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Tales of History - A Civ-Builder Quest

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bigbow said:
Furthermore, bears are our competitors. Every animal it eats is another batch of calories not making it into our pop growth. So unless we could tame it somehow, the sooner it dies the better, which means a lot of pit traps I suppose, we're a freaking low way from Bronze let alone Iron.
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The bear shall be delicious when we do finally get it.
 
Or we could, you know, figure out where it generally ranges and avoid those areas?

It's far more productive for our hunters to go and kill animals that they can with spears (like elk or rabbits) instead of wasting a bunch of time and energy attempting to kill something with pitfall traps that likely won't even be going near our camp unless we taunt it.
 
Raichu1972 said:
Or we could, you know, figure out where it generally ranges and avoid those areas?

It's far more productive for our hunters to go and kill animals that they can with spears (like elk or rabbits) instead of wasting a bunch of time and energy attempting to kill something with pitfall traps that likely won't even be going near our camp unless we taunt it.
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Productive, maybe. But I want to eat that bear.
 
Well, my dishwasher just had boldly decided that it could also clean my kitchen floor while it's at it. I have threatened to stuff a bear into it, if it does that again, and it seems like it will now behave.

Back to writing.
 
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Settling Down - 2
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Practicality
    -[X] [Hunters] Tell them to go with the gatherers and find a way to make new weapons. (Might find a way to make new weapons.)
    -[X] [Action] Look at the trees and see if you can make new spears from their branches. (Might find a way to make new weapons.)
    -[X] [Action] Look for a way to defend the camp or at least make it easier to detect the beast if it comes. (Might find something.

    Food situation?
    46 -> Stable, no reserves

    Tribe mood?
    54 -> Stable, but still spooked and worried by the events.

    Hunter mood?
    72 + 10 (Boldness) + 20 (Told to arm themselves) = 102 -> Driven by the desire to feast on the flesh of their enemy.

    The mood in the tribe was tense. The idea of a beast that could effortlessly tear through their hunters worried many, yet they also knew that panic would not improve the situation. Ideas were bandied around at the campfire, weighted, and dismissed. At first many advocated to let the remaining hunters rest and mourn and while they seemed to calmly accept that notion, others didn't want to order them to sit around and brood. Their defeat had been crushing, but they should rather spend their time to arm themselves again. The beasts of the wilds would not grant them a period to rest.

    And so, from the next morning onward, the hunters marched with the gatherers, tasked to find new spears for themselves. Some of the elders joined them, seeking to study the trees and what may be wrought from them, while others stayed with the matrons to figure out how to defend their camp.

    Defense Building:
    24 -> Ideas, but nothing practical.

    At first, they where at a loss. Never before had the tribe stayed in one place when danger loomed and likewise, never had they felt the need to build anything that could withstand efforts to tear it down. Stone seemed like a good thing to make something sturdy, but they could hardly carve apart a mountain like a goat and drape it around their camp, and loose stones would just tumble down on their own. As the elders came back with parts of the trees to study them in peace, they took some of the larger pieces and tried ramming them into the ground. If a tree was sturdy when firmly rooted in the earth, then they could just put down their own tiny trees and make them too close together for something to pass through.

    The first attempt failed miserably, the wood easily pushed over, so they tried to dig holes so that they sat deeper, but that meant that they needed longer pieces and those were rare. The only thing that came to mind would be to cut down entire trees, though that would mean even more effort and they would never finish their task before winter, not even with the whole tribe helping. It was then that those trying to build their tiny forest came upon what the others had done with the small twigs and branches.

    Trying to carve wood:
    71 -> Learned Simple Woodcarving and adapted Basket-weaving techniques

    Synergy roll with Defense Building:
    84 -> Learned Wattle Weaving

    While they had toiled, the elders had begun to carve apart twigs and branches in an attempt to make new spears. It seemed like they had just as much problems with that thing, though they steadily got closer to something usable. While the first few attempts were too weak, too short or oddly shaped, they learned a lot from their mistakes and their latest ones already begun to look like a spear. What pieces they had ruined were not allowed to go to waste, though. Some women had taken the more pliable parts and begun to weave some baskets from them to replace those that had torn on their journey. Their work too looked crude at first, yet they were much sturdier then anything they had ever made from the grass of the stepper.

    A quick debate broke out over how many long and thick branches they might be able to get and how many long twigs. Luckily, some of the trees near the water had twigs that were longer then a man, yet thin and soft to bend them easily. There was some confusion as the women happily declared that they would weave a basket around their camp, though they paid it no mind and simply elected to show them what they meant. It still took the better part of the a moon to finish their odd idea, but at the end, they had a sturdy ring of woven twigs, anchored to a few dug in branches around their home. It was not that high and given the strength of the beast, it might even break it entirely, though the tribe still slept a lot better after it was finished. It would keep out the small animals at least and even the large beast would take a bit and cause a ruckus when breaking it. At least they would no longer be caught unaware.

    Gained Wattle Fence

    What do the hunters do?
    78 -> Great Progress at something

    As for the hunters, they were not idle either, though they played they didn't show the tribe their efforts at first. On the first few days, they stuck to the gatherers, prodding and pocking everything in the valley and kept an eye on the efforts of the elders, but then they started sneak off and do something else. A few could be spotted near a cliff face some distance from the camp now and then, though try as they might, nobody would get an answer to what they were doing there. They wanted to make it a surprise to the tribe and reveal what they had wrought to all of them, once they were done. A few people were worried by their strange behavior, though they looked a lot less downcast then before, so they were allowed to keep their secret for now.


    The whole tribe had gathered this evening and sat in a great semi-circle around the fire, curious what the hunters had been doing. Today they had announced that they had finished their task and so the gathering had been arranged. Some of them were already present and sat among the rest of the tribe, eager to see the fruits of their labor revealed. Then they came, carrying a long bundle between them that they sat down by the fire.

    "The great beast has defeated us." The leader of the group spoke with a solemn air. They called him Wind for how fast he could run and many knew how much it shamed him that this prized skill was why he had survived the disastrous hunt. "The beast is strong and tough. So hardy that our weapons broke against his hide and so brutal that it could tear a man apart with but a single swipe of its claws."

    A quiet murmur passed through the people. They all had heard the story by now and how gruesome the fight had been. Yet the man was not done with his speech. "But can many a beast slay a man? The bite of the great cats has felled many of us, yet they flee when our spears hit them. The antelopes can break a limb with just a kick, yet we dine on them and wear their skins. The beast can be slain just like them, if we just use the right tools."

    With this he opened the first bundle, showing strange blades that none of the people had ever seen before. The shape was the same as those they sometimes traded from other tribes, but they were not a dull grey. They looked as if one had carved them out of the darkest night. Gleaming in the light of the fire as if the stars had been trapped in them, as the blades were torn out of the heavens. He took one of those blades and turned to two of the other hunters. Between them, they held one of the small animals from the forest, dead already, but not yet taken apart. With a quick strike, the blade came down and the carcass was cut apart, even the spine unable to even slow the blade.

    More murmuring followed and a few stepped forwards to see those blades for themselves. Not even the best blades they ever traded for could have matched that feat. Though as the blades were passed around, one of the elders shook his head and rose to his feet. "They are the finest weapon that I ever saw Wind, I will give you that, but even if they slay the beast, how many more of you shall we have to mourn for this revenge? None doubt your skill, yet if not the first blow brings it low, it will break your spears and bodies just the same. I'm grateful for what you made for us, though I must ask you to stay your hand. Don't lay down your life just for hatred's sake."

    To call him cowed by those words would be an overstatement, but they gave Wind pause and after a long while, he nodded in acknowledgement. Though he was not done yet and had the others unwrap the long package. Three spears it held, longer then any the tribe had ever seen, much longer even then Wind was tall, as they saw when he took one and held it. "I do not seek to die on the beasts claws and neither does any other of us. Yet the beast might give us no choice and we would rather see it dead than wait for it to claim any more of our kin."

    He twisted his grip on the spear, now holding it with both hands near the center and one of the other hunters nearly got hit by the blunt end as he swung it around. "We made these spears not for throwing, but for thrusting. We will encircle the beast just like before, but this time we will not strike as one. One of us will attack it from behind and when it turns around, he will flee and another hunter will attack it from behind again. Some of us will stay father away and replace those that run, while they can take a new spear. The beast will never come close enough to strike us and all we need is enough spears to see the deed done."

    The camp grew quiet at his words. Most were not hunters and could thus not truly judge his proposal, but those elders who could seemed not unconvinced. It would be wasteful to see so many spears shattered, that was true, but trees were many in this green valley. But there was still the risk that his cunning plan would not pan out and even if it did, they might loose another hunter to a single mistake.

    What did the tribe think of Wind's plan?
    [] [Hunters] Allow them to proceed. They will make enough of the new spears for their plan and slay the beast.
    [] [Hunters] Ask them to let go of their wrath and no longer try to slay the beast. (Might fail. A few might slip off to do it with a smaller party.)
    [] [Hunters] Write-In

    What would the rest of the tribe do in the coming moon?
    Available Actions: 2
    Food Situation: Stable (Gathering only)
    Reserves: None
    Time until winter: 4 moons
    Simple defenses build and tribe on the way to re-arming: +40 to tribe mood roll next turn

    [] [Action] Start fishing.
    [] [Action] Put more effort into gathering to create a stockpile.
    [] [Action] Make new tools from the strange stones for the entire tribe. (Bonus to Gathering efficiency.)
    [] [Action] Train more hunters to bring them back up to full strength. (Malus to Gathering due to redirected manpower. Eliminates malus for future hunting actions.)
    [] [Action] Try to figure out a way to fell entire trees.
    [] [Action] Look into replicating the methods to preserve food you have heard about from other tribes.
    [] [Action] Explore your surroundings further.
    -[] Follow the river into the valleys.
    -[] Go towards the sunset.
    -[] Explore the mountains.
    -[] Write-In

    AN: Regardless of what the hunters do, they will be busy re-arming themselves next turn. Afterwards, you get a 3rd action and a few additional options.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] [Hunters] Allow them to proceed. They will make enough of the new spears for their plan and slay the beast.
    [X] [Action] Start fishing.
    [X] [Action] Make new tools from the strange stones for the entire tribe. (Bonus to Gathering efficiency.)
    How many actions do we have?
     
    [X] [Hunters] Allow them to proceed. They will make enough of the new spears for their plan and slay the beast.

    [X] [Action] Look into replicating the methods to preserve food you have heard about from other tribes.

    [X] [Action] Make new tools from the strange stones for the entire tribe. (Bonus to Gathering efficiency.)

    It's ever too early to start preserving. We don't know how bad winters get here
     
    I'd expect that either 1. building up food reserves through extra gathering actions now or 2. combining gathering with getting hunting and fishing up to speed should be enough to get us through the winter; given that we have only four months left, it's probably a choice between those as we'd need relatively advanced food preservation to be able to stock up on fish or meat. I favor the second, because that way we will establish a broader set of food options should future incidents endanger one of them.

    Based on that, I'd propose that this turn we improve gathering (and better tools should be a basis for future improvements) and retrain our hunters, and then move towards fishing and other improvements. I don't think we should risk another bear hunt; obsidian spears still aren't going to kill it quickly, and it will take hours of bleeding the bear to kill it but only a slip-up to lose even more hunters. We might get a new Idea if we kill the bear, but I don't think it's worth the risk when we have to prepare for winter.

    [X] Plan Rebuild first

    Ghostdevil said:
    How many actions do we have?
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    Two because the hunters are spending one re-arming themselves.
     
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    So, having no knowledge IC of bears, and in my case very little OOC, how about that:
    We know the thing is a really big animal.
    We know in Winter food is getting slimmer.
    Maybe suggest the hunters to try take on the bear at the end of the winter/start of spring when he should be at his relativly weakest?
     
    [X] Plan: It's Bear Season.
    -[X] [Hunters] Allow them to proceed. They will make enough of the new spears for their plan and slay the beast.
    -[X] [Action] Start fishing.
    -[X] [Action] Train more hunters to bring them back up to full strength. (Malus to Gathering due to redirected manpower. Eliminates malus for future hunting actions.)
     
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    [X] Plan Rebuild first
    -[X] [Hunters] Ask them to wait until more hunters are trained, at least until the winter has come and gone. Loosing even more to the beast now might spell the end for the tribe when the plants grow scarce in the cold.
    --[X] Also the bear might be weakened from the lack of food over the winter, making for an easier kill.
    -[X] [Action] Start fishing.
    -[X] [Action] Train more hunters to bring them back up to full strength. (Malus to Gathering due to redirected manpower. Eliminates malus for future hunting actions.)

    Pretty self-explanatory.
    If we loose the institutional knowledge of the hunters right now we might be doomed.
    Fishing is mostly to cover for the Gathering-malus.
     
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    Artemis1992 said:
    So, having no knowledge IC of bears, and in my case very little OOC, how about that:
    We know the thing is a really big animal.
    We know in Winter food is getting slimmer.
    Maybe suggest the hunters to try take on the bear at the end of the winter/start of spring when he should be at his relativly weakest?
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    It would sit ill with them to led the man-killer beast roam freely all the while, though it definitely has better odds of succeeding then trying to have them abandon their revenge completely.
     
    [X] Plan Rebuild first
    -[X] [Hunters] Ask them to wait until more hunters are trained, at least until the winter has come and gone. Loosing even more to the beast now might spell the end for the tribe when the plants grow scarce in the cold.
    -[X] [Action] Start fishing.
    -[X] [Action] Train more hunters to bring them back up to full strength. (Malus to Gathering due to redirected manpower. Eliminates malus for future hunting actions.)
     
    What did the tribe think of Winds plan?
    [] [Hunters] Allow them to proceed. They will make enough of the new spears for their plan and slay the beast.
    [] [Hunters] Ask them to let go of their wrath and no longer try to slay the beast. (Might fail. A few might slip off to do it with a smaller party.)
    [] [Hunters] Write-In

    Pretty obvious choices here. The hunters obviously have a very good tactical plan which will likely give some bonuses to the check, but aside from just considering the ramifications of taking the risk of the fight (and getting the pelt), there are cultural connotations as well. Killing the bear further supports boldness, and can evolve it into vengeful impulsiveness. Staying their hand will fight boldness and support a more cautious approach to things. As just above, we can focus the action more on the hunting aspect than the vengeful one, which I prefer.

    What would the rest of the tribe do in the coming moon?
    Available Actions: 2
    Food Situation: Stable (Gathering only)
    Reserves: None
    Time until winter: 4 moons
    Simple defenses build and tribe on the way to re-arming: +40 to tribe mood roll next turn

    [] [Action] Start fishing.
    [] [Action] Put more effort into gathering to create a stockpile.
    [] [Action] Make new tools from the strange stones for the entire tribe. (Bonus to Gathering efficiency.)
    [] [Action] Train more hunters to bring them back up to full strength. (Malus to Gathering due to redirected manpower. Eliminates malus for future hunting actions.)
    [] [Action] Try to figure out a way to fell entire trees.
    [] [Action] Look into replicating the methods to preserve food you have heard about from other tribes.
    [] [Action] Explore your surroundings further.
    -[] Follow the river into the valleys.
    -[] Go towards the sunset.
    -[] Explore the mountains.
    -[] Write-In

    Stable food, no reserves, ~4 turns to wintering.

    Fishing provides a steady source of food, potentially even in winter with a strong enough river flow.
    I'd personally avoid effort into gathering, as while it's most likely to succeed it's also most likely to start depleting the area we live in.
    Making obsidian tools for the tribe is an effective way to buff more than just gathering efficiency, but it might take a while (it took us a month to make 4 weapons).
    Training new hunters will fix the hunter action issue earlier and combine well with a late-planned attack on the bear, but shouldn't be done without doing a food action as well (or, alternatively, making obsidian tools for the entire tribe as a combo action).
    Felling trees combines well with more advanced tools, but isn't a pressing issue.
    Food preservation is a tempting grab this early, but there's probably decent odds of failure, and it's kind of pointless unless we have a food economy to preserve.
    Exploration is risky, potentially very rewarding.

    All told...

    [X] Plan In Force
    -[X] [Hunters] Ask them to wait until more hunters are trained, at least until the winter has come and gone. Loosing even more to the beast now might spell the end for the tribe when the plants grow scarce in the cold.
    -[X] [Action] Make new tools from the strange stones for the entire tribe. (Bonus to Gathering efficiency.)
    -[X] [Action] Train more hunters to bring them back up to full strength. (Malus to Gathering due to redirected manpower. Eliminates malus for future hunting actions.)

    Cancel the gathering malus by raising efficiency, cancel the hunting malus for hunting, and put off the bear problem for later (with lots more of those fancy weapons).
     
    Powerofmind said:
    Making obsidian tools for the tribe is an effective way to buff more than just gathering efficiency, but it might take a while (it took us a month to make 4 weapons).
    Click to expand...
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    That was mostly because they had to figure out the process and they did make a dozen useful knives on top of the three spears. They knew from descriptions how to make flint weapons, but never done it themselves and Obsidian does handle a bit differently. Further use of the material will go much smoother and endanger less fingers.
     
    I've added a list of known technologies and concepts to the front page.

    Ultimately, it makes more sense to stay with random innovations over letting you guys develop technology as if this was a computer game.
     
    [X] Artemis1992

    Sensible, just what the tribe needs right now.

    Not sure if Obsidian Tools is better than training new Hunters though.

    They both benefit from starting early, I think Obsidian Tools might be slightly better but as long as we do that next turn we should be good.
     
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