Okay, on the nomads, we basically have three potentially viable options and one obviously terrible one. Refusing them outright is likely to cause strife and will gain us a potential future enemy for no gain whatsoever. Settling them in the lowlands is certainly a possibility but I fear they'll start raiding our allies in the Confederacy, which will tank our relations with them since we provided safe passage. Then, there's the total acceptance of these people into our people, which I would be fine with under normal circumstances. However, these are not normal circumstances. No, these nomads have been raiding us for generations and while their leader might've been a kid who wasn't old enough to raid, the tribe is still guilty of commiting the crimes against our people.
Their culture as it stands does not mesh well with our own at all, which will likely cause significant problems in the future if we accept them without hesitation. That's why I think the conditional acceptance is the right choice. They need to understand that they've done wrong and atone for this, or the problem will only fester until the next generation. Thus, my vote on the tribal refugees is:
[] You must live as half-exiles until you can demonstrate proper behaviour (Strong chance of being rejected)
Next up we have the vote on our actions this turn. Remember, our Econ is currently 0, which puts us at a significant risk if some emergency or opportunity comes up. I want us to have something in the bank before we start with the various festivals, holy places and martial pursuits, no matter how tempting these might be right now. We'll be kicking ourselves next turn if something comes up but we lack the necessary Econ to take advantage or if another huge drought or natural disaster strikes. Let's avoid short-term gain and focus on building a piggy-bank for a rainy day.
Now, there are several potentially useful actions in terms of economy here. The one I like the best is the New Settlement option. In the previous turns, we've been told that the option would be Econ neutral over an entire generation, which is great. However, the description on the option has changed this turn:
New Settlement - The land is not particularly good for farming in between the valley and the sea, but there are places where a settlement could be set up, serving as a stop over point along the journey between the two settlements, especially now that the forests in between are ripe for grooming
This strongly suggests to me that the action is now a net
positive Econ gain, which is amazing considering how costly building a new settlement really is. Taking it as our main action will ensure that the new settlement will grow quickly to provide for itself and our Holy Site at the waterfall. This is why my main action is:
[][Main] New Settlement
There are several strong contenders to our two secondary options. Step-farms seem particularly useful, since AN has told us that taking the option enough times will eventually result in it being automated by our civilization. This is huge, as it will provide boosts to Econ and food supply without needing our entervention. We need all the actions we can get for other things, so it'd be great to avoid actions on something like this, which is vital but also fairly simple.
[][Secondary] Step-Farms
The two previous actions will likely leave us with 2 Econ, which is acceptable. While I would really like to take the Annual Festival, I'm afraid it'd cost 1 Econ, which I really don't think we can afford at this time. This leaves us with several potential options but there's a variable this turn that might give one of the options an edge. Nomads are requesting our protection this turn but they'll need work in our society. Sending them out in the fields to farm or out on the ocean to fish would be a terrible waste of their talent and they've probably never seen a forest in their life. This leaves them with few options but we do have some work that's suited to them, which is tending the herds. I believe taking this option will increase our chances of a succesful and smooth integration which is why my last vote will be:
[][Secondary] Expand Pasture
My vote this turn is thus:
[X] You must live as half-exiles until you can demonstrate proper behaviour (Strong chance of being rejected)
[X][Main] New Settlement
[X][Secondary] Step-Farms
[X][Secondary] Expand Pasture
