The Spirit of Civilization

[notbirdofprey]

A smaller granary is built in Huntcamp, built in the same style as the one in Pitside, although the construction of this one is far less fractious – it is built on the edge of the huts, far enough away that no fire will spread easily. It is only half the size of the original, and the ceiling is lower, but it is still an impressively larger building. However, while its completion is celebrated, it is overshadowed by the completion of the shrine to the spirits.
Standing half the height of a man, the shrine is made from a carefully stacked pile of rocks, peeled and smoothed branches pounded in the ground around them and then draped in colorful woven mats. On top are painstakingly smoothed pieces of greenstone and amber and whitestone. The top is slightly sloped so that things left on it will eventually slide into the Pit. A grand celebration is held once it is completed, the granary partly emptied, beer drunk by the pot. Quite a few end up sick from it, but less than before, as quite a few have found reliable ways to make it. The people of Huntcamp prove jealous of this celebration, and throw another, taking as an excuse the first successful crossing of the river without touching the water. A pair of young hunters had tied some fallen branches together until there were enough to keep them afloat, then used two more to push themselves across. It was slow, and hard enough that they chose to let the raft drift away rather than use it to cross back, but it was good. After all, the People couldn't let the River-Folk be better than them.

While trade continued the same as it always did with the River-Folk, bands were sent off with goods to the Forest-Folk, returning with amber and spirit-berries and various curiosities and strange plants with strange flavors. Another band went off to find the people of the swamp and see what they had to trade.

Meanwhile, more huts were built, although the People had begun to cease needing new ones as the rate of birth slowed slightly, and the size of huts increased. Families began staying together for longer, keeping their large huts in good condition instead of building and maintaining multiple smaller ones. The time saved was spent making tools and pots, and after the survivors of the swamp returned home, spears and axes honed to cut through the flesh of men and monsters alike.

Hella had been walking for what felt like days, or possibly years. Her feet ached more than they ever had before. She glanced to her left and right, where her cousins followed. They had been trying to find the swamp people, but it was hard. The Forest-Folk told you where to meet them, the River-Folk had their villages, but they had seen neither hide nor home of the ones who made their home here. Perhaps they had all left…perhaps they should turn back.

She was just about to tell her companions that when something leaped from a nearby tree and struck the man behind her. It was covered in brown striped skin, and three twisting horns rose up from its head. In its hands were long black knives that slashed through his skin. She clubbed it over the head with the base of her spear, knocking it off, and then she stabbed it through the throat. The monster was wearing a mask of some kind, hiding its face except for two dull black eyes. She crouched down to check on the man when a rock through the air above her, then a dozen swamp people charged them, hurling stones and waving spears.

Three of the People fled along with Hella, leaving behind the bodies of those they killed and the bodies of their friends. Hella was bleeding from several wounds, and the swamp people were behind them, two more of the masked, horned monsters leading them. She made her choice, commanded her companions to keep running, and then charged, calling upon the spirits for aid. Whether they answered her, no one alive today can say.

When the survivors reached Pitside, bare days after the completion of the shrine, the reaction was…significant. There would be war and fighting, to avenge the losses and protect the People from more such monsters. But the People, led by the elders and the spirit-talkers, decided that they would also…

[] invoke the spirits for war (-1 Stability, -1 Culture, +2 Martial, gain value)
[] call upon the other civilizations for aid (-1 Stability, -1 Diplomacy, +2 Martial, gain value)
[] unify themselves in preparation for war (+1 Stability)

Spoiler: Civ Sheet

Provinces (1): Pitside
Settlements (2): Pitside (Major Granary, Moderate Shrine), Huntcamp (Moderate Granary)

Food (10): 7
Building (4): 1
Crafting (4):1
Materials (5): 2
Luxuries (5): 2

Diplomacy (2): 1
Martial (2): 1
Culture (4): 2
Knowledge (1): 0

Legitimacy: 3
Stability: 4
Power: 6
Wealth (0): 0
Independence: 3
Hierarchy: 2
Prestige: 0

Early Ancient Tribal Council
Max Independence: 12
Min Independence: 2
Admin Strain Free Provinces: 2
Admin Strain Free Settlements: 3
Admin Penalties: Decrease Player Action Cap by 1 Major Action
Government Player Action Cap: 2 Major Actions + 2 Moderate Actions
Ruler Actions: 1 Moderate Action
Government Province Actions: 1 Moderate Action
Passive Policies: 1 per Province
Subordinates: 1
Special: Wealth Cap can never be more than 5
Special: Excess Wealth will be converted to Luxury
Special: Independence will trend towards the max value each turn it is not changed by an event until it reaches ¾ of the max.

Early Ancient Informal Barter Economy
Temp Econ Damage: Event, 0
Wealth Generation: 0
Passive Policies: 0
Additional Actions: None
Special: N/A

Diplomacy
River-Folk – Friendly, Friendly, Infrequent
Forest-Folk – Good, Friendly, Uncommon
Swamp-Folk – Hostile, Probably Hostile, Very Rare


Subordinates
N/A

Values & Legacies

Spoiler: Values

Incautious Curiosity: There are always some who prefer to find what something does by sticking it in their mouths. Such courage can be laudable. Potentially dangerous, but laudable. Pros: Increased chance of successful innovation. Cons: increased risk from innovations.

Megaprojects
N/A

Factions

Spoiler: Factions and Dissatisfied Factions

N/A
N/A

Technologies

Spoiler: General

Agriculture
Hunting
Ambush Hunting
Prey Driving
Perseverance Hunting
Gathering
Fishing
Net Fishing
Fire
Materials
Bone
Stone
Wood
Clay
Reeds
Tools
Spears
Axes
Knives
Scrapers
Digging Sticks
Sickles
Slings
Pestles and Mortars
Bags and Packs
Crafting
Earthenware Pottery
Basketmaking
Weaving
Construction
Mud Bricks
Hide Tents
Frame Roofs
Food
Beer
Porridge
Food Preservation
Primitive Food Storage
Primitive Meat Smoking

Spoiler: Social & Administrative

Gambling
Numbers
Zero
Administration
Tally Marks
Clay Tablets
Diplomacy
Gifts
Negotiations
Trade
Leadership
Elders
Meetings
Arts
Vocal Storytelling
Pottery
Decorative Weaving
Economy
Bargaining
Religion
Spirits
Priests
Sacrifice
Prayer
Oral Traditions
Shrines

Spoiler: Military

Weapons
Spears
Slings
Thrown Spears
Axes
Knives
Clubs
Wrestling
Theory
Raiding
Ambushing
Organization
Hunting Bands

Spoiler: Magic

Natural Phenomena
Magical Vapors
Creatures
Stonespitters
Traditions
Sprit-Talking

Trade and Goods

Spoiler: Trade

River-Folk
Greenstone – Receiving, Dominant, Luxury
Whitestone – Giving, Dominant, Luxury
Pelts – Giving, Dominant, Luxury
Weavings – Giving, Significant, Luxury
Amber – Giving, Dominant, Luxury
Total: +4 Luxury, +3 Luxury Cap

Forest-Folk
Spirit Berries – Receiving, Dominant, Material
Amber – Receiving, Dominant, Luxury
Weavings – Giving, Dominant, Luxury
Greenstone – Giving, Dominant, Luxury

Total: -1 Luxury, +1 Material Cap

Spoiler: Goods

Wood
Hides
Bones
Stone
Flint
Meat
Grain
Berries
Greenstone
Whitestone
Powderstone (chalk)
Dirtstone (clay)
Amber
Spirit-Berries

 

[notbirdofprey]

So I have finally regained the energy I need to do this sort of thing, but in the process I have completely revamped the system.

We can try and continue from this thread with the new rules and stats, or I can start a new one. Which do you guys prefer?

 

[notbirdofprey]

The People knew war for a season and more, such as it was. Young men and women would depart from their fires and huts, travel to the shrine, and ask for the blessings of the spirits. Then they would travel for many days and nights to hunt the monsters of the swamp. Sometimes they succeeded and returned with spears stained with blood. Sometimes they failed, and returned empty-handed. Sometimes they never returned at all. But Pitside and Huntcamp were never threatened, nor the little gatherings of huts in between. The war was simply a different sort of hunting to them. Even so, the People took to setting watches on the edge of their settlements, just in case.
Gradually the raids grew less frequent. Honor had been satisfied, and there was no profit in this. The swamp stank and the mud itched and it was just unpleasant to go too. And so the first war of the People ended and passed to memory.
Meanwhile, another child was born with strange gifts, another child blessed by the spirits. His eyes were black as the shadow, with no pupil or white. It made him unsettling to look upon, and few were the children who would play with him, but the Speakers of the Spirits were quick to take him in and offer him a place amongst them, and he proved sure of hand and swift of mind and skilled in reading the sign of the spirits, rising higher and higher in their ranks.
And one day, as he tended the sacred fire, he asked of the spirits a question and the smoke answered. He wanted to know if the swamp monsters were a threat to the People, and the smoke swirled and formed a thousand and one shapes, telling a story long and strange to the eyes of others, but as simple as guessing which direction a stick will go in the river to him.
He asked other questions of the spirits as well, how to make their farms better and make better offerings to the spirits and if the River-People and mountain demons would be a threat to them as well, but in these he received only the faintest of hints. And so the lives of the People went on, unchanged, even if this spirit-touched man received even more awe and fear from others, even from the other Speakers.

Total of 5 actions, no more than 4 can be assigned to Pitside and no more than five can be assigned to Huntcamp. Identify which settlement they are taking place at.

[] Hold Feast (+Mood, - Food)
[] Focus on Farming (+++Food)
[] Focus on Hunting (+Food)
[] Send Expedition (Where To?)
[] Pursue an Idea: Better Farms (-Food)
[] Pursue an Idea: Symbols of the Spirits (-Crafting)
[] Pursue an Idea: Bonds of Teaching (-Crafting)
[] Pursue an Idea: Fishing Tricks (-Crafting, -Gathering)
[] Make Offerings (-Luxury, +Mood)
[] Construct A Shrine (-Building, -Crafting)
[] Construct a Granary (-Building, -Crafting)
[] Focus on Building (-Gathering, +Building)
[] Focus on Tools (-Gathering, ++Crafting)
[] Focus on Materials (++Gathering)

Spoiler: Civ Sheet

Food Stability: 7 (10, -3)
Population: 5
Crafting Capacity: 3
Gathering Capacity: 4
Building Capacity: 3
Luxury: 4 (-3 from pop, -3 from trade, +6 from trade)
Mood: 4
Prestige: 1

Spoiler: Settlements

Pitside (Granary, Shrine to the Spirits, Spirit Pit, Mud Brick Shelters, Fields. Obedience of 4.)
Huntcamp (Granary, Mud Brick Shelters, Fields. Obedience of 3.)

Spoiler: Values

Incautious Curiosity: There are always some who prefer to find what something does by sticking it in their mouths. Such courage can be laudable. Potentially dangerous, but laudable. Pros: Increased chance of successful innovation. Cons: increased risk from successful innovation.

Spoiler: General Technologies

Agriculture
Hunting
Ambush Hunting
Prey Driving
Perseverance Hunting
Gathering
Fire
Materials
Bone
Stone
Wood
Tools
Spears
Axes
Knives
Scrapers
Digging Sticks
Sickles
Slings

Spoiler: Social & Administrative Technologies

Numbers
Diplomacy
Gifts
Negotiations
Trade
Leadership
Elders
Arts
Vocal Storytelling
Economy
Bargaining
Religion
Spirits

Spoiler: Military Technologies

Weapons
Spears
Slings
Thrown Spears
Axes
Knives
Clubs
Organization
Hunting/Raiding Parties
Keeping Watch

Spoiler: Magic Knowledge

Natural Phenomena
Magical Vapors
Creatures
Stonespitters
Spells
Very Crude Smoke Divination

 

[notbirdofprey]

In Huntcamp a shrine was built. It had been a matter of debate among their council, for they had no pit to build around, no place where the speaking of the spirits was clear and obvious. They tried to dig a pit down to the place of the spirits, but the pit kept collapsing before they got deep enough. Some among them began to ponder if there was a better way to dig, or what could be done with the excess dirt, but such flights of fancy were dismissed in favor of practical considerations.

Lila looked up at the shrine he and his siblings had finally built and smiled. It was as grand as the one in Pitside, he knew that for certain, for he had been the one to travel there and ask the Korin the Spirit-Blessed, Korin-Smoke-Talker if the spirits approved. The spirits approved mightily, with the Sacred Leaf growing around the shrine they had built using an enormous stump as an altar. There was no one to take the Sacred Leaf right now, but a Spirit-Talker was coming to help them keep the spirit's favor, a young apprentice of Korin himself, an honor the people of Huntcamp appreciated.

(Shrine built, +1 Mood, +1 Huntcamp Obedience. New ideas unlocked.)

The farms of the People were in many ways their pride and joy, for the vast, flat fields were fertile and well-marked and provided great sheafs of corn that fed them and made their beer. Most of the People worked in their fields day in and day out, sowing and reaping, smashing the grain to separate the corn, then grinding it into flour for their meals or soaking it for their beer. One young man who was rather reckless with his leftovers noticed that they seemed to make the plants healthier if he left them on the field before the planting. Another found a sort of bean that took well to growing during the winters, when it was too cold for wheat. Their efforts went unnoticed for now, but a few saw the extra food their labor provided and thought it worth imitating, and the practice began to slowly spread.

(+4 Food, Progress has begun on Chickpeas and Fertilizer)

While the People took justifiable pride in the size and productivity of their farms, they took just as much pride in the works of their hands, in the pots they shapes and the weavings they made and the wood they carved and most important of all, the tools they made. Many of these were made offerings to the spirits alongside whitestone and greenstone carvings and clay figurines, for they were seen as just as worthy. Most people knew something of every craft, few were those who truly dedicated themselves to one, and while each was highly skilled they rarely had the inclination to teach another their crafts. But Korin spoke against it, saying that the Spirits were displeased when knowledge was lost, that the Spirits desired songs and truth and skill to be remembered, and while some began to try and recall the stories of old, others sought to keep knowledge remembered. Including the most skilled crafters, who taught some they found worthy among the young.

(Progress begun on Apprentices, Progress has begun on Oral History)

Fishing was not the least respected task among the People, but it was somewhat looked down upon. The barbarian River-People fished, and stories said that the monsters of the Swamp fed upon nothing but fish and blood. Still, it would not do to let the People be lesser than others, and so there were always a few youths who would seek ways to gather more fish and receive no censure for it from the others.
Hela was one such youth. Though her father half-heartedly insisted she help with the farm, she snuck away to the river whenever she got the chance, even traveling to the huts of the River-People a time or two to see how they did. She used a fishing spear like they did, something which had been tried by the People many times before, but she split the point of hers into two with a wedge of stone and did not aim where she saw the fish, but just before it. Every day she returned home with a few fish, but she sought more and begun to try and dig out a pool to keep fish in, but the edges kept collapsing.

(Spearfishing Developed, new idea unlocked.)

The years of plenty wore on, the Spirit-Speakers growing more influential under the leadership of Korin even as he aged and grew weary. Using the smoke to learn truth was still a difficult art, but a few of his apprentices could manage it. The lands between Huntcamp and Pitside were filled with fields and little clusters of homes, and some had begun to spread across the Great River, but few could manage the amount of work to carve out new farms, build homes, gather stone and wood, and make tools without the near-constant support of their neighbors, and most of these efforts failed, some dying in the process.
These efforts led to a subtle slowdown that Korin found to be the cause of many problems, and so he chose to issue a proclamation before he died, traveling to every little cluster of huts he could reach to tell them that…

[] they should focus on strengthening the bonds between the People
[] every gathering of the People should have a shrine and a granary as well as homes
[] to remember all that can be remembered
[] to be cautious with their time so that they will be able to always have enough to spare

Total of 6 actions, no more than 4 can be assigned to Pitside and no more than 4 can be assigned to Huntcamp. Identify which settlement they are taking place at.

[] Hold Feast (+Mood, - Food)
[] Focus on Farming (+++Food, ?)
[] Focus on Hunting (+Food, ??)
[] Focus on Fishing (+Food, ??)
[] Send Expedition (Where To?)
[] Pursue an Idea: Extra Dirt (-Building)
[] Pursue an Idea: Symbols of the Spirits (-Crafting)
[] Pursue an Idea: Moving Water (-Building, -Gathering)
[] Pursue an Idea: Digging (-Building, - Crafting)
[] Make Offerings (-Luxury, +Mood)
[] Offer Tools (--Crafting, +Mood, ?)
[] Construct A Shrine (-Building, -Crafting)
[] Construct a Granary (-Building, -Crafting)
[] Focus on Building (-Gathering, +Building)
[] Focus on Tools (-Gathering, ++Crafting)
[] Focus on Materials (++Gathering)
[] Gathering Stones (+Gathering, ?)

Spoiler: Civ Sheet

Food Stability: 8 (10, -3)
Population: 6
Crafting Capacity: 0
Gathering Capacity: 3
Building Capacity: 2
Luxury: 5 (-3 from pop, -3 from trade, +7 from trade)
Mood: 5
Prestige: 1

Spoiler: Settlements

Pitside (Granary, Shrine to the Spirits, Spirit Pit, Mud Brick Shelters, Fields. Obedience of 4.)
Huntcamp (Granary, Mud Brick Shelters, Fields. Obedience of 4.)

Spoiler: Values

Incautious Curiosity: There are always some who prefer to find what something does by sticking it in their mouths. Such courage can be laudable. Potentially dangerous, but laudable. Pros: Increased chance of successful innovation. Cons: increased risk from successful innovation.

Spoiler: General Technologies

Fishing
Spearfishing
Agriculture
Hunting
Ambush Hunting
Prey Driving
Perseverance Hunting
Gathering
Fire
Materials
Bone
Stone
Wood
Clay
Tools
Spears
Axes
Knives
Scrapers
Digging Sticks
Sickles
Slings
Fishing Spears

Spoiler: Social & Administrative Technologies

Numbers
Diplomacy
Gifts
Negotiations
Trade
Leadership
Elders
Arts
Vocal Storytelling
Oral History
Pottery
Woodcarving
Economy
Bargaining
Religion
Spirits

Spoiler: Military Technologies

Weapons
Spears
Slings
Thrown Spears
Axes
Knives
Clubs
Organization
Hunting/Raiding Parties
Keeping Watch

Spoiler: Magic Knowledge

Natural Phenomena
Magical Vapors
Spirit Berry/Sacred Leaf
Creatures
Stonespitters
Spells
Very Crude Smoke Divination