, the People have access to tremendous amounts of salt, which can be used to awe outsiders
*S: -5 Wealth, random amount of Diplomacy, Art, and Prestige generated
*M: -5 Wealth, random amount of Diplomacy, Art, and Prestige generated (min. 1 of each) and the possibility of Mysticism generation
Study Alchemy - Materials can be made to transform their form through special treatment. What wonders can be discovered in this process?
*S: -1 Mysticism, -1 Wealth, potential new discoveries
*M: -2 Mysticism, -1 Wealth, -1 Econ, increased chance of new discoveries
Study Forests - The holy site within the sacred forest is the repository of lore on the forests and the things within them, but could the shamans learn more? 1 Use
* S: Potential new discoveries
* M: -1 Econ, -1 Wealth, +1 Mysticism, improved odds of success
Study Health - What secrets of nature can be used to improve the health of the People?
* S: Potential new discoveries
* M: -1 Econ, -1 Wealth, +1 Mysticism, improved odds of success
Study Metal - Iron and copper, gold and silver, what other secrets are hidden in metal and stone?
* S: -1 Mysticism, tiny chance of new insights
* M: -1 Econ, -1 Wealth, -1 Mysticism, improved chance of new insights
Study Stars - What secrets do the heavens hold when you study the stars and their motions carefully? 10 Uses, 2/4 Uses in a Row
*S: -1 Wealth, +2 Mysticism, tiny chance of new insights
Cannot be used as a Main action
Support Subordinate - Send resources over to a subordinate state to help prop them up.
*S: Transfer 1 Econ and Martial, +1 Econ Expansion
*M: Transfer 2 Econ and Martial, +1 Econ Expansion
Survey Lands - What interesting discoveries are within the People's lands?
* S: Potential new discoveries
* M: -1 Econ, improved odds of success; used 2 times
Trade Mission - Sending a major caravan to another large group can bring new opportunities and find out more about the outside world
* S: -1 Wealth, additional effects depending on target, +1-2 Diplo end of of turn;
* M: -1 Wealth, -1 Econ, additional effects depending on target, +1 Diplo end of turn, +1-2 Diplo next turn, +0-1 Wealth next turn
War Mission - You can send raiding parties against groups that have declared themselves hostile. Can only declare war if you have a valid casus belli (currently only if someone declares war first)
* S: Potential loss of Martial, can prevent Econ and Diplo damage when being attacked, can damage enemy Martial and Diplo
* M: Probable loss of Martial, can prevent Econ and Diplo damage when being attacked, can damage enemy Martial, Diplo, and Econ, always has a mid-turn decision point
Extended Projects- Extended Projects are major infrastructure projects that take more than a single Main action to complete but aren't as all consuming as megaprojects Saltern - Northshore Saltern Expansion (0/10), Southshore Saltern Expansion (0/10). Each {S} committed consumes 2 Econ for 2 Progress. Completion gives additional Diplomacy and every 2 salterns or expansions increases the per turn Diplomacy by +1 Aqueduct - Redshore (0/8), Lower Valleyhome (0/4), Stonepen (0/6), Blackmouth (0/8), Redhills (0/6). Each {S} committed consumes 2 Econ for 2 Progress. Completion adds +4 Econ Expansion and can allow for the formation of another True City Temple - Progress listed below, each {S} committed consumes 2 Econ and 2 Art for 2 Progress. Completion increases Religious Authority Library - Any location with a temple and/or True City status can have a library, with each {S} committed consuming 2 Art and 2 Mysticism for 2 progress. Completion grants Mysticism, every 2 libraries past the first increases the Mysticism refund by 1. Valleyhome (0/4), Sacred Forest (0/4)
Reminder: 2 {S} applied to the same project = 1 {M}
Additionally: 2 Mains may have non-linear effects
Special: You can switch to Defensive or Offensive policy without taking an action this turn
Mega-Projects - Mega-Projects can require many generations to complete, take an unknown amount of time to do so, and drain Econ while active, but can produce massive benefits once complete. Once chosen, the occupy the Main Focus slot until either completed or stopped early. Early stopping once started does not refund any of the investments and increases social strife. To reduce confusion, mega-projects are not listed as part of the voting project list and must be "written-in".
The Census - How many People are there anyway? (4-6? action commitment, -2 Mysticism per action) [Reserves + Library]
The Games - Physical competition and prowess are becoming a popular pass time and way for warriors and militia to train. Could a special festival be founded to celebrate this? (4-6? action commitment, -1 Mysticism and Art per action, 2 Econ total commitment) [Elites]
Grand Docks - With the new docks in place, further expansion to something of a more significant scale could be of benefit (4-6? action commitment, -1 Econ per action, will likely require a significant supply of timber)
Grand Palace - The king's palace is not just a dwelling but a place of government, a stockpile for the People's needs, and a symbol of strength to outsiders (5-7? action commitment, -1 Econ and Art per action)
Great Dam - The river can run wild and dangerous when the rains come strong, but could it not be controlled by the same principles by which the water on the hills is channelled and contained, merely on a larger scale? (5-7? action commitment, -1 Econ per action)
Place to the Stars - The shamans have noticed deeper patterns among the stars than they ever imagined, and setting up long term memories of where things should be could be intensely useful, if also labour intensive to get sufficiently durable markers in place (7-10? action commitment, -1 Econ per action, some Mysticism commitment) Sacred Forest Renewal - The weather is changing, fight back against the forests becoming something different and less hospitable to the People (7/8-10? Action commitment; -2 Econ, -2 Mysticism, -1 Art per action)
[Stewards] special kicker: Pay 1 Stability to double the effort on a megaproject action, consuming twice the required per turn resources but advancing the job faster. If taking a second main action on a megaproject, requires additional Stability payment to double that as well.
One Main and Two Secondary actions or One Main x2 and One Secondary available. Must commit at least 1 Main Action to the Sacred Forest Renewal Megaproject, which requires 1 to 3 more turns of work. The Red Banner Company and the Lowland Minors (North-West) are currently at war with the Xohyssiri. At this level of legitimacy it is recommended to send at least one Main War Mission against the Xohyssiri to keep the loyalty of your vassal
[] Art Patronage
[] Black Soil
[] Build Chariots
[] Build Docks
[] Build Glassworks
[] Build Mills
[] Build Wall
[] Build Watchtowers
[] Change Policy
[] Distribute Land
[] Enforce Justice
[] Expand Economy
[] Expand Forests
[] Expand Snail Cultivation
[] Expand Vineyard
[] Expand Warriors
[] Found March
[] Found Mercenary Company
[] Found Trading Post
[] Integrate Colony
[] Integrate March
[] Improve Annual Festival
[] More Blackbirds
[] More Carrion Eaters
[] More Boats
[] New Settlement
[] New Trails
[] Proclaim Glory
[] Restore Order
[] Sailing Mission
[] Salt Gift
[] Study Alchemy
[] Study Forests
[] Study Health
[] Study Metal
[] Study Stars
[] Survey Lands
[] Support Subordinate
[] Trade Mission
-Target Options: Highland Kingdom, Thunder Speakers, Metal Miners, Lowland Minors, Xohyssiri, Thunder Horse, Northern Nomads, Into the Wild (Eastern Sea), Into the Wild
[] War Mission
-Target Options: Northern Nomads, Xohyssiri (Baby Eaters)
Provinces for Projects: Valleyhome, Redshore, Stonepen, Sacred Forest, Northshore, Blackriver, Redhills, Southshore, Hatriver
Major Holy Sites: Rainbow Trail (0/4), Sacred Forest (Temple 0/8), Holy Sea (0/4), Horse Valley (0/4), White Circle (0/4), Warrior's Rest (0/4), Star Mirror (0/4), Sunrise Grove (0/4), Skyforest (0/4), Bloodgrove (0/4), Spiritwell (0/4), Moonwell (0/4), Sparkling Cave (0/4)
Wonder Announcement: The Khemetri have completed a true wonder, their megalithic buildings reaching nearly unimaginable heights. Any other projects along those lines would seem like pale imitators. The Mountain megaproject is no longer available to cultures that do not already have it completed
I apologize if I missed this in the fifty pages since the update yesterday, but why not make Horseguy McNorthman the next king, then make Rulwyna II the heir when Rulwyna I snuffs it?
Also, how much debate has there been over education and creating something similar to China's civil service exams to train and appoint the layer of bureaucrats the kingdom seems to need quite badly at this point? I'm guessing there's been some, but if I try to actually read all the posts instead of just the threadmarked and otherwise linked ones there'll be another two thousand pages to catch up on by the time I finish the current 2500 pages.
Also, how much debate has there been over education and creating something similar to China's civil service exams to train and appoint the layer of bureaucrats the kingdom seems to need quite badly at this point?
We're pretty sure that's one of the results we'll get from the Palace. Getting it without the Palace is likely to be harder; putting a Library in Valleyhome is probably a good start, though.
Meanwhile, the gods had apparently decided to dump continual light rains upon the south, such that their forests were growing sick and some of their buildings were even sinking in the muck. Phygrif figured they should probably move away
[X] [Main] Sacred Forest Renewal
[X] [Secondary] War Mission - Xohyssiri
[X] [Secondary] War Mission - Xohyssiri x2
This seems just about perfect really, given our situation. It allows our martial hero to go to war, and with the support of the vassal and the Red Banner Company should be enough to make gains but not so many gains we overextend which is likely with the policy offense; and then subsequently face internal problems, while needing to connect our territory, and face pressure from the other polities.
The Sacred Forest is there for obvious reasons, and ideally we only need the 8 actions to complete it, and restoration policy is likely to do Proclaim Glory to restore our legitimacy and stability. Both of these help secure us, given we may take further stability hits from the refugee's or from economic instability.
[][Main] War Mission - Xohyssiri
[][Secondary] New Settlement- Northern Blackriver
[][Secondary] Change Policy- Megaproject Support
I don't really understand this vote honestly. While I can see what it's going for in giving the northern people something with the new settlement, it seems incredibly inefficient and they've already been noted to be happy with the war making policy which would make sense if they have certain martial social traits.
It seems like it would be better to swap the New Settlement action for [] [Secondary] Change Greenshore Trading Post to a Colony, as;
The Metal Workers have been noted to be in decline, thus the value of the trade post has declined, and the value of a colony has increased given land is more easily acquired.
The new colony can take expansions of it's own, and secure more resources for our civilization, and be of considerably more benefit for us than the other secondary action above.
This then means that the colony can expand east along the Black Sea, while Western Wall expands west thus making connecting them easier and quicker.
With it changing to a colony, and with Western Wall and Hatriver, it will give us 3 colonies. This should then activate the legacy of having three of the same periphery states, thus giving us another slot.
Not on the same turn. Provinces avoid Order Of Execution problems. They will do so next turn instead.
Well...STILL not the worst option.
...probably.
...good grief, I think I know whats going on here.
One of their traits had gotten fused with Martial Honor.
Their logic:
-Northern politicians have poor status.
-Northern politicians get status by winning wars. See for instance, the 2 Northern Kings being superb warriors
-Southern politicians have a lot of status.
-Clearly the way to gain status is to win a lot of wars so you can catch up to the Southerners' inherited status.
Seems that they based it off their own understanding of the customs.
To the contrary, the Xoh cannot reach us without conquering the whole lowlands first. Any route bridging the Ymaryn and the Xoh is exposed to EVERY other party in the lowlands.
Pretty much as expected then. Is that what they wanted the bronze so badly for?
Foundations! This would be an immense boon for building the Dam!
That's pretty much what would happen. Only way we're dipping into the red for Econ is if we deliberately spent it in the Mid-turn.
Well, we did have a King who was famous for how well satisfied his four wives were.
Defensive policy is rather expensive, so we'd need to be out of crisis first. And unify the North first.
As for vote:
Straightforward enough.
The Economy numbers check out unless you assume the provinces will spend resources they don't have to obtain a result that policy doesn't want.
Econ available for Provinces 8-2(Project)-2(City) = 4
Art available for Provinces 8-2(Project) = 6
Wealth available for Provinces 8-1(Red banner) = 7
Provinces willing to spend maximum of 3 Econ.
Provinces do not count income of this turn
Provinces are aware of unpredictable costs and will never risk them.
Main Proclaim Glory costs 1 Econ 3 Art.
Econ 4-1 = 3
Art 6-3 = 3
Main Annual Festival costs 1 Econ(double main is not beneficial, so would not be done), 2 Wealth.
Econ 3-1 = 2
Wealth 7-2 = 5
At this point they have insufficient Econ to gain any more Stability, so they'd take Expand Economy.
Expand Economy will produce the results before the mid turn event roll. We know this for a fact.
Econ 2+2 = 4
Assuming the worst hit:
Econ 4-3 = 1
Then we reach the mid turn, where we get to choose 2 more Main actions depending on the event roll. As Economy is below 4, we will have at least 1 Mid Turn Main action dedicated to Expand Economy.
Econ 1+4 = 5
Which leaves us 1 Mid Turn Main.
Likely action(note, no mid turn action which costs Econ will be provided on a low Econ turn) if nothing too weird happens:
-Main New Settlement Far Eastern Hills
[X][Main] Sacred Forest Renewal
[X][Secondary] War Mission - Xohyssiri
[X][Secondary] War Mission - Xohyssiri x2
It is highly likely that at least one Main action will go to New Province(Far Eastern Hills) to connect the new vassals to the main polity.
Which would also provide the necessary Econ slots and replenish the Art via Mysticism overflow.
The other is harder to predict, but Expand Econ is likeluy
Explicitly a great way to cause periphery states to split off.
Diplomacy 5 [+2] -> 2 [+2]
-King of the Hill +1
-Mature Trade Post +1
-Vassal Overlimit -1
-War Declaration -2?(precedent)
-Mercenary to March -1?
-Vassalization -1?
-Gold - Minor production + Lesser trading (in) -> Lesser production + Lesser trading (in). Gold is now producing Lesser quantities from Hathatyn mines and/or Giirry's find, but it's all being used up for Sonbwylls.
-Silver - Whatever Hathatyn mines didn't cut it. We need More.
-Wine - Leading -> Dominating - With the Hathatyn vineyards, we're now dominant in 4 trade goods.
-Copper - Whatever Hathatyn mines didn't change this. I guess it's all gone into Bronze for any domestic increases?
-Bronze - None -> Minor. We're making bronze of our own now, though very small amounts.
-Tin - Trading -> Minor + Trading. We have a domestic tin mine too.
Minions are capped now. @Academia Nut
Hatvalley's category isn't updated yet even though the description is.
And we get the One of Each Five, which adds a Subordinate State slot. And we get Vassal Lords for presumably temporarily exceeding our minion cap.
To get another slot, convert Greenshore to a Colony and we'd have the triple Colony achievement.
Symphony + Lord's Loyalty appeals to him, but Cosmopolitan Acceptance(ironically) doesn't, and no doubt the whole Honor of Elites thing makes him wonder about the whole silly achievement badges thing.
And so they're also doing the polygamy thing(it's normal for Nomads, since the men are heavy risk takers), but have learned that you could just get girls by being filthy rich.
And of course, there's that Martial Glory thing. Martial Glory adds a whole bunch of posturing over martial ability.
If only he had lived, then we'd have bridges mended.
And THAT is a little bit odd.
The Stallion war leader should know better than that, they've been doing the whole raid thing for a very long time, unless they lost the meritocratic leadership thing entirely for full hereditary even in advisor roles.
Conspiracy or normal misadventure?
We'll never know, but its very strange that Stallion war leaders make such an elementary mistake.
*Cavalry Intensifies*
...you know, I don't think anyone ever informed him the King was female. And in an open relationship with two men.
*Sniffs air*
Really fishy this far from the sea.
Though nice to see that the northern chiefs also dislike each other, they just dislike the South MORE. They also seem to have absorbed Martial Glory as a trait(considering a war hero, even a foreigner, is considered an automatically viable candidate), so beware Offense policy propagating that.
Here we learn that through natural selection, the average level of Admin skill had been rising from all the politics.
And we see the Heaven's Hawks' variant of Eye for an Eye.
And Ancestral Honor too.
Noting that our True Cities have districts with more people than an entire tribe(inferring the city is more populous than the whole March). Heh.
And Dythuwyn winds up in power anyway like a proper Grand Vizer.
Still, for all that he lacked the skill, he has the heart.
Even if I'm pretty sure Dythuwyn has all the audiences scheduled to get the kind of opinions and issues he'd want pushed.
North Wants:
1) New Trails
2) Temples
3) Luxuries(Wine, Art, precious metals)
4) Prestige
Approximately in that order for maximum stability.
We're figuring out foundations, and here we see the North still has Divine Stewards, even if the Heaven's Hawks are wondering why like Nomads.
"This be spoopy shit, you shamans deal with it, I deal with people"
It's true, nothing like a war to distract people from their concerns, and blame the Other rather than each other.
At the same time this is incredibly ill timed...but hardly unexpected. His agenda was conquest, if the Xoh weren't there he'd have found some other war.
Definitely lacks Symphony.
So that was a Support Subordinate Ally action by the March to transfer dudes to the Red Banner.
Okay, this is WEIRD. Well, not THAT weird, hills are known to impact the transfer of water, but still, considering everything is flooding this is highly anomalous.
That gives me a few bits of info:
-The original prevailing wind of the region is Southeast to Northwest.
--FACT - Increased rainfall southeast of the Metalworker Mountains - Water dumped by clouds due to mountain
--FACT - Increased rainfall southeast of our Northern mountains - Water dumped by clouds due to mountain
--FACT - Decreased rainfall to the north and west of our Northern Mountains over the steppes. - Water dumped by clouds due to mountain, no source for replenishment
--FACT - Decreased rainfall over the northern lowlands and eastern hills - Air moisture exhausted passing over extensive plains, except along the rivers.
--FACT - Excessive rainfall on south coast of lowlands where the Swamp People live - Air moisture turbocharged by passing over warm seas, dumped as it cools over land.
--FACT - Decreased rainfall over Northshore - Air moisture depleted by passing over north Ymaryn mountain range
--FACT - Basically dry wind over most of the Steppes.
--THEORY - Slightly increased rainfall over Western Wall and Black River - Air moisture recharged from sea, though the wind does not pass over a lot of sea.
--THEORY - Decreased rainfall over Northeastern Hathatyn. - Air moisture depleted by mountains.
--THEORY - Increased rainfall over Southern Hathatyn - Air moisture discharged onto mountains
--THEORY - Increased rainfall over Highlander capital - Air moisture discharged onto mountains
--THEORY - Increased rainfall over Southeastern Thunder Horse - Assuming they have the same mountain range to their north, air moisture will be discharged onto the mountains and flows south.
--THEORY - Decreased rainfall over Northern Thunder Horse - Water is largely discharged on their southern parts.
--THEORY - Xohyssiri position is neutral on rainfall in the goldilocks zone.
--THEORY - Thunder Speakers are arid because the Thunder Horse mountains depleted the air moisture.
-The new weather pattern has the prevailing wind being some variation of Southwest to Northeast.
--FACT - Ymaryn Core lands drowned in rain - Air moisture picked up across the sea and dumped practically directly onto Valleyhome when it hits our eastern mountains, causes the full load of sea vapor to drop directly onto our land.
--FACT - Stonepen, Stallion Tribes and Northshore are experiencing increased rainfall - With the wind direction change, these three sites would be picking up substantial amounts of water rich winds from the sea
--FACT - Eastern Hills are experiencing drought - With the wind direction change, instead of picking up water-depleted from the lowlands, you go to the water-exhausted wind that had just dumped ALL the water onto Valleyhome.
--FACT - Steppes should be seeing vastly increased rainfall overall, approximately as much as the Lowlands used to have, but without any mountains it's spread more evenly than Ymaryn's "land reclaimation by airdrop" experience.
--FACT - Central lowlands is experiencing normal weather, but the rivers are overloaded.
--THEORY - Greenshore should be suffering slightly reduced rainfall(down to normal) as their new wind direction no longer dumps it's full water load on the mountain.
--THEORY - Hathatyn may be suffering reduced rainfall, depending on their southern geography.
--THEORY - Highlanders may be eating a drought depending on their geography. At the same time as floods from Ymaryn rivers coming down.
--THEORY - Swamp People should be largely unaffected.
--THEORY - Northern Thunder Horse should be experiencing increased rainfall
--THEORY - Southern Thunder Horse should be experiencing greatly increased rainfall
--THEORY - Xohyssiri should be fine except every the river they are on had swollen to flooding levels. So not fine at all.
--THEORY - Thunder Speakers should be experiencing slightly increased rainfall as they're taking in water depleted wind from the lowlands rather than the water exhausted wind from the Thunder Horse.
What this translates to is:
-Steppes - Greening.
-Metalworkers - Should be getting extra rain, but they're starting drier.
-Greenshore - Should be getting less rain, but they're normally getting a lot.
-Western Wall - Unaffected.
-Blackriver - Little direct impact beyond slightly increased river flow.
-Stallion Tribes - Little direct impact beyond slightly increased river flow.
-Northshore - Should be getting extra rain, but they normally get little.
-Stonepen - Should be getting extra rain, but they normally get little.
-Redshore - Turbulent seas, increased rainfall.
-Sacred Forest - Land reclaimation by airdrop
-Valleyhome - Land reclaimation by airdrop
-Redhill - Dry becomes slightly drier.
-Hathatyn - Drier in parts, wetter in parts.
-Thunder Speakers - Dry becomes slightly less dry.
-Northern Thunder Horse - Rivers swell.
-Southern Thunder Horse - Land reclaimation by airdrop
-Highlanders - Drought. And flood. At the same time.
-Xohyssiri - Largely unaffected but for the floods.
-Swamp People - Completely unaffected.
He sure learns fast.
"Oh hey, new overlords, how many slaves do you take yearly?"
And we run into quite a bit of difficulty adjusting to the Lowland raid schedule, only summer is fit for raiding, and the floods are extra hellish.
These guys are so abused they give their warriors to whoever is on top. PTSD man.
Ironically, he's right. We wage war irregularly enough that this will be a big story for a long while.
That was weird, and interesting.
So we get the Legacy for 3 and 5 types of subordinates. Is the next step 7?
We still have Free City to hit 6, but don't have a 7th revealed.
I wonder why they beelined it though. It's IMMENSELY expensive.
Might be a trait rewarding high prestige?
It's a "We built it because we could"
And according to AN it makes building megastructures even easier, so they can race towards the next giant phallus.
Once we have some free actions this would be nice.
Priority settlements highlighted. 3 new province slots, of which 2 grant substantial benefits.
@Academia Nut
Forgot to update the Diplomacy to Wealth?
5/8-12 -> 7/8-10
Nearly there.
And interestingly Legitmacy 2 is enough to trigger vassal issues. Was the Thunder Horse running on Star Axe legitimacy? Was the Xoh running on Religious Authority?
People in this thread really overthink how difficult sieges are and how to resolve them if you have the right tools. We have everything we need to get through most fortifications in these days.
Manpower
Experience moving dirt
experience making earthworks
The solution isn't to wait them out, or explosives, or siege weapons- it's to what actually happened, and build earthen ramps over the walls. Something the People by all rights should be really good at once they think of it.
The big thing is having the manpower to do that, and the People are all about fielding immense amounts of men compared to their neighbors. Considering we're over well half a million people, even 3% of our population mobilized would give us plenty of men to take the walls of Xohyr.
Diff Checker (Actions) Diff Checker (Civ Sheet) Diff Checker (Civ Sheet BB Code)
And shortly after starting my normal analysis, i realized i just don't have the energy right now. Been a shitty day mental health wise, and the unknown refugee/war/etc econ values just were pissing me off way more than they should...I might come back later and mess with things, but for now, i'm just gonna point out obvious differences.
Diplo 5 -> 2:
5 - 1 (Over vassal limit) - 2 (Xoh War) = 2
The -2 is per WoG:
Econ 5 -> 8:
5 - 1 (Chariots) + [0-8] Refugees + [0-?] War gains? - [0-?] War Losses
Trade Status
Resource
Status
Rivals
Luxuries
Amber
Known only
Fine Pottery
Minor
Xohyssiri
Fine Dye
Dominating
Trelli
Fine Textiles
None
Xohyssiri, Swamp Folk, Trelli
Furs
Known only
Glass
Leading
Xohyssiri
Gold
Lesser production + Lesser trading (in)
Metal Workers, Khem->Trelli
Incense
None
Khem->Trelli
Mercury
Dominating
None
Silver
Leading (in, needing)
MW, Xoh, Trelli
Salt
Dominating
Trelli
Spices
None
(SI+Khem)->Trelli
Wine
Dominating
Trelli
Strategic
Copper
Leading
Highlanders, Thunder Horse, MW, Trelli
Bronze
Minor
Trelli
Slaves
Forbidden
Xoh (in), MW (in), Trelli
Tin
Minor + Trading
MW (in), TH (in), HK (in), Trelli->Khem
Iron
Non-traded dominant
None
Cultural
Pilgrimage
Leading
Thunder Speakers, Xoh
Gold: Minor Production -> Lesser production, from taking over hath mines, likely
Wine: Leading -> Dominating: Looks like some of the hath vineyards were salvageable
Bronze: None -> Minor -- Oh, hey...
Tin: Trading -> Minor + Trading -- WE HAVE TIN NOW. Mind, not as awesome as it is for non-iron states, but still, awesome
This updated; i'm assuming thats the remaining turns as of now, @Academia Nut ?
Reflects new states and change tohatvalley.
New legacies; explains why it was "+2", because the original +1 periphery state from one of each (three) was just for peripheries, not subordinates, and now likewise the same way.
Max actions now 10, not 12.
New special info on settlements, makes far eastern redhills more important...also means our vassal is not where i thought it was...or that we have another issue of impassible mountains?
Can already integrate new march.
Oooh, cool--will we only get the tech on the front page when we have a new king who would? And did the docks trigger any tech ups?
Oooh good point! I gave you an insightful for this...
Then took it away because we're all about loyalty to vassals; its even called out as part of why our current king likes us.
For the vote...
[X] [Main] Sacred Forest Renewal
[X] [Secondary] Proclaim Glory
[X] [Secondary] Change Policy - Offense
Going with this for now i guess?
Both of these fix the vassal problem. Probably, the ordering can get weird. Let's talk resource costs.
The first is (-2 Econ, -2 Mysticism, -1 Art). That leaves the provinces to do a Proclaim Glory and raise Art as their most likely actions.
The second is (-2 Econ, -2 Mysticism, -1 Art) and (-2 Art, +1 Legitimacy). The provinces now have no need to do Proclaim and they will not redline Cent normally (Rulwyna was an exception) so, festivals. Econ Expensive.
I think I prefer option one.
Also an alternate vote (#3) is to do a Main Megaproject and Main Settlement South of the Cataracts to get econ and Econ slots. Pretty important. I'm gonna sit this one out for a bit.
[X][Main] War Mission - Xohyssiri
[X][Secondary] New Settlement- Northern Blackriver
[X][Secondary] Change Policy- Megaproject Support
FYI to the peeps, mega support will probably generate the resources we need to not risk starvation. And the settlement is super safe, is in the north and thus makes them at least a little happy possibly, and fixes our econ slots.
I am feeling very STRONKLY right now so has some music:
And letting the enemy live another day when you could have utterly ended them is the biggest and most glaring mistake almost all empires made. I understand why they made it, (that primitive disorganized mob of savages is not really a threat, we can deal with them later, only other threats kept showing up, internal problems, and so on. Until one day the savages showed up, but they were far less savage than you remember, and you no longer had the strength to stop them)
For less poetic and more to the point example. How long do you think WW1 would have lasted if falkenhien bombed the French supply train to verdun, or the Russian brusilov offensive continued into Austria ? Or what do you think the Punic wars would have occurred if Rome wiped off Carthage at the end of the first war ? Would the napoleonic wars have lasted six coalitions if the Corsican had wiped Prussia and Austria off the map? Would the great northern war have ended in Swedish defeat if the swedes didn't move from enemy to enemy without perma killing them ?
The examples are endless, mighty empires Are still destructible, there is only so much an empire can focus on, enemies can easily slip through the cracks , and defeated but living enemies are far more dangerous, since they already know you and how to fight you, and they have only a singular focus.
Hell this quest itself provides a good example, look at how many times the. Xoh could have been killed but where ignored, and every time they rose stronger and mightier, subjugating their old enemies.
Not in a war and against a defined enemy it isn't, certainly not in pre modern time. If you are at war with a polity, destroy it or subjugate it, mercy and humanity is how you handle the aftermath or the civilians. And besides the whole concept of mercy and humanity as we know it didn't exists until the romans decided to have a revelation and switch Religions as did their counter parts in the Far East.
My point is, you never leave a hostile premodern polity standing. You destroy or subjugate. Because they would do that to you given the smallest sliver of a chance. You want to be humane,
destroy them without genociding them. As for he argument that "you dealt enough damage and they would collapse on their own", historically that fits under famous last words.
Everyone is a potential problem polity. Killing the xoh removes one problem from the pile. Would it empower others? Certainly. But we would have one less threat. The great game(the balance of power) is a recipe for more suffering and plight than the more honest imperialism. And worst of all, balances of power tended to Fail in the most spectacular and unexpected manner.
It is better to be a hegemonic empire than to maintain a balance of semi equals. Post Punic wars Rome is a case in point. They just gobbled or anihilated all hostile or uncooperative polities they came across, and they had a remarkably long and peaceful reign. (Not counting warring borderlands)
If you but kill and move on, you will eventually runout of stuff to kill. And that is true peace.
We were expanding a lot with our marches, colonies, trading posts, and new settlements. And we definitely weren't walling up.
I have absolutely no problem with expansion, hell I'd bloody love it if we had a good honest attempt at world conquest.
But I dislike haphazardness, go all in , have a plan of steady expansion, or just turtle the fuck up. Haphazardness works Only when you're lands are running themselfs(feudalism, or federalism if needs must) thus you the ruling elite can spend time on whimsy.
Ok, let's think about this instead of panicking and sending a full main war mission that isn't even required. We need to weigh the benefits of having the Lowlands Minor (North-West) against two secondaries to do anything we want.
One of the arguments for electing Phygrif in the first place is to have the council moderate his actions toward helping the People and the northern provinces. This is not helping our core territories or the north. This is not the time to expand into the lowlands when we're already having so many internal issues. We're falling into the trap of the lowlands where we're overextending to the point where we can't hold onto anything.
Offense policy makes things even worse as now we're risking Econ in battle when there's absolutely no need to. We're better off spending our turn fixing things at home instead of making more locations where problems can crop up.
So much for talking out the benefits of each course of action before voting.
That's the point I'm making? For example, he wasn't likely to side with Blackriver over Stonepen or vice versa. No previous allegiance to any of the northern provinces, which is why they put him up as the candidate over any of the other northern chiefs.
We don't have the resources to conquer and hold the lowlands. If we start investing into lowlands defense, guess what gets neglected? The North. Honour and prestige aren't enough to keep quality of life in the northern provinces.
If we leave the lowlands after wiping out the Xoh, then we've just created a power vacuum and we've basically fought the Highland Kingdom's war for them since they're most likely to stay intact.
And this is assuming we can even take on the city Xohyr. They have multiple walls and none of the polities in this area have real experience with siege warfare.
We probably won't get hit by any of the backlashes. At worst, we'll take a prestige and diplomacy hit.
It's not really our territory, and if they choose to break away, it's more like them going off to be self sufficient.
This is an offensive war, not a defensive one. That's why it's a recommendation, not a requirement.
I'm going to throw partial support behind bluefur87's plan. I am still against the [Main] War Mission. If Sacred Forest Renewal wins the main vote anyways, it's no big loss as the Megaproject support policy can handle the difference.
[X] [Main] New Settlement - South of Cataracts
[X][Secondary] New Settlement- Northern Blackriver
[X][Secondary] Change Policy- Megaproject Support
If I had to choose a settlement, I'd prefer a Main settlement.
But hey, approval voting, so I can kind of do this.
Mills are great. They're LTE positive, they are long term investments in infrastructure and they have potential for innovation.
@bluefur87 I'm going to take some of your formatting for this. So this is my ideal vote.
[X] [Main] New Settlement - South of Cataracts
[X] [Secondary] Build Mills - Northern Provinces
[X][Secondary] Change Policy- Megaproject Support
We currently have 8 Econ and 4 Econ slots.
The player actions give us:
New Settlement-South of Cataracts- +1 Econ (this turn), +4ish Econ Slots
True Cities: -2 Econ, +2 Econ Slots
Damage: -(2-3) Econ, -2 Econ Slots
Mills: +2 Econ
So we have 6-7 Econ and 8 Econ Slots before province actions are taken into account. Provinces choose actions before order is resolved so they will not overextend themselves. We also do not consume any Econ or Econ slots with our choices.
Provinces currently have 4 secondary actions + a law kick directed at a megaproject action.
If our provinces play it super safe, it's [Secondary +Law] Megaproject to get us [Main] Megaproject and 3 secondary actions.
Megaproject: -2 Econ, +2 Econ Slots(bringing it down to 4 Econ)
Expand Econ x2: +4 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
Expand Econ x1: +2 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
(Some other action that doesn't cost econ)
For a end total of:
10-11 Econ and 6 Econ Slots
Or if we get two megaproject actions, it's Worst case [Main] Megaproject + [Secondary + Law] Megaproject + 1 Secondary
The other 2 megaproject action case is [Main + Law] Megaproject + 2 secondaries
Megaproject x2: -4 Econ, +4 Econ Slots
Expand Econ x2: +4 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
For an end result of
6-7 Econ and 10 Econ Slots.
The all in with Megaproject x3 actions will not happen as True City will reduce our initial Econ to 6 so the provinces will not risk 0 Econ.
This plan settles south of the cataracts to prepare for a Great Dam. It leaves us with good LTE after climate damage with a high chance of completing the Megaproject. It builds mills in the North to support them. Mills also have a chance of innovation.
At least two actions that add Econ this turn (Mills+New settlement and maybe province actions) have a good chance of preventing the worst case scenario of 0 Econ from action ordering if the provinces are stupid and don't count Climate damage. (8 - 2 Econ True city cost, - 4 megaproject cost, -2 from Climate Instability)
We have two bonuses against subordinates breaking away and this is not a required war mission in defence of the vassal.
And remember, our periphery states are not vassals. Both are subsets of subordinate state.
All it takes is not sending out a [Main] War Mission for a vassal state that probably won't break away. There's no real risk of losing anything important.
[][Main] Sacred Forest Renewal
[][Secondary] War Mission - Xohyssiri
[][Secondary] War Mission - Xohyssiri x2
Okay, looking at this vote:
Currently this leaves us with:
Megaproject: -2 Econ, +2 Econ Slots
True Cities: -2 Econ, +2 Econ Slots
Potential Damage (Worst case, because that's what you plan for): -3 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
Main Proclaim Glory(Provinces): -1 Econ, +1 Econ Slot
The reason we can't afford to switch policies for stuff is because our provinces will hopefully spend their remaining three actions in something approaching a sane manner. I expect:
Study Stars (-1 Wealth, +2 Mysticism, which will effectively overflow into art)
Expand Econ +2 Econ, -2 Econ Slots I freaking swear, if they use their last action to do something that spends econ I will be pissed. There is a certain moment where our provinces have to realize that doing that is stupid as hell, and they should either do expand econ or build mill because of the situation. As we saw last turn, though, when provinces default to balance as a result of having nothing to do, they get stupid, and will focus on building art and econ up, but any good art build up costs econ, which we absolutely can not afford at this moment.
So, assuming the last province action isn't absolute, sheer, unadulterated stupidity of the highest magnitude, and they don't pick an action that costs econ, this leaves us with.
4-5 Econ and 1 econ slot next turn, maybe a small chance of more depending on environmental damages being super kind.
So at this point we are either praying or dropping the vassals we just got. Don't let it said that I didn't warn everyone at how critical our econ slots were.
[X][Main] War Mission - Xohyssiri
[X][Secondary] New Settlement- Northern Blackriver
[X][Secondary] Change Policy- Megaproject Support
This vote, however, does several things.
We fufill the war mission, we continue with the sacred forest project, and our provinces will instead spend their excess actions making sure we have the resources to finish the sacred forest project, which means econ and art, mostly econ with the current circumstances and lack of using main proclaim glory. We also make sure that the econ slots are increased, so they can actually fill out those econ slots.
The costs here are:
New Settlement-Northern Blackriver- +1 Econ (next turn), +4ish Econ Slots
True Cities: -2 Econ, +2 Econ Slots
Damage: -2-3 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
Provinces:
Depending on how cautious our provinces will be, either:
Megaproject: -2 Econ, +2 Econ Slots(bringing it down to 4 Econ)
Expand Econ x2: +4 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
(Some other action that doesn't cost econ)
For a end total of:
5-6 Econ and 6 Econ Slots
or:
Megaproject x2: -4 Econ, +4 Econ Slots (bringing it down to 2 Econ, which may be dangerous depending on order)
Expand Econ: +2 Econ, -2 Econ Slots
1 Econ and 8 Econ Slots
Either way we're at the mercy of our provinces not being idiots. I'll go with the vote that has a better end state.
Hmmmm... yes, it would be possible to do a free switch to Offensive or Defensive. I will edit in.
No, they're there for the start of the turn.
She's in her early twenties now. Stats are unknown.
As mentioned before, it grants more authority to do with the land as locals see fit in exchange for increased taxes.
For the start definitely, but he may not survive to the mid turn.
Periphery states are within your culture and system, subordinate states include everything, including vassals. Subordinates outside your culture are more expensive to integrate, more likely to break away when stability or legitimacy is low, and can sometimes do things to piss you off like trade with people you don't like.
Because they might break away if they feel insufficiently supported.
The Mountain gives lots of prestige and experience organizing megalithic construction. The Pyramids gives buckets of prestige and improve the construction of large infrastructure projects like temples considerably.
They have both withdrawn largely, not sure what they are up to other than marginal trading.
A little bit.
Sinking stabilizing elements like large poles, stones, or bricks until you hit a more stable strata, if at all possible.
The yeomen mostly haven't deployed, with some formally joining the Red Banner, but otherwise not really.
Yes.
You would need to throw another secondary at least to produce another province and increase the territory enough.
Lord's Loyalty increases the chance of breakaway if you don't send support, but decreases it if you do. Your vassals are highly likely to break away without support. Given that they have spent several years with blacksmiths milling among them to maintain the Red Banner's gear...
Not likely, but your traits are organized to be susceptible to a failure cascade
Yes, and to your vassals this is now defensive
Loss of prestige, small chance of stability loss from divine stewards
Loss of prestige, definite stability loss from divine stewards
Not yet
For food they are fighting in their own territory, but for metals they have to trade and they are boxed in. The only people they could get bronze from would be the Thunder Speakers and Highlanders
Admin advisor leans in and whispers, "Bad idea! Bad idea! We're strained to the limit in every admin direction as it is, and if they have a city to rally around they'll break away faster!"
Advisor: Many more provinces are likely to strain our capacity to manage them all, but we've been noticing that the strain seems to be growing faster than it should. We can increase their independence, but that may just be a temporary patch, since increasing their independence is likely to make them harder to manage long term as they flex their muscles. Low confidence in government will make this worse.
OOC: You're on the verge of admin improvement which will begin giving you information if certain actions can shift your high or low end Centralization tolerance, but you're not there yet.
That we're highly likely to see a civil war, dark age, and/or social fracture in the next few turns barring exceptional luck and skill because the People are not built for conquest and are extremely brittle.
To clarify, they want their own infrastructure too, but are still mostly dependent upon the south so building more megaprojects in the south is unlikely to cause them to rebel unless you give them a little bit of their own infrastructure first, before healing the rift.
Basically, the fundamental problem is that Divine Stewards (whole Caretakers trait line really) cannot function with an actively warring society because if you go out conquering you will suffer set backs, but loss of territory can trigger a tantrum spiral via DS, especially if much of your territory is in subordinate states due to low administrative capacity.
Yes. Currently giving them what they want paradoxically makes them more likely to rebel as they are far enough behind the rest of the kingdom that giving them more makes them more likely to go "You know, we don't need them" before the actual problems are fixed.
Basically, the only available stability increasing actions at this junction are Festivals and Glory, everything else the provinces won't take because they might cause you to explode, Justice less than Order.
Would have been hilarious if we'd made it first, though. Then the Ymaryn could have pointed at the Khemetri and laughed at their cheap-ass copy.
And it seems that we're expanding into the lowlands after all. Well, we were already planning to do this eventually and now that everyone's getting shit on by the climate this is honestly a good time to grab land, so I'm not gonna complain.