Tales of History - A Civ-Builder Quest

[Azel]

Vote closed.

Adhoc vote count started by Azel on Apr 6, 2020 at 3:30 PM, finished with 80 posts and 16 votes.

• ---

  8 people have voted

  [X] Plan Food and No Meddling
  -[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
  -[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
  --[X] Unassigned worker to Orchards.
  -[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
  --[x] 5 years following the nomad trails, 10 years scouting the old lands of Makar and Brushcrest, 5 years scouting the lands of the High Herdsmen
  --[x] 1 Light Hunter.
  -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
  --[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production) spend 1 production on this
  -[x] Support the White Clans in establishing their first village. (Gives +1 Production to the White Clans)

  • looseanon
  • One Autumn Leaf
  • nat_401
  • wildwill
  • Tomcost
  • Ghostdevil
  • Donkey Hote
  • Just Some Guy

  3 people have voted

  [X] Plan Don't Meddle & Mint Silver
  -[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
  -[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
  --[X] Unassigned worker to Orchards.
  -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
  --[X] Build a silver mine (2/3) production
  -[X] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.

  • Walker Of Chaos
  • sunrise
  • Pyre

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Vassal state get?
  [X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
  [X] Support the White Clans in establishing their first village. (Gives +1 Production to the White Clans)
  [X] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
  -[X] Let the simple workers produce some other resource.
  --[X] 1 unassigned Worker to Cattle Raising
  -[x] Send the hunters to Scout.
  --[x] 5 years following the nomad trails, 10 years scouting the old lands of Makar and Brushcrest, 5 years scouting the lands of the High Herdsmen
  --[x] 1 Light Hunter.

  • SpeckofStardust

  1 people have voted

  [x] Plan Basic Internal Focus Scout Rejig
  -[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
  --[x] Let the simple workers produce some other resource.
  ---[x] Unassigned Workers to Clay Workers
  -[x] Send the hunters to Scout.
  --[x] 5 years following the nomad trails, 10 years scouting the old lands of Makar and Brushcrest, 5 years scouting the lands of the High Herdsmen
  --[x] 1 Light Hunter.
  -[x] Erect menhirs to clearly mark the lands the Valley People claim for all to see. (Cost: 2 Production per map hex)
  -[x] High Council: Gain +1 Production to spend this turn, use in support of the Menhir project.
  -[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.

  • Kirron 999

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan bone tenders
  -[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
  -[X] Train some of you workers in other trades. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop)
  --[X] Train Bone Tenders
  -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
  --[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production) spend 1 production on this
  -[X] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.

  • thefoolswriter

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Don't Meddle & Mint Silver
  -[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
  -[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
  --[X] Unassigned worker to Orchards.
  -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
  --[X] Build a silver mine (2/3) production
  -[X] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.

  • Satar

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Food and No Meddling
  -[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
  -[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
  --[X] Unassigned worker to Orchards.
  -[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
  --[x] 5 years following the nomad trails, 10 years scouting the old lands of Makar and Brushcrest, 5 years scouting the lands of the High Herdsmen
  --[x] 1 Light Hunter.
  -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
  --[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production) spend 1 production on this
  -[x] Support the White Clans in establishing their first village. (Gives +1 Production to the White Clans)

  • GildedSergeant

 

[SpeckofStardust]

Ya we are scouting the high herdsmen. Happy that the only group we might be able to beat easily were finally going to get information on them

 

[Azel]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Plan Food and No Meddling
-[X] [Village] Do not meddle in the competition. This is the choice of the clans.
-[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
--[X] Unassigned worker to Orchards.
-[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
--[x] 5 years following the nomad trails, 10 years scouting the old lands of Makar and Brushcrest, 5 years scouting the lands of the High Herdsmen
--[x] 1 Light Hunter.
-[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
--[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production) spend 1 production on this
-[x] Support the White Clans in establishing their first village. (Gives +1 Production to the White Clans)

The Council debated for a long while how it would handle the competition between the clans. Many argued that it would be best for the village near the Azurite to succeed, hoping that it would then become cheaper to buy the dyes from the clansmen. Other pointed out though that the fertile valley would be a much better spot. After all, they said, what was the point in a village that would just starve? The loudest voices among the Councils advisers were split between those though lines of thinking, but the quieter majority won out in the end. So the Council concluded not to meddle in this, letting each village succeed or fail by it's own merits and aiding them equally. For in the end, if any one village succeeded and were to bow to the Councils rightful mandate to rule, it would be to the benefit of all, no matter where the village was located.

And indeed, there was quite some signs of this happening. Every village had a few Bone Tenders among it's numbers, who soon became the most common messengers in between the villages, for their leaders still harbored some enmity between each other, but all three felt the priests to be trustworthy and that they wouldn't pick sides in their conflicts. Thus is happened ever more frequently that they leant on Bone Tenders as advisers, which in turn caused the priests to often direct questions to the Council in Greenvalley instead whenever they felt they couldn't give good counsel in a matter. All the while the villages grew, both by the Clans own considerable efforts and the aid from the Valley People. There were certainly trials and losses for the clansmen, such as houses caving in under the snow, and avalanches and frostbite taking their toll, but there was no hunger or any of the more outlandish threats that some had imagined to find the winter mountains.

All the while, the weather continued to favor the Valley People and the Clans. The winters were mild, the summers warm and neither storms nor drought threatened the land. Thus the trees offered rich bounties, the goats grew fast and fat and the river seemed to teem with fish all year around. Only the hunters, to their quite great displeasure, still struggled with their work as the game remained elusive despite its growing numbers. It irked the hunters greatly that they were denied the same glories as their ancestors, the story of a slain deer hardly being comparable to the ancient tales of the wars against the wild beasts at the dawn of the world. They took some hope from the Councils permission to scout the low-lands in anticipation of future raids, but there was still quite some grumbling about how the village was growing and prospering without their help.

Their first task was quite easy, which was to find the Moonstone Valley in the western mountains. It had been many generations since that place had been first found and it had been almost forgotten, baring the occasional journey by one too ambitious or full of himself to be deterred by the danger. Yet the scouts managed to find it quite easily and the Council quickly ordered a proper hunting trail to be carved through the forest and the pass to be marked and cleared of rubble, so that the place would not be forgotten again. Then the scouts climbed down the mountains again, entering the realm of Makar for the first time since the tales of the Red Rivers. What they found there was both worrisome and promising.

In the west, on the banks of the Cold River, they saw a village that they believed to be the one called River Bend, though it hardly matched the descriptions. A strong palisade encircled it completely, a wall even cutting off direct access to the river where many boats were laid out on the dirt. Around the village, they saw large copses of fruit and nut bearing trees and a small group that braved to cross the river and see what was behind the village found large clearings there with strange grass growing in large patches, tended to by the villagers. All the while, bots came and went to and from the settlement. From the south they came laden with bags of sea shells, while those from the north brought flints. A few wanted to raid the boats then and there, hungering to bring glory to themselves and wealth to Greenvalley, but calmer heads prevailed. They had been tasked to scout and so scout they would.

As they followed the Cold River to the south, the situation seemed to have changed little since the last time the hunters had scouted here. The village of traders was certainly larger then they expected and busier too, but what caught their attention was that paths had been carved into the forest. In the west, they led to a ford over the Cold River, yet another went east and in the direction of a ford on the Winding River. Carefully they followed that path, knowing it was going towards Greenvalley and beginning to realize the nature of the trails that had been found south of the valley in recent years. And true enough, as the path grew wilder and less defined they began to follow the tracks the replaced it, going further and further east until they hit the Goat River. Here they waited and without the cover of the dense forests, they saw them. Large groups of people, Goat People most likely since they came from the east, going to the south-west and towards the trails. In tow they had yaks, the animals docilely following them and carrying huge loads of baskets and bags, though they could not make out their contents.

Back in Greenvalley, the reports of the scouts were causing the first great disagreement among the Council in quiet a while. The hunters argued that the Valley People should raid these travelling merchants, for they were far away from protective walls and defending hunters, but many of them carried great riches that only the Valley People would truly be able to appreciate. The artisans on the other hand wanted no longer to bow to the hunters, instead quietly but firmly talking behind their backs about how the hunters of these days were no longer the great heroes of the past, but merely self-important boys who revel in senseless bloodshed. Trade, so they claimed, was what would bring wealth to Greenvalley and glory to the ancestors, for the world had changed around the valley and so the valley had to change too.

It was not nearly enough to sway many, yet some began to took the side of the Artisans in this while the hunters fumed about the slander and treacherous behavior. It became even worse when even the Fishes, who usually kept out of Council deliberations entirely, began to agitate for their own position. To them, both sides were equally mad, courting disaster by trying to join with the lowlanders in their eternal cycle of feigned friendship and blood murder. To them, the ancestors had given them the valley and the mountains because they provided the people with everything they ever would need and grasping beyond that was both an insult to their wisdom and a sign of lacking humbleness and gratefulness. They wanted nothing to do with lowlanders one way or another and while they mostly focused on the hunters and artisans instead of the population itself, many serfs began to back them.

The three Councillors were torn. They too shared the split that began to divide Greenvalley, one of them a former hunter, one a venerable woman that used to chip obsidian for a living and a man from the Fishes who had been years ago elected in the hope that he would bring balance and calm to the Council. Now they all three were locked in debate, though at least they could keep out the vitriol that began to grip the more outspoken and undiplomatic members of the tribe. Still though, they were no closer to a choice and as it were, a choice needed to be made. Even sitting out the matter was in effect an endorsement of the isolation that the Fishes called for, and there was some doubt if it was feasible in the first place to ignore the lowlands when one of the trade routes passed so closely by the valley. It seemed that the quiet years for the Valley People were over and that there would be turmoil, one way or another.

Spoiler: Food

Total Production: 36

Consumption:
-1 for Pilgrim Village
-29 for Pops

Balance: 6
Population Gain: 5 10 7 1 7 10) -> gain 2 Worker Pops (Valley People)

Spoiler: Current Situation

The Valley People
Symbol: The heads of a bear, a wolf and a man.
Government: Absolute Directorial Despotism - Mandate of the Ancestors

Spoiler: Details

General rules
- Meetings of all Councils will be held in private. However, each person attending the council may bring an additional guest, who may listen but not speak unless invited to speak by the council.
- All groups setting out to interact with outsiders must contain a representative of the their Council. Low Council representatives can only do so for groups smaller than their own community with larger groups being the domain of the High Council.
- All matters affecting more than two communities must be brought to the High Council. Matters between two communities may be resolved by their Low Councils if they can come to a consensus, or otherwise be brought to the High Council for arbitration.
- Disputes between individuals and families within a community are to be resolved by the Low Council of the community.
- High Councilor, Low Councilor, Mediums, Priests and Vice-Councilors positions are exclusive. Upon gaining one title they lose all others of the list

Organization structure
- High Council:
-- The High Council will be the highest authority of the state, referring to the three who comprise supreme authority.
-- The High Council is advised by Mediums, one selected by each Low Council. The Mediums can be a member of any community.
-- The High Council can appoint representatives from any community to speak with their authority for specific tasks when the Council cannot be present themselves.
-- Each member of the High Council must maintain at least one, and no more than three Vice-Councilors for their council duties. These Vice-Councilors must be taught how to perform and assist with the duties of a High Councilor. They can be chosen from anyone under the authority of the High Council, except for High Councilors, Low Councilors and Mediums.
- Low Council:
-- The Low Councils refer to the local authorities, each governing one permanent(lasting at least one full lifetime from birth to death) community comprising of at least three population units of adults. Such a community may be fixed or mobile in nature, so long as someone can be born into it and die belonging to it.
-- Each Low Council consists of two leaders chosen by the community, and one leader chosen by the High Council. The community leaders must be members of the community, but the High Council can choose either a local or send a representative.
-- The Low Council can appoint representatives from their community to speak with their authority for specific tasks when the Council cannot be present themselves. They may appoint representatives from other communities with the agreement of either the High Council or the other community involved.
- Priests
-- The priests must maintain an advisor to the High Council at all times, who will be allowed to listen to and advise any decisions.
-- The priests may send one advisor to any Low Council, who will be allowed to listen to and advise any decisions.
-- The priests must preferentially raise their new initiates from the orphans of the People where available. Where there are more orphans than need for new initiates, they will be chosen by lot.

Succession
- High Councilors are elected with a majority vote by the High Council and the Mediums of each Low Council from the pool of Vice-Councilors. At least two thirds of the Mediums must be present to pass such a vote.
- Mediums are selected with a majority vote by the Low Council they represent. Their status can be revoked by the same process.
- One Low Councilor seat of each community is fixed to the High Council's appointment, if this Low Councilor is removed by any means, they will be replaced by the next appointed representative of the High Council.
- The remaining two Low Councilor seats are chosen by the community they govern. Groups with preexisting selection methods may use their traditional methods, or permanently change their process to a simple majority of their community.
- High Councilors will step down in the following events:
-- Voluntary abdication, which will start the process of raising a new councilor while they remain a councilor until their successor is chosen.
-- Death
-- Incapacitation such that they are no longer able to perform their duties for more than a season.
- Low Councilors will step down in the following events:
-- Half or more of the community they govern votes to replace them.

Religion: Faith of Bones
Capital: Greenvalley


Cultural Ideas

Spoiler: Mandate of the Ancestors - Identity

At the dawn of time, the people were lost and separated. But in these trying times emerged three great persons that led them together again to build a brighter future. Like the Mountain Father, the Black Bear and the White Wolf, the Council of Three rules to this day, the wisdom of the ancestors guiding them on their path. No higher authority can there be in this world.

Effects:
- gain +2 on combat morale
- gain +2 on stability checks
- troops will never disobey orders or join revolts, but may participate in civil-wars normally
- allow the deployment of military units to temporarily raise stability
- may use Subjugation actions even outside of wars with that war-goal
-- can destroy Pops to eliminate cultural values of a Faction
-- can destroy Pops to eliminate a Faction entirely
-- can forcibly resettle Pops
- using subjugation actions or deploying military units to establish order raises mood
- weaker polities receive -1 Morale when facing someone with this value
- must always treat other polities as lesser and can't interact with them as peers
- Council of Three must always be the highest authority in the state
- factions unable to alter social order or political system, but can still try to gain control of the government
- social change occurs slower, but sometimes breaks violently
- during a civil war, other groups can claim the Mandate of the Ancestors to gain legitimacy
- this idea will be destroyed when the government collapses or the polity is absorbed by another polity

Spoiler: Perseverance - Ideal

Challenges come and go, but only the steadfast will remain in their wake. Neither directionless action, nor hiding from them will save the people from these trials. One must face these challenges no matter how daunting they seem, and though the price they reap might be dire one will grow stronger for these losses.

Effects:
- gain +1 on stability checks
- gain +1 on Inspiration stat of all commanders
- stability loss when radically changing a started course of action due to difficulties

Spoiler: Mastery of Nature - Ideal

A man might build himself a home. He can stack stone and wood to find shelter against the elements and make a place he can call his own. Yet many man can build many homes, and with dedication and effort, even greater works they can accomplish. The world is there for man to shape and to make it more pleasing for himself.

Effects:
- bonus to development of landscaping technologies
- large-scale landscaping projects increase mood
- diplomacy malus of -1 with all groups who venerate nature
- malus to stability checks and increased mood loss from natural disasters

Spoiler: Blood Rites - Ideal

Blood is life. It is shed when we come into the world and all too often it is shed when we leave it. To willingly give it to another, be they living or dead, is the highest gift one can make, for the giver offers nothing less then a piece of his life. Never should such a deed be done lightly and gravest misfortune will come to those who befoul such sacred acts.

Effects:
- gain +1 on stability checks
- religion more likely to spread to populations who have no codified rites
- religion less likely to be subsumed by other faiths
- lower risk of betrayal by oath-sworn subjects sharing this value
- factions more resistant to size and influence loss, except when caused by population drop
- lower chance to detect faction plots

Current Factions

Hunters
Description: Be it the Days of Blood, the Reign of Bear and Wolf or the many battles that followed these legendary times, they always revolve around the valiant warriors of the tribe. As the might and greatest food procurers of Greenvalley, the hunters are undeniable the most important and beloved group in the entire tribe.
Size: 2 (Tiny)
Influence: 8 (High)
Mood: 6 (Content)

Main Issues: Glory, Destroying or Subjugating Brushcrest
Secondary Issues: Exploration


Artisans
Description: Having their support chiefly among the miners and artisans of Cliffside, Crackhome and Greenvalley itself, this group is second in prestige only to the hunters and more numerous too.
Size: 4 (Small)
Influence: 6 (Average)
Mood: 6 (Content)

Main Issues: Stability, Ressources
Secondary Issues: Trade


Fishes
Description: Named after a joking answer to the question who they support, the fishers of Laketop have slowly drifted apart from the rest of Greenvalley to form their own distinct group. While wielding little direct influence in Greenvalley, the amount of food they contribute to the valley gives them still some leverage.
Size: 4 (Small)
Influence: 6 (Average)
Mood: 5 (Content)

Main Issues: Peace, Stability
Secondary Issues: Isolationism


Serfs
Description: Once the term for conquered people brought to Greenvalley, these days many others are counted as serfs. They represent the marginalized professions that most of the tribe has little appreciation for.
Size:7 (Large)
Influence: 2 (Negligible)
Mood: 5 (Content)

Main Issues: Safety, Recognition
Secondary Issues: Representation


Settlements

Greenvalley
Location: Clearing in the forest near a river bend.
Size: Large Tribe
Development: Sturdy wattle and daub Village

Stability: 9 / 10
Stability Check Bonus: +4
Mood: 10 / 10
Military Experience: 6 (Elite)
Diplomatic Experience: 4 (Green)
Dominant Factions: Hunters

Spoiler: Map

Minor Villages:
- Crackhome - Limestone Quarry Village
- Cliffside - Obsidian Quarry Village
- Laketop - Fishing Village
- White Halls - Holy Site with Pilgrim Village
- Rivercrossing - Village

Population:

Type	Number	Culture	Faction	Notes
Workers	21	Valley People	Serfs (12)
			Fishes (7)
			Crafters (2)
Hunters	6	Valley People	Hunters (6)	2x Heavy Infantry 2x Regular Infantry 1x Light Infantry 1x Archers
Artisans	4	Valley People	Crafters (4)	4x Basic Goods -> Production

Buildings:

Name	Upkeep	Effect
Holy Site - Faith of Bones	0.6 Production	3 Culture
Pilgrim Village	1 Food	can generate 1 Culture of own or friendly culture, or create 1 own Culture in friendly polity
Stone Wall	0.2 Production	defensive bonuses in combat

Active Trades:
- give 1 Production to White Clans for 1 Dye (Azurite)

Resource Production:

Name	Current	Maximum	Bonus
Gathering	2	-	+30% (Base) +20% (river) +20% (low area utilization) Total: +70%
Hunting	6	-	+30% (Base) +10% (hunting dogs) +20% (forested terrain) Total: +60%
Fishing	5	5	+30% (Base) +20% (Advanced Dugouts) Total: +50%
Orchards	6	6	+30% (Base) +10% (forested terrain) +20% (river) Total: +60%
Cattle Raising	1	2	+30% (Base) +20% (river) Total: +50%
Clay Mining	1	3
Limestone Mining	1	1
Obsidian Mining	3	1
Woodcutting	2	4
Silver Mining	0	0
Unassigned Workers	2	-

Production & Culture:

Name	Task	Production	Culture
Artisans	Basic Good -> Production	+4
Holy Site	Base Income		+3 (Valley People)
Pilgrim Village	spread Valley People Culture in the White Clans
Luxury Goods	1 Unit of Obsidian (basic conversion) 1 Unit of Dyes (Azurite) (basic conversion) 1 Type of Luxury Goods		+2 (Valley People)
Trade Balance		-1
Building Upkeep		-0.8
Pop Upkeep		-1.2
Cultural Ideas Upkeep			-5
Total		+1	+0

Technologies

Spoiler

Warfare
- Throwing Spear
- Thrusting Spear
- Stone Knives
- War-Axes
- Archery

Hunting
- Endurance Hunting
- Ambush Hunting
- Stalk Hunting
- Drive Hunting
- Pit Traps
- Hunting-Dogs

Resource Gathering
- Gathering
- Stone Chipping
- Tanning
- Woodcutting
- Mining

Crafting
- Stoneworking
- Woodworking
- Basketweaving
- Primitive Sewing
- Masonry

Building Materials
- Hide
- Wattle and Daub
- Wood
- Stone
- Limestone Plaster

Transportation
- Dugout canoes
- Advanced Dugouts

Sustenance
- Hunting
- Gathering
- Spear Fishing
- Hook & Line Fishing
- Smoking
- Orchards

Domestication
- Wolves / Dogs
- Goats & Sheep

Miscellaneous
- Snow Shoes
- Winter Coats

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Known World

What should be done in the coming years?

General actions:
[] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
-[] Let the simple workers produce some other resource.
--[] Write-In
-[] Tell the artisans to focus on something else.
--[] Write-In
Currently 2 unassigned Workers.

[] Send the hunters on a raid.
-[] Write-In target.
-[] Write-In what troops to take.

You have 1 Production to spend this turn:
[] Erect menhirs to clearly mark the lands the Valley People claim for all to see. (Cost: 2 Production per map hex)

[] Train some of you workers in other trades. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop)
-[] Train Hunters
--[] Heavy Infantry
--[] Regular Infantry
--[] Light Infantry
--[] Archers
-[] Train Artisans
-[] Train Bone Tenders

[] Increase resource gathering slots.
-[] More orchards (Cost: 1 Production)
-[] More fishing boats (Cost: 1 Production)
-[] More cattle pens (Cost: 1 Production)
-[] Expand the clay pits (Cost: 1 Production)
-[] Expand the logging camps (Cost: 1 Production)
-[] Expand the obsidian mine (Cost: 2 Production)
-[] Expand the limestone quarry (Cost: 2 Production)
-[] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
Note: This just increases the available slots. You still have to assign workers before something is produced.

[] Create a new village to claim more land for the Valley People. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop settled in the new village.)
-[] Write-In which Pops to settle there.
-[] Write-In where to build the village.
-[] Immediately build a palisade around the village. (Cost: 3 Production, new village must have at least 3 Pops)

You have 0 Culture to spend this turn:
[] Attempt to change a Pops culture to Valley People.
-[] Write-In which Pop
-[] Write-In how much Culture to spend.

[] Try to influence a faction.
-[] Write-In which faction.
-[] Write-In goal.
-[] Write-In how much Culture to spend.

Pick an action for the High Council:
[] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.
[] Gain +1 Culture to spend this turn.
[] Send a diplomat to someone.
-[] Write-In target of the visit.
-[] Write-In goal of the visit.
[] Support the White Clans in establishing their first village. (Gives +1 Production to the White Clans)
-[] Offer further assistance: Write-In

Others:
[] (Optional) Change the focus of the Pilgrim Village.
-[] Encourage own culture. (+1 Valley People Culture in Greenvalley)
-[] Encourage White Clans culture. (+1 White Clans Culture in Greenvalley)
-[] Bring Valley People Culture to the White Clans. (+1 Valley People Culture in the White Clans) - Current focus

---

AN: This has to be the first above-average food rolls in quiet a while. Average successes in scouting, so you have a rough idea of the trade network springing up in the lowlands and the map was updated to show this. There may or may not be other trade deals and routes around that you haven't noticed yet.

 

[Satar]

Fantastic that we've got two new pops now, but in many ways we've got to step carefully here lest we kick off turmoil within our political factions. I think we're good for food for now, though.

Here's my preliminary thinking (would love ideas and feedback):

* Progress Silver Mine (-1 Production)
* + 1 Production/Turn (ongoing)
* Reassign 1 Unassigned Worker pop to Gathering
* Reassign 1 Unassigned Worker pop to Ranching
* Send Hunters on Raid (1 Heavy/1 Light/1 Regular) + clansmen auxiliaries-> Goat Peoples
* Council Action (Diplomatic Action) -> Trading Village. Normalize relations with Makar & any party except Brushcrest, see what others are willing to trade for
Azurite, and then approach the clans and see what they're willing to offer for these goods in Azurite.
* Pilgrim Village -> Ideals Upkeep

OK, what I'm thinking is that we can be sort of middlemen between the clans and the lowlanders. The trading village seems to be neutral ground, and we didn't exactly leave on bad terms with the Makarites, so perhaps we can take a few examples of Azurite dye and see what their traders are willing to offer for it. Because the lowlanders have no azurite at all, I'm hoping they're willing to pay more than 1 Production(s) worth of flints, in which case we can sell 1 Azurite for 1.X Flints to lowlanders (having bought them for 1 Production from clansmen) and essentially pocket the .X difference as middlemen. Or else see how much Azurite and flints the clans are willing to offer for seashells. Essentially arbitrage. You know, just that little thing that made the Venetians and the Genoans fantastically wealthy. It's really only possible because the clansmen are deathly afraid of rivers, with only a few daring traders carrying on an irregular trade every now and again.

*So that's one thing. Naturally canceling the Azurite trade (when trading for ourselves) is going to anger our artisans, but I'm confident that this Council action ought to reassure them, and with us nearing completion on the silver mine, speak to future trading to come. At the same time, by not trading with Brushcrest, we avoid majorly pissing off the hunters and learn more about the lowland political situation. Win-win.

Now, for the hunters. We gotta throw them a sop, and keep our military from getting too rusty. Also, I think geopolitically it is in our interest to prevent east-west trade between the nomads and the lowlanders. The last we thing we need is Softhill V. II or the nomads deciding to settle the lands south of Greenvalley. We would be in great peril if we let them put down roots and become a part of the lowlander political constellations. Can you imagine how shitty it would be to be bottled up in the mouth of the valley and unable to move out without proccing a lolander political alliance? The neat thing is that there's some synergy with the Trading Mission, as we could tell our traders to surreptitiously gather info on where the nomads usually are, so that we might best ambush them and drive them off. Finally, unlike the lowlanders, they don't have palisades, or, I suspect, sophisticated systems of military organization, and thankfully fortunately ungodly luckily, they don't have rivers to serve as horses. I'm debating between three or four pops.

All in all, I expect everyone to be a little bit unhappy by the cancellation of the Azurite trade (just for this turn), but the hunters ought be happy that they get to really go to war for once, and the traders should be happy that the Council is connecting Greenvalley, however peripherally, to the lowlander trade networks, if not setting up arbitrage opportunities that effectively let them earn something for nothing. The Fishers are gonna be unhappy, but they're isolationists, so..., yeah. Next turn we'll finish the silver mines, resume the Azurite trade, and hopefully have a much clearer geopolitical picture of the area than we did before, while also not having to worry about fighting a two-flank war in the future re: herdsmen.

 

[sunrise]

The production of Azurite might be interrupted if we stop production for a turn it might be better to keep it going and have the worker work in ranching instead of building a new orchard for them.
The white clans might not like loosing access to tools for a turn as well and go look for another source or try and start production of their own.

 

[Satar]

The production of Azurite might be interrupted if we stop production for a turn it might be better to keep it going and have the worker work in ranching instead of building a new orchard for them.

Click to shrink...

I totally forgot about ranching, shit. OK, we'll move them over to ranching and keep the Azurite trade alive.

 

[Satar]

Here's a rough draft, but I'm worried about tipping off the nomads if we ask about them at the trading village, so maybe we'd want a few members of our party (ones with recent clansmen descent and an understanding of their tongue and mannerisms-- maybe a Bone Tender idk-- to dress up like clansmen and then split off to casually chat with travelers and learn more about the nomads and geopolitical affairs.

Edit: none, nah, ain't happening.

 

[Azel]

Keep in mind that the Goat People have ties to the low-landers. They've been trading with each other for at least 2 generations, so it might have repercussions if you attack them while trying to diplomance other people.

 

[Satar]

Then diplomacy can defenestrate itself, frankly. Trading is nice, arbitrage is nice, but a Goat People - Lowlander alliance is an existential threat to Greenvalley. I don't think any different of the Goat People's trade route now than I did of Lakefort before. Any attempts by others to control or use the lands upriver of the Gentle River violates our bottom line. This tentative alliance, once solidified, will be a speartip held to our very throats. It undoes in totality our foreign policy.

War it is, then.

[] Plan Cry Havoc And Let Slip The Dogs Of War
-[] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks
--[] 1 x Unassigned Worker to Cattle-Raising
--[] 1 x Unassigned Worker to Gathering
-[] Send the hunters on a raid.
--[] Raid the Goat Peoples/Herdsmen
--[] 2 x Heavy, 1 x Light + any interested clansmen hunters in return for a proportional share of the loot
-[] Increase resource gathering slots.
--[] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
-[] Send a diplomat to someone.
--[] Clansmen
--[] Convince clansmen hunters to join us on a great raid!

 

[Profectus]

I'm with the hunters and am voting to raid no matter what.

-[] 1 x Heavy, 1 x Regular (if no clansmen pops join us, else 1 x Archers), 1 x Light + any interested clansmen hunters in return for a proportional share of the loot

Click to shrink...

I think we should bring both units of heavies, looking at the previous battles they are the guys that carry us.

 

[Walker Of Chaos]

In the future unless we unlock pottery soon and settle the lands upriver we'll need to do the menhirs. It seems to be the only way to prevent people from constantly encroaching on our lands.

 

[Satar]

I'm with the hunters and am voting to raid no matter what.

Click to shrink...

Genuinely we don't have any other choice. One or two Softhills built near the old Lakefort or further upriver and (1) we've lost all strategic ability to raid Brushcrest (Brushcrest can still raid us) and (2) we've got a lowlander- Goat People alliance at our very doorstep. All we'll be able to do is sit in our valley and sulk.

In the future unless we unlock pottery soon and settle the lands upriver we'll need to do the menhirs. It seems to be the only way to prevent people from constantly encroaching on our lands.

Click to shrink...

Highkey I feel like this is heavenly punishment for not building a menhir.

 

[sam5447]

Is there a way for use to use a raid against the goat people to become the middle man between them and the lowlanders?

Edit:
We can even use them trading through "our land" (though we had no menhir to show claim) as not only a casus belli but a way to become the middle man on that trade route

 

[Satar]

I'm thinking that maybe we stop working on the Silver Mine this turn and train a new hunter pop instead. Remember, just like the time we sacked Softhill, we ought to expect the Herdsmen to retaliate. We'd be glad to have the extra hunter pop then.

 

[Walker Of Chaos]

Highkey I feel like this is heavenly punishment for not building a menhir.

Click to shrink...

Does feel a bit like we mismanaged our earlier decisions. At least climbing out of this hole should be interesting.

 

[Satar]

Hey guys, assuming that we retrain one pop as a hunter, what kind of army comp do you guys want overall. And what army comp do you want for the raid? I think it's time we went over past battles and figured out what types of units objectively do more for us. Regarding our war planning, we should assume a herdsmen retaliation strike on Greenvalley, and do our planning with that in mind. Mission objectives are to successfully scare the Goat People off our lands and so interrupt trade between them and the lowlanders, and fight off any herdsmen army sent to Greenvalley without losing pops.

Does feel a bit like we mismanaged our earlier decisions. At least climbing out of this hole should be interesting.

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't go that far. We managed to avoid famine (no mean feat given ~2 updates back we were at -4 food), encouraged clansmen settlement (setting the groundwork for our future kingdom), and even grew our population sustainably to 31 pops. Yes, that came at the cost of the lowlanders consolidating, but what we've accomplished so far is at least solid B work.

 

[Profectus]

Hey guys, assuming that we retrain one pop as a hunter, what kind of army comp do you guys want overall. And what army comp do you want for the raid? I think it's time we went over past battles and figured out what types of units objectively do more for us. Regarding our war planning, we should assume a herdsmen retaliation strike on Greenvalley, and do our planning with that in mind. Mission objectives are to successfully scare the Goat People off our lands and so interrupt trade between them and the lowlanders, and fight off any herdsmen army sent to Greenvalley without losing pops.

Click to shrink...

Heavy Infantry should be our focus, especially if we plan on invading their towns later on. A single light infantry should be enough to scout for now and we need a solid front line for archers to do their job.

 

[McLuvin]

Mmm, we push the Goat people away and destroy their connection to the trade network, or we take it further and extract tribute from them.

Then wait a generation, begin to become involved in the trade with the Lowlands become the middleman between the Vassalised Goat People and the Network, as well as the middlemen between the White Clans and the Network, avoid trade with Bushcrest while doing so, and start to establish villages outside of the Valley to acts as Trade Conduits we control and forward defences against possible Bushcrest fuckery.

 

[Walker Of Chaos]

I wouldn't go that far. We managed to avoid famine (no mean feat given ~2 updates back we were at -4 food), encouraged clansmen settlement (setting the groundwork for our future kingdom), and even grew our population sustainably to 31 pops. Yes, that came at the cost of the lowlanders consolidating, but what we've accomplished so far is at least solid B work.

Click to shrink...

True, maybe more accurate to say that our foreign policy has been sub-optimal. Early game we were too aggressive resulting in Bushcrest bunkering up and creating the threat we now face. Then later we were a bit too passive resulting in us now facing Lakefort 2.0 (though to be fair it's hard to figure out how we could have prevented that without starving).

 

[sunrise]

Food can only be traded in limited amounts until the advent of pottery. Without pottery being available in either the sender or receiver of the trade, for every unit the target receives, the sender has to loose two units.

Click to shrink...

It is possible to transport good before pottery so lets claim the area before someone else does:
[X] Plan its our lakeford now
-[X] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks
--[X] 1 x Unassigned Worker to Cattle-Raising
--[X] 1 x Unassigned Worker to Gathering
-[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
--[X] one group of Light Infantry , one Regular Infantry
---[X] attack isolated traders and camps where you can take all of them so non will know who was responsible
-[X] Create a new village to claim more land for the Valley People. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop settled in the new village.)
--[X] at the former site of Lakeford
--[X] one group of hunters(heavy Infantry, one of Gatherers)
-[X] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.

hunters produce 1.6 food and gatherers 1.7 and i suspect both will produce more when working alone from low area use. This might also increase the production of the hunters back home as there are fewer hunters chasing the same amount of game. if we put the increase for the hunters at 10% from less hunters the result will be:

Working at home:
Gathers 1.6(the bonus for low use will decrease)
Hunters 1.6

Working at a new settlements:
Gatherers at home +0.1 due higher low use bonus
hunters +0.6 due low use bonus (+0.1 each)

Gatherers at the new site +0.2(only group high low use bonus
hunters at new site(+0.3) hunting alone vs with 6 groups.
food lost from transport costs 1.
total 0.1+0.6+0.3+0.2-1= 0.2

in the following turns we can move a group of woodcutters + artisans there and move the goods back as those are a lot easier to move then the food needed for them.

[X] Plan its our lakeford now with mine
-[X] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks
--[X] 1 x Unassigned Worker to Cattle-Raising
--[X] 1 x Unassigned Worker to Gathering
-[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
--[X] one group of Light Infantry , one Regular Infantry
---[X] attack isolated traders and camps where you can take all of them so non will know who was responsible
-[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
--[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
-[X] Create a new village to claim more land for the Valley People. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop settled in the new village.)
--[X] at the former site of Lakeford
--[X] one group of hunters(heavy Infantry)
-[X] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.

 

[Kirron 999]

Just a reminder for people, whatever plan we end up making has to involve the continuation of silver mine construction. Our Perseverance ideal means we'll take some big morale/stability checks for not continuing a project, which is not a good situation with the growing internal strife. At the same time we really should start work on the Menhirs very soon, so perhaps we rush finish the silver mine this turn with regular + council actions and then start the Menhirs next turn?

 

[Azel]

Just in case people think otherwise: Menhirs wouldn't have magically stopped the Goat People and the lowlanders from trading. That has socio-economic reasons.

 

[Kirron 999]

[x] Plan Memories Renewed
-[x] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
--[x] Let the simple workers produce some other resources
---[x] 1 Unassigned to Rancher, 1 Unassigned to Gatherer
-[x] Send the hunters on a raid.
--[x] The Herdsmen trade caravans and any of their settlements near the mountains, drive them out of the West.
--[x] 2 Heavies, 1 Light, 1 Archer + Clansmen auxiliaries (for a proportional share of the loot, advertise the opportunity of them joining us via our normal traders and perhaps the bone tenders if they agree, short messages basically saying that we're raiding the rich traders down river, anyone who wants to join is welcome).
-[x] Increase resource gathering slots.
--[x] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
-[x] Council: Gain +1 Production to spend this turn, used to finish the silver mine.

I know this heavily favors the military faction over the others, but we can't be isolationist unless we wish for death, nor at this current juncture can we trade as it simply lets the Goatmen put a stranglehold around our lands. Unless someone can make a valid and effective quick culture war plan for the Goatsmen so their growth is effectively under way to be co-opted into ours via cultural absorption within 10 turns, but that isn't something I could plan out.

Edit- Following discussion in the quest, following changes have been made to the plan: Switched new hunter to new gatherer to help mitigate food shortage/encourage growth and we're instead finishing the silver mine this turn via council action.

 

[Profectus]

[x] Plan Memories Renewed

 

[Just Some Guy]

[x] Plan Memories Renewed