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The Devil's Toys - A Fantasy Civilization Quest

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Overall a very positive turn. I think our domestic priorities are clear: continue building the forum and researching drylands agriculture, and build the engineers guild.

What, if anything, are we going to do about the trolls, though? I am growing increasingly concerned.
 
I'm late to the mix, but my first thoughts:

+ Something or someone is organizing a warparty, making something dangerous into something disastrous.
- Hitting them early, before they're organized, might be worthwhile.

+ Sunrunners backed up by any other magic we've seen looks liable to produce some heady effects. Also Sunrunners are cool af.
- How can we get and/or fund more or more powerful ones?
- Is it possible to multiclass with a SR base?
- Can we have them act as assassins?

+ Diplomacy and making sure we aren't problems while the troll thing is going on will definitely be a priority.
- Deepening ties with dwarves and possibly opening up ties with the nearest trolls?

E: I'd split it something like 3d10 (Hire Sunrunners and Stargazers to coordinate a hit on possible troll leadership), 3d10 (Continue trade and diplomacy with dwarves/see if they have contributions), 5d10 (Muster forces and hit the trolls)
 
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[X]Plan Dwarven Ideas
-[X]6d10 Build Engineering Guild
-[X]3d10 Drylands Agriculture Research
-[X]2d10: Survey the Northern Foothills for further information about the troll threat. Can we use fortifications or traps to keep trolls from our lands? How smart are trolls? What are they scared of?
--[X] Send the Gnollish Rangers to the Northern Foothills as scouts.

A few numbers: 6d10 should finish the engineering guild this turn, on average. I think we'll finish the forum more or less at the same time or earlier with the guild in place. Agriculture should finish in 4 turns, more or less, at this rate.

I know folks don't like my risky foreign ventures, so I stuck to a little scouting, not a full military expedition.
 
I feel I need to point out that the Northern Foothills are not actually a region. I think it's a nickname for the Trollmount Foothills, which definitely has Troll population points.

Also, I'm not too worried about the trolls yet, simply because the Dwarves are between them and us as far as I understand things.

@BeRzErKeR Just to double check, am I correct that the dwarves of Erssenberg are between us and the trolls?
 
I think we should investigate what is agitating the trolls ay some point, preferably soon.
 
Probably, but if nothing else we don't have the forces to do much yet. What I'd like to do is finish the forum and the Drylands Agriculture research, and then start building a Training Ground to unlock Gnoll Infantry while we train another unit of Rangers so we have two of them and they can support each other in any scouting we do.
 
Well, anyway, since BeRzErKeR seems to be offline right now, here is an alternate plan that assumes the dwarves are between us and the trolls.

[X]Plan Engineers and Expansion
-[X]6d10 Build Engineering Guild
-[X]3d10 Drylands Agriculture Research
-[X]2d10: Construct initial settlements at Gorondor Heights.
--[X] Keep the Gnoll Rangers in Gorondor Heights to guard the settlement effort.

Basically, the only real difference is that I don't want to stick the Rangers into the trolls by themselves and risk them being swarmed under by the more numerous trolls, specially when we're still getting established in the Heights. We probably should see about making at least one more militia unit soon, so we can have a defender at both locations and so can send the rangers off without uncovering an area, but I'd still like to get a second ranger unit up before we send them off scouting like that.

Also, maybe once we get the Training Grounds done and produce some Gnoll Infantry, we can send some to the dwarves as mercenaries? After all, the longer the dwarves hold out the longer it is till the trolls can annoy us.
 
I'm fine with leaving the trolls alone if they aren't our immediate neighbors, I just had the impression they were right by us.
 
Happerry said:
I feel I need to point out that the Northern Foothills are not actually a region. I think it's a nickname for the Trollmount Foothills, which definitely has Troll population points.

Also, I'm not too worried about the trolls yet, simply because the Dwarves are between them and us as far as I understand things.

@BeRzErKeR Just to double check, am I correct that the dwarves of Erssenberg are between us and the trolls?
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The Trollmount Foothils region, as a whole, borders the northern edge of the Sear. Erssenberg is actually within that range of hills - offset to the northeast. They are closer to the trolls than you are and have been the focus of aggression so far, but when trolls decide to wander onto the savanna the dwarves of Erssenberg do not particularly block their way.

It should also be noted that in order to settle a region and have it start generating dice and pop growth, what you have to do is move population into it as per the 'Game Systems' post. I assume that's what 'build settlements' means in your plan?
 
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BeRzErKeR said:
It should also be noted that in order to settle a region and have it start generating dice and pop growth, what you have to do is move population into it as per the 'Game Systems' post. I assume that's what 'build settlements' means in your plan?
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Yes.

BeRzErKeR said:
The Trollmount Foothils region, as a whole, borders the northern edge of the Sear. Erssenberg is actually within that range of hills - offset to the northeast. They are closer to the trolls than you are, but when trolls decide to wander onto the savanna the dwarves of Erssenberg do not particularly block their way.
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Hmm. I still think it's most important to colonize the new region first, because we're coming up on population growth triggering in just another two turns or so and we need to get that colonization done so we get two dice when it happens instead of one, but this does greatly increase the important of pumping out another unit or two for the upcoming troll issues (and then whatever is causing the trolls to boil out like this issue.)
 
Suddenly I am much less confused about the mechanics... could we get the info posts threadmarked? I managed to miss them.
 
[X]Plan Engineers and Expansion
-[X]6d10 Build Engineering Guild
-[X]3d10 Drylands Agriculture Research
-[X]2d10: Construct initial settlements at Gorondor Heights.
--[X] Keep the Gnoll Rangers in Gorondor Heights to guard the settlement effort.
 
BeRzErKeR said:
[X] Plan Talking, Building, and Expanding

Year 2
(Population growth in 3 years)

[X] 3d10: Continue building the Central Forum. - 29/75

The Forum grows - though, naturally, the plans grow nearly as rapidly. Every clan of any importance needs to have their input on the design of the grand space, and so progress seems irritatingly slow at times. But still, by year's end the physical area itself is almost completed; cleared, paved, and part of the piping dug and laid for the fountains. Some of the parts need to be imported, which imposes its own delays, but progress is steady if not quick.

[X] 3d10: Continue to Research Agriculture,
-[X]Focusing on low water / high margin crops like spices, and on efficient water storage/transport - 41/100

The major problem with savanna agriculture is that rainfall is far too irregular to depend on, while heat is near-constant and intense. The Sear is, essentially, a hostile environment for most kinds of life; the animals that roam it restrict themselves to known watering holes and range into the open only at limited times of day, at least during the dry seasons. It isn't a true desert - at least, not until you look many miles southward to the Deep Sear, where nothing lives - but it is not friendly to most food crops; rains can be torrential but sporadic for perhaps four months of the year, and that rainwater quickly drains away into the ground. Successful plants are those that can catch as much as possible, and keep it stocked away for long periods to save them during the desolate dry months.

With the full backing of the council, however, a variety of local scholars are making inroads on the problem. While some focus on cash crops - coriander, fennel, and to some extent cotton - others search for ways to maximize the water available to food crops, examining moisture-retentive fruit trees and experimenting with raised gardens on terraced hillsides to trap water where it is most needed.
Research renamed Drylands Agriculture - +10% Population Cap in Plains/Desert/Oasis regions, unlocks Spice Farms

[X] 3d10: Extend diplomatic mission to the dwarves in search of generally better relations, more trade both ways, and politely sound out maybe hiring some dwarven engineers if we want to build anything big and fancy for assistance. [2,5,10] = 1 success

Erssenberg is taking on more of the feeling of a fortress under siege every month. Your diplomatic mission quickly confirms what merchants had already told you; the dwarves are arming, and construction has started on a series of earthen ramparts and defensive ditches. The situation seems to be more serious than you had known.

Still, even in dark times the earthfolk are gracious hosts. Your diplomats exchange presents, make friends, provide an impromptu performance of gnollish lore-song, and generally make themselves welcome. Erssenberg cannot promise much by way of trade expansion - if anything, trade is contracting as the dwarves prepare for conflict - they are happy to assure you that engineering support is certainly available, for suitable fees.

New Structure available; Dwarven Engineering Guild. Costs 30 points, upkeep of -1 die/turn: generates 11 points/turn for building Structures only.

[X] 2d10: Survey the Gorondor Heights to find good locations to build satellite settlements in and generally establish a presence here if possible without causing us to get into a war or something.
-[X] Send the Gnollish Rangers to escort the efforts in Gorondor Heights. (7,8) = 2 successes

The Gorondor Heights are a wide, rolling expanse of hills, valleys, and creekbeds - largely dry in the summer, but flush with life and moisture in spring and fall. During the winter, it even snows on occasion. The rangers have no trouble finding several locations suitable for setting up watch-camps or larger, more permanent settlements - and while not perhaps quite as inviting as the oasis at Uranna's Wells, the Heights have infinitely more room to grow.

Gorondor Heights population cap increases to 7!

Events

- The northern foothills are aswarm with trolls, now. The reports you receive make it sound like a migration. . . or, perhaps, an invasion. The beasts are everywhere, and increasingly pushing into the northern Sear and the fringes of Erssenberg. You've heard of half a dozen clashes between dwarven guards and increasingly-large packs of hunting trolls - clashes which, as often as not, go poorly for the Erssenberg militias. It almost seems as if something is driving these creatures south.

- A few adventurous dams have sponsored a caravan heading south into the Deep Sear again. They've hired a few competent Sunrunners for escort, and seem determined to make yet another attempt to cross the lifeless desert and find whatever - if anything - is on the other side. Public opinion is mixed, but overall negative; these things usually end in tears.
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Didn't we get two successes on the diplomatic task as 10's are worth double? I'm entirely satisfied with the result as is but it's noted as us only having a single success.
 
BeRzErKeR said:
New Structure available; Dwarven Engineering Guild. Costs 30 points, upkeep of -1 die/turn: generates 11 points/turn for building Structures only.
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Hmm, so if the Dwarven settlement is wiped out or something, would this building cease to function, or does it rely on a small population of Dwarves living in our territory that are relatively insulated from whatever happens to the settlement?
 
Mopman43 said:
Hmm, so if the Dwarven settlement is wiped out or something, would this building cease to function, or does it rely on a small population of Dwarves living in our territory that are relatively insulated from whatever happens to the settlement?
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Just for the sake of ease, it and all Structures will continue to function as normal as long as the region it's in is still under your control.
 
Been a long day, so the next update will be coming tomorrow.
BeRzErKeR threw 11 10-faced dice. Total: 61
8 8 2 2 5 5 7 7 1 1 10 10 3 3 10 10 4 4 10 10 1 1
BeRzErKeR threw 4 10-faced dice. Total: 26
8 8 9 9 8 8 1 1
 
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Year 3
  • Threadmarks
    • Year 3
    (Population growth in 2 turns)

    [X]6d10 Build Engineering Guild - Complete!

    The payments required to hire a team of skilled, hardy engineers on a long-term residential contract are steep - not too steep to meet, but steep enough to make some of the council grumble. Still, the long-term value of the idea seems undeniable, and the motion passes on a fairly one-sided vote. The appropriations necessary to fund the contract reduce city incomes by a noticeable percentage, but you feel secure in your decision - especially after the hired workers arrive and, with almost unearthly rapidity, construct their own guild-hall. In no more than four months, the designated area is transformed from bare, unused turf to a long, low, sturdy building with living space for a hundred dwarves, administrative offices, an attached warehouse, and an extremely large ale-cellar. Your gold seems well-spent.

    Dwarven Engineering Guild constructed; +11 points to one Structure per turn! Dice reduced by 1!

    [X]3d10 Drylands Agriculture Research - 58/100

    Terrace farming is emerging as a definite leader in the field; a few older and more agriculturally-minded dams have combined funds and land to cultivate a large, multi-layered terrace farm in the south of the city, and so far results are promising. The hardy grains and jackal-fruit trees they are raising grow fairly well right into the first dry season, with the design of the farm serving to capture and funnel as much rain as possible though the cereal fields and down into the roots of the trees, which draw it from the soil and store it very efficiently; almost nothing is wasted. The technique shows real and undeniable promise.

    [X]2d10: Construct initial settlements at Gorondor Heights - (10,1) = 11 points

    The rangers did their work well, noting several perfect spots for settlement in the Heights. . . and yet, gnolls being gnolls, the adventurous dams who leave for the new lands ignore their advice as often as not. By the end of the year a significant - and growing! - population has settled in the area, though they've not yet started raising even semi-permanent villages. By the end of the year a growing network of paths, landmarks and waystations is beginning to stretch across the gentle hills, drawn through the wilds by a dozen roaming clans.

    Population of Gorondor Heights increases by 2
    Population of Uranna's Wells decreases by 2

    Events

    - A dwarven military expedition drives out into the Trollmounts early in the year - just in time to meet what seems to be the largest wave of migration yet, a horde of massive beasts with, alarmingly, crude weapons and in some cases shields chipped out of entire tree trunks. Fighting is brutal but the dwarves seem to have successfully turned the horde, albeit at a grievous cost in lives. The smoke of massive corpse-pyres can be seen for miles; both sides, by all reports, have been badly bloodied. Unfortunately, this means that more trolls than ever are passing south into the Sear, avoiding the killing grounds near Erssenberg, and the nomads are beginning to come under increasing pressure.

    - For the first time in a generation, an undeniable elf-sighting! Friendly nomads report that a small group of elvish riders - perhaps a dozen, or fewer - left the Farendel near the onset of winter. Riding white fey horses like the imperial messengers of old, they headed south along the edge of the forest for many miles, then turned slightly east and struck out for the Deep Sear. A local clan took exception to their passage, and while reports are fragmentary all agree on one thing; the leader of the elvish band wielded a sword that burned like a mote of the sun itself, and no-one could stand against him. The forest-folk broke through all attempts to waylay them and vanished into the southern desert; hopefully, never to be seen again.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Well, given the troll movements going on, it sure as hell seems like we should build up the military a bit.

    @BeRzErKeR, which of our two territories are closer to where the trolls are coming from?
     
    BeRzErKeR said:
    - A dwarven military expedition drives out into the Trollmounts early in the year - just in time to meet what seems to be the largest wave of migration yet, a horde of massive beasts with, alarmingly, crude weapons and in some cases shields chipped out of entire tree trunks. Fighting is brutal but the dwarves seem to have successfully turned the horde, albeit at a grievous cost in lives. The smoke of massive corpse-pyres can be seen for miles; both sides, by all reports, have been badly bloodied. Unfortunately, this means that more trolls than ever are passing south into the Sear, avoiding the killing grounds near Erssenberg, and the nomads are beginning to come under increasing pressure
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    How much do we know about the situation in the Sear?
     
    Definitely should see about starting to train a new unit of Militia this turn. And once we finish with the Central Forum we should do the Training Field next for sure.
     
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