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TreeQuest: Magitech (Riot Quest)

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Turn 4
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    • Focus: 1 automatic-success into Grow Shield Tree

    Actions:
    12 dice - 6 successes - into: [X] Research Clever Trees
    8 dice - 4 successes - into: [X] Store Resources Against Future Need
    7 dice - 4+1 successes - into: [X] Grow Shield Tree
    7 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Grow Collector Tree
    6 dice - 5 successes - into: [X] Analyze Creek and Tree Placement
    4 dice - 0 successes :( - into: [X] Grow the Forest
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Connect to Local Squirrels (Psychic)
    2 dice - 0 successes :( - into: [X] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Research Lens Trees
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    1 dice - 0 successes - into: [X] Research Thorns

    (Slightly below 50/50. I'm definitely hoping that luck doesn't keep getting worse. :p)

    2 Root Trees working on Special: Focus on trying to grow different types of nuts for the squirrels. Hidden rolls apply.
    Squirrel: Explore your Forest. Hidden rolls apply.

    As spring wanes and summer draws nigh, Clever Tree research continues apace, with neither unexpected breakthroughs nor unexpected setbacks. Fitting, really, for a Tree that exemplifies quiet contemplation.

    More water, nutrients, sugar, and so on are stored deep within the Trees of the Forest. No random damage is going to cause the Forest true problems, not if our Heart Trees have a say in it!

    The first Shield Tree is almost halfway complete. You can feel the slight stirrings of Intent and Magic, as the Tree's Will to Protect starts to unfurl gently across the Forest. Not yet more effective than (say) Arthur Scrat trying to physically block a charging boar, but well on its way to being something amazing, something your Forest has never had before…

    The first Collector Tree, by contrast, is all-but complete. Only the slightest bit of effort remains to bring it to full size and strength - and with summer's Strong Sunlight incoming, that's something the Tree can actually manage on its own. (9 of 10 to completion. If you pick a Growth-type Focus action next turn, the Collector Tree will activate its power and spend the resulting auto-success to complete itself as a side-effect.)

    Your Trees, upon realizing that placing new Trees close to the creek could yield improved Growth but only if they don't erode or flood away, have jumped on the new idea. Too instinctive for Research, this has been the - rather successful - work of your Heart Trees, who found it so-far easier than expected. Perhaps a side-effect of having stared at the same creek for centuries? Regardless, you're halfway done with the work.

    Unfortunately, a few Root Trees tried growing new Trees of the Forest too close to the creek, too eagerly, before the ideal placement could be planned. The last - you expect - floodtide of spring washed the young saplings away. Alas. There's a chance some will take root and may be found downstream?

    A bit more work was done and a bit more progress was made on connecting to the local squirrel population. Similarly, attempts to connect to other local wildlife have continued with some progress. Also, a bit more progress has been made into Lens Trees, which briefly involved playing a game of light-tag with Arthur Scrat.

    Sadly, for the second turn running, the Tree tenaciously trying to reach out to any nearby Minds has failed to make any true progress. (If that happens a third turn, I'll give a reroll or some such.) Also, attempts to research Thorns have borne no results this turn.

    A pair of Root Trees attempted to figure out what type of nuts Arthur Scrat and other local squirrels prefer. They suspect that there's more to find along that line of inquiry - but were able to discern that walnuts seem to be a local squirrel favorite.

    Arthur Scrat had an amazing time exploring the local woodlands. He stuck, wisely, to the small patch of Trees that felt "friendly" (as opposed to the clear areas and the trees that felt "nothing"), but still had over a square acre to explore. Trees to climb! Limbs to jump to! Limbs to jump from! Other squirrels his own age to chase and be chased by! Land to explore! Views to view! Nuts to grab! Nuts to bury! Nuts to dig up!

    One day, he forgot where he placed a nut (well, really a rock - he'd been practicing), and dug over a dozen holes trying to find it. In one of them, he found a cold sharp shiny rock!

    …A really long, straight, cold-sharp-shiny-rock…

    With a bit of work and some convincing the Trees, you collectively managed to dig out… a sword. It is definitely old - it has been buried longer than any Tree living in your Forest remembers.

    It is a simple, double-edged, hand-and-a-half sword. The hilt has mostly rotted away - as has any scabbard it may have once had. The blade remains cool even under summer's heat. A feeling of Intent imbues it.

    …Trying to examine the blade has definitely proven a nice test-case for your work on Clever Trees.

    (Map unlocked once I get around to creating it. +50% bonus on Clever Tree research until done. Option to further examine Magic(?) Sword locked until Clever Trees are researched, and will get double bonuses from any Clever Trees grown.)


    Actions:

    Communication:
    [ ][Action] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    -Successes sort-of stack. You're not sure how difficult this will be. Better results if more successful. Possibility of finding "there's nothing within X miles" - but even something like that will be good to know.
    -1 success banked.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Squirrels (Psychic)
    -You have successfully connected to one squirrel; how about making friends with more?
    -5 of 10 successes.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    -Wolves - scouts? Bears - heavy combat? Deer - trimming invasive plants? You know you've seen all these; you have only vague ideas on what to do with them.
    -3 successes banked.

    Research:
    [ ][Action] Research Lens Trees
    -5 of 30 successes; Lens Trees will give a permanent Growth Bonus

    [ ][Action] Research Clever Trees
    -20 of 30 successes; Clever Trees will give a permanent Research Bonus
    -Bonus +50% due to Magic(?) Sword.
    -Due to the unusual requirements of integrating Clever Trees with the rest of the Forest, you may build a maximum of 1 Clever Tree per Magnitude of the Forest (currently 1). Each Clever Tree will give +10% bonus to all Research successes. Each is expected to cost 20 successes.

    [ ][Action] Research Thorns
    -1 of 10 successes; unlocks a Defense action to build up a stockpile of Thorns that will damage any invaders

    Survival:
    [ ][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    -15 stored; this will function as a spare HP pool against anything that gets through your Defense, and may be useful for other things

    [ ][Action] Analyze Creek and Tree Placement
    -Oh, where could we place trees down in the fertile soil by the creek, without them getting washed away by said creek?
    -5 of 10 successes.
    -Grants a +25% bonus to Grow the Forest only, until we hit Magnitude 3 (67 progress to go… so moderately more efficient than 1-to-1 progress into Grow the Forest, assuming it's finished this turn).

    Defense:
    [ ][Action] Brace Yourself
    -Not a terribly effective action, but it does more-or-less work; I suggest you build a Shield Tree as soon as reasonably possible. Like most defenses, this does little to nothing if you are not attacked.

    Growth:
    Note: Starting next turn, you will have the effects of Strong Sunlight (Growth +50%). The spring showers haven't fully faded yet and no Drought is expected next turn.

    [ ][Action] Grow the Forest
    -8 of 25 successes to Magnitude 2

    [ ][Action] Grow <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost. You can have up to 10 Special Trees per Magnitude of the Forest.
    -9 of 10 successes banked on a Collector Tree. This will auto-complete for-free next turn if you spend the Focus action on any Growth action.
    -7 of 15 successes banked on a Shield Tree.

    Offense:
    [ ][Action] Release Annoying Pollen
    -Not a terribly powerful attack, but it could annoy invaders, at least. Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    Focus

    Choose any one action from the above for the Forest to focus on. This is voted upon by the entire group, and is in addition to the individual actions taken by each member.

    [ ][Focus] Action Name

    This Action will receive a number of automatic successes equal to the Magnitude of the Forest (currently 1) and any bonuses from other sources.

    Squirrel Actions

    Choose what to ask Arthur Scrat to do.
    [][Squirrel] Train himself
    [][Squirrel] Explore your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Explore the Forest's immediate surroundings
    [][Squirrel] Try to figure out a favorite food
    [][Squirrel] Help your Trees connect to other Squirrels
    [][Squirrel] Write-in

    Your Votes should look like the following:

    [ ][Action] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action
    [ ][Squirrel] Squirrel action

    Newcomers should add one of the following:

    [ ][Tree] Heart Tree
    [ ][Tree] Mind Tree
    [ ][Tree] Root Tree

    This vote will always be open.
     
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    Turn 5 Votes
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Robinton on May 3, 2022 at 3:20 PM, finished with 38 posts and 31 votes.
    Action Focus Squirrel Tree
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    • Turn 5 - Year 1 Summer
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    • Focus: 1 automatic-success into Grow Shield Tree. Bonus: Completes Collector Tree.

    Actions:
    14 dice - 11+1 successes - into: [X] Grow Shield Tree
    12 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Research Clever Trees
    9 dice - 6 successes - into: [X] Analyze Creek and Tree Placement
    4 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    4 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Store Resources Against Future Need
    4 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Grow the Forest
    3 dice - 0+1+1 successes - into: [X] Connect to Local Squirrels (Psychic)
    2 dice - 0 successes - into: [X] Research Lens Trees

    (Dice are being tsundere. :p Marginally above average but tsundere.)

    Specials (Svn0One, "Focus on trying to grow different types of nuts for the squirrels" and Phigment, "Grow extra walnuts for Arthur Scrat to use in negotiating with the other squirrels.") Roll some dice… Hmm… Interesting…
    Squirrel: Help your Trees connect to other Squirrels. Grants 1 auto-success and 1 die.

    The Forest has had only minimal hardship since the start of spring, and does not want to continue depending on that good fortune. We wanted to make sure we'd finish a Shield Tree this turn… And everything went so well that we had Intent and Resources for two, with the lessons from the first grown Shield Tree making the second's growth significantly easier. (2x Shield Trees built; cost of building a Shield Tree reduced to 10 successes for all after the 1st.) (Also: unlocks studying the Basics of Magic.)

    By contrast, research into Clever Trees was slower and more difficult than expected. While we weren't expecting to finish this turn, progress was only modest despite the easy test-cases from the Magic(?) Sword.

    On the upside, the sole Collector Tree finished growing this turn, with its ability to drink in the sunlight and nutrients allowing it to grow more in a month than most Trees can in a year - and some in a decade.

    Another good success, the Heart Trees finished analyzing possibilities for placing new Trees down by the Creek. The Forest can safely grow several yards closer to the Creek, accessing that rich soil relatively safely. Indeed, the Heart Trees did slightly more than was even necessary, and started the first bits of work on trying to reinforce the banks of the Creek, which would open up even more locations - some with amazingly rich and well-watered (but currently very unstable) soil. (25% bonus to Grow the Forest active; applies to this turn as well as subsequent; 1 success overflows to next action in chain.)

    Good progress was made in reaching out, seeking any intelligent Minds. You got a good look at the minds of a small group of Elves and Humans. Arthur Scrat gave you a good solid look at them (two Elves and three Humans, if you're wondering), and that proved invaluable in memorizing the feel of their minds. You weren't able to establish a link in the brief (very brief to Trees) time that they spent passing your Forest by, but the experience will serve you well later…

    Not much work was put into Growing the Forest - but what work was done made great progress, taking you just past the halfway point to reaching the next Magnitude. The rich soil of the creek's vicinity was much-appreciated, as it will be for some time to come.

    More Resources were stored, against any future need of the Forest. Those will be much appreciated, sooner or later, experience has taught you well.

    Two Mind Trees and Arthur Scrat made a determined attempt to finish the bond between the local squirrel-population and our Forest, but - alas! - progress has been about as slow and difficult as it could be. On the brighter side, an attempt to find the best sorts of food to motivate the local squirrels succeeded well enough to give the Forest bonuses in later negotiations with the Squirrels - including finishing the bond. A Walnut tree that decided to Grow extra walnuts for Arthur Scrat to use in negotiating with the other squirrels, also (as a side-effect) made some progress in linking with the minds of squirrel-kind. (Trust matters in telepathy. Not that this surprises anyone.)

    As a note, Arthur Scrat is easily old enough to venture into the Forest's immediate surroundings safely… While it will be a few more turns before he can roam properly, exploring up to a half-mile in any and all directions can be done safely.

    No progress was made in seeking to Research Lens Trees, despite a small but definite attempt. Perhaps the thrill of all this Growth has distracted us from the calm contemplation that best suits Tree Research?


    Actions:

    Communication:
    [ ][Action] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    -Successes sort-of stack. You're not sure how difficult this will be. Better results if more successful. Possibility of finding "there's nothing within X miles" - but even something like that will be good to know.
    -4 success banked.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Squirrels (Psychic)
    -You have successfully connected to one squirrel; how about making friends with more?
    -This has +50% bonus in subsequent turns due to research into squirrel favorite nut-types.
    -7 of 10 successes.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    -Wolves - scouts? Bears - heavy combat? Deer - trimming invasive plants? You know you've seen all these; you have only vague ideas on what to do with them.
    -3 successes banked.

    Research:
    [ ][Action] Research Lens Trees
    -5 of 30 successes; Lens Trees will give a permanent Growth Bonus

    [ ][Action] Research Clever Trees
    -24.5 of 30 successes; Clever Trees will give a permanent Research Bonus
    -Bonus +50% due to Magic(?) Sword.
    -Note that any overflow will be applied to the logical next action, which will be Research Lens Trees unless someone convinces me differently.
    -Due to the unusual requirements of integrating Clever Trees with the rest of the Forest, you may build a maximum of 1 Clever Tree per Magnitude of the Forest (currently 1). Each Clever Tree will give +10% bonus to all Research successes. Each is expected to cost 20 successes.

    [ ][Action] Research Thorns
    -1 of 10 successes; unlocks a Defense action to build up a stockpile of Thorns that will damage any invaders

    [ ][Action] Basics of Magic
    -0 of 50 successes; begin the systematic study of this, this Magic/Intent/whatever, that you're starting to use. A larger project, but expected to grant immediate benefits and unlock further possibilities.

    Survival:
    [ ][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    -17 stored; this will function as a spare HP pool against anything that gets through your Defense, and may be useful for other things

    [ ][Action] Shore up Creek Banks
    -Several promising locations, down by the creek-bank, have dangerously unstable soil. Shore this up to allow more Trees to be safely grown.
    -1 of 20 successes.
    -Grants a +25% bonus AND halves any Drought penalties, when Growing any Special Trees, until we have 12 Special Trees total (9 Special Trees with ~10-20 cost, or about 135 progress, to go… so again moderately more efficient than 1-to-1 progress in direct Growth).

    Defense:
    [ ][Action] Raise the Shield
    -Use magic to defend the Forest. Effectiveness is generally fairly high, but depends on the exact nature of the threat. (Not effective against a plague of locusts or similar - that's a Survival roll.) Like most defenses, this does little to nothing if you are not attacked.
    -Gains 2 automatic successes from Shield Trees, if at least 1 Player-Tree votes for this action.

    Growth:
    Note: You have the effects of Strong Sunlight (Growth +50%). The summer has been wet enough for good growth, if only just at times, so no Drought is expected next turn.
    [ ][Action] Grow the Forest
    -This has a +25% bonus from Analyze Creek and Tree Placement until we reach Magnitude 3.
    -13.25 of 25 successes to Magnitude 2

    [ ][Action] Grow <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost. You can have up to 10 Special Trees per Magnitude of the Forest.
    -Currently, no successes are banked on anything.

    Offense:
    [ ][Action] Release Annoying Pollen
    -Not a terribly powerful attack, but it could annoy invaders, at least. Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    Focus

    Choose any one action from the above for the Forest to focus on. This is voted upon by the entire group, and is in addition to the individual actions taken by each member.

    [ ][Focus] Action Name

    This Action will receive a number of automatic successes equal to the Magnitude of the Forest (currently 1) and any bonuses from other sources.

    Squirrel Actions

    Choose what to ask Arthur Scrat to do.
    [][Squirrel] Train himself
    [][Squirrel] Explore your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Explore the Forest's immediate surroundings
    [][Squirrel] Try to figure out a favorite food
    [][Squirrel] Help your Trees connect to other Squirrels
    [][Squirrel] Write-in

    Your Votes should look like the following:

    [ ][Action] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action
    [ ][Squirrel] Squirrel action

    Newcomers should add one of the following:

    [ ][Tree] Heart Tree
    [ ][Tree] Mind Tree
    [ ][Tree] Root Tree

    This vote will always be open.
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Robinton on May 8, 2022 at 9:38 AM, finished with 41 posts and 33 votes.
    Action Focus Squirrel Tree
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    • Turn 6
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    • Focus: 1+1 automatic-successes into Grow the Forest.

    Actions:
    15 dice - 9+2 successes - into: [X] Grow the Forest
    10 dice - 6 successes - into: [X] Shore up creek banks.
    9 dice - 2 +2-special successes - into: [X] Research Clever Trees
    8 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Basics of Magic
    5 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    4 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Store Resources Against Future Need
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Raise the Shield
    2 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Grow Wise Tree
    2 dice - 2+1 successes - into: [X] Connect to Local Squirrels (Psychic)
    1 die - 1 success - into: [X] Research Thorns

    (Dice were, despite the weird allocation, only 1 success below average. That said, I accidentally rolled a 14d earlier and got only 4 successes, so I ignored that result instead of incorporating it as part of the first 15d…)

    Specials (Phigment, "Expose different fruits and berries to the magic sword to test their magical compatibility") Hmm… Dice… Hmm… I'm grabbing this one to finish Clever Trees, but feel free to retry - though you'll need a good roll to get exactly what you're asking for.
    Squirrel: Help your Trees connect to other Squirrels. Grants 1 auto-success and 1 die.

    The Forest has grown like kudzu, according to one particularly foul-mouthed (but accurate) ancient oak. Using the strong sunlight, the planning put into picking good Tree locations, and maybe a bit of luck, the Forest's is now twice as large as it started from edge-to-edge (as the squirrel runs), or four times its initial area and tree-count (as the squirrel nests). With this growth comes improved capabilities: the Forest can Focus on twice as many items, and put twice the effort into each.

    Some serious work into shoring up the creek banks went reasonably well. At this rate, you would expect to finish at the end of summer or early in the fall - which would likely be an effective stress-test, for whatever that is worth.

    By bad luck, Research into Clever Trees almost failed to complete this turn. Yet, it was just barely finished. One Root Tree kept poking different fruits and nuts and rocks and twigs and anything else it could think of at the Magic(?) Sword. That tree, alas, failed to learn how magically-compatible different materials were (all of them mostly just seemed to sit there on the sword) - but it did learn an awful lot about how to mentally categorize items and systematically test things - and that knowledge provided the breakthrough that all the Mind Trees had been missing! (Research Clever Trees barely completed. The first Clever Tree only costs 15 successes (25% off), due to the Forest being able to reuse some research-prototype stuff. Build a Clever Tree to start properly studying the Magic(?) Sword - or just keep writing-in things and hope you get a really good roll.)

    The long-term project to analyze the Basics of Magic was started this turn, with depressingly little success. Yet some success is more than none, and it was started!

    Attempting to reach out to any thinking Minds in the vicinity made progress; neither Humans nor Elves seem to have been within a mile or so of the Forest during this turn.

    The bond was finally finished with your local Squirrel population! Due to the plentiful nuts and safe shelters that you give said local Squirrels, the Squirrels are quite happy with you. Also, Arthur Scrat retains his unusually-strong connection with your Forest, and is growing up nicely. (Connect to Local Squirrels: Done. 1.5 progress rolled-over into Connect to Local Wildlife. For the next turn, the Squirrels will scout and give you a larger map (whenever I get around to creating it). After that, feel free to write in requests; a +25% Growth Bonus for burying nuts is definitely an option.)

    Storing Resources was a bit slower than expected, but still made gains. A small Forest-fire should be survivable with little-to-no damage that stockpiled resources can't fix. Of course, the new Shields would be much appreciated under such a circumstance…

    Some work to Grow a Wise Tree has made remarkable progress. This… might be a very good idea, given the upcoming winter?

    Some research into Thorns made slight but non-negligible progress. One fifth done.

    About halfway through the turn, a mild hailstorm thunders down. In the old days, you might have taken a tiny bit of damage - or perhaps just weathered the storm unharmed with a little luck - but as it stands the Shield Trees were happy to have something to do. (Cumulative damage absorbed by Shields: 1 of ???.)

    Sadly, there is no precipitation at all after that hailstorm, and the ground grows dryer and dryer. You are fairly certain you're in for a rough drought next turn. Really, your Trees suspect that it's going to get about as dry as it ever gets.


    Actions:

    Communication:
    [ ][Action] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    -Successes sort-of stack. You're not sure how difficult this will be. Better results if more successful. Possibility of finding "there's nothing within X miles" - but even something like that will be good to know.
    -6 success banked.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    -Wolves - scouts? Bears - heavy combat? Deer - trimming invasive plants? You know you've seen all these; you have only vague ideas on what to do with them.
    -Feel free to write in a specific request. The Forest is reaching that point where it can target specific classes of animals.
    -4.5 successes banked.

    Research:
    [ ][Action] Research Lens Trees
    -5 of 30 successes; Lens Trees will give a permanent Growth Bonus

    [ ][Action] Research Thorns
    -2 of 10 successes; unlocks a Defense action to build up a stockpile of Thorns that will damage any invaders

    [ ][Action] Basics of Magic
    -2 of 50 successes; begin the systematic study of this, this Magic/Intent/whatever, that you're starting to use. A larger project, but expected to grant immediate benefits and unlock further possibilities.

    Survival:
    [ ][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    -18 stored; this will function as a spare HP pool against anything that gets through your Defense, and may be useful for other things

    [ ][Action] Shore up Creek Banks
    -Several promising locations, down by the creek-bank, have dangerously unstable soil. Shore this up to allow more Trees to be safely grown.
    -7 of 20 successes.
    -Grants a +25% bonus AND halves any Drought penalties, when Growing any Special Trees, until we have 12 Special Trees total (9 Special Trees with ~10-20 cost, or about 135 progress, to go… so again moderately more efficient than 1-to-1 progress in direct Growth).

    Defense:
    [ ][Action] Raise the Shield
    -Use magic to defend the Forest. Effectiveness is generally fairly high, but depends on the exact nature of the threat. (Not effective against a plague of locusts or similar - that's a Survival roll.) Like most defenses, this does little to nothing if you are not attacked.
    -Gains 2 automatic successes from Shield Trees, if at least 1 Player-Tree votes for this action.

    Growth:
    Note: You have the effects of Strong Sunlight (Growth +50%). You are also under the effects of a Severe Drought (Growth -60%). Net effect: Growth -10%.

    [ ][Action] Grow the Forest
    -This has a +25% bonus from Analyze Creek and Tree Placement until we reach Magnitude 3.
    -7.5 of 50 successes to Magnitude 3

    [ ][Action] Grow <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost. You can have up to 10 Special Trees per Magnitude of the Forest.
    -3 of 10 successes banked on Wise Tree.
    -0 of 15 successes banked on Clever Tree.

    Offense:
    [ ][Action] Release Annoying Pollen
    -Not a terribly powerful attack, but it could annoy invaders, at least. Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    Focus

    Choose any two actions from the above for the Forest to focus on. These are voted upon by the entire group, and are in addition to the individual actions taken by each member.

    [ ][Focus] Action Name
    [ ][Focus] Action Name x2

    These Actions will receive a number of automatic successes equal to the Magnitude of the Forest (currently 2) and any bonuses from other sources.

    Squirrel Actions

    Choose what to ask Arthur Scrat to do.
    [][Squirrel] Train himself
    [][Squirrel] Explore your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Try to figure out a favorite food
    [][Squirrel] Write-in

    Your Votes should look like the following:

    [ ][Action] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action x2
    [ ][Squirrel] Squirrel action

    Newcomers should add one of the following:

    [ ][Tree] Heart Tree
    [ ][Tree] Mind Tree
    [ ][Tree] Root Tree

    This vote will always be open.
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Robinton on May 11, 2022 at 2:33 PM, finished with 63 posts and 29 votes.
    Action Focus Squirrel Tree
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    • Turn 7
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    • Focus: (2+1)x2=6 automatic-successes into Grow Clever Tree.

    Actions:
    11 dice - 6+6 successes - into: [X] Grow Clever Tree
    10 dice - 6 successes - into: [X] Shore up Creek Banks
    6 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Basics of Magic
    6 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Research Lens Trees
    4 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    4 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Store Resources Against Future Need
    3 dice - 2+2 successes - into: [X] Raise the Shield
    2 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Grow Wise Tree
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Grow the Forest
    2 dice - 0 successes - into: [X] Research Thorns

    (Dice were a bit above average, and very evenly split.)

    Specials (Phigment, "Get some of the squirrels to try out the magic sword, and see if it responds to animals better than to fruit") Hmm… Dice… Hmm…
    Squirrel: Train himself!

    This turn - partially due to the drought - an awful lot of things close. The Forest's greatest current priority has been growing the first Clever Tree, which is now more than two-thirds done. Same with the project to shore up the banks of the Creek - which received a stress-test towards the end of the turn, as glorious much-needed rain finally fell. You're almost certain you can feel Minds out at the edge of your search, to the northeast. And growing a Wise Tree is now halfway done.

    More cheerfully, the Squirrel Scouts reported back in! (Map updated!) You think the Minds are probably at the end of the side-path - and the Squirrels have reported seeing a few Elves and a Human or two trekking along that side-path…

    Basics of Magic is taking just as long as you thought it would, yet slow but steady progress is being made. Researching Lens Trees is much the same. Growing the Forest has made another bit of progress.

    Midway through the turn, in the absolute worst of the Drought, the Forest was searching for any sign of rain. A thundercloud passed, but its rain fell - due to the wind - on the other side of the creek. The Forest was ready to groan and ignore it, when a lightning bolt struck a Tree at the ridge, barely within the Forest's borders! The Shields flared, but could not stop the lightning. However, they proved even more valuable than you'd expected for snuffing out the resulting fires, which would have been horrific in any prior year. And your carefully-stored resources repaired the lightning-struck tree (though it had to regrow largely from the roots) and your stockpile still grew slightly this turn. (17 damage blocked by Shields. 18 cumulative damage blocked by Shields - you believe you'll unlock further Shield improvements at 25 cumulative damage blocked. 1 damage taken, dealt to Stored Resources. 2 gained Resources; 1 lost Resource; net 1 Resource gained.)

    Arthur Scrat has spent the turn training himself up to full fitness. Practicing his branch-to-branch jumps, playing tag with his distant relatives, training his ability to spot nuts (or foxes!) at extreme range, making sure he could chew anything (up to and including thorns and small rocks), safe falling, running speed and endurance, and other such things.

    An attempt to power up the Magic(?) Sword quickly devolved into a test of how many Squirrels it takes to lift it. Answer: two, but only just barely, only the strongest squirrels, and only if one grabs onto each end. How many to get the tip off the ground while holding only the hilt? All of them, working together, and even then it's an incredibly tenuous thing.

    Continued effort - made part of Arthur Scrat's training regime - saw no seeming progress, until the day after the lightning hit. Then - coincidence or not - one attempt saw a squirrel leap away chattering with cold - because it had brushed up against the flat of the blade, and felt an incredible chill emanating from the sword.

    The watching Trees felt nothing beyond the usual from the Sword. Indeed, all of you are inclined to suspect that the squirrels had actually activated the blade successfully some time before, but nobody was able to tell the difference until a squirrel brushed up against the blade and felt the chill.

    Your Trees then proceeded to try a handful of further tests against the blade, but had only two significant results. First, you froze solid the few new Thorn prototypes the squirrels hadn't chewed on. And second, you found that you can potentially launch the freezing sword at an intruder, if you have a bit of setup time and really want to.

    How odd, you think. The sword seems obviously magical. And you can feel something from it. But on and off don't seem to feel any different - which is definitely not the case with your magic or the Trees generating it… And, come to think of it, the seeming-magic brought or performed by previous travelers along the ridge-train fit into these two categories: 'feels different when activated,' and 'doesn't feel different when activated.' Essentially all newly-cast magic was immediately detectable, you think. But items that were imbued with Intent seem about 50/50 - you don't see a strong correlation to figure out what can be sensed and what can't (possibly newer items can be sensed? Possibly items with shoddier construction can be sensed? But neither is a strong correlation). (+1 each to Basics of Magic and Grow Clever Tree.)


    Actions:

    Communication:
    [ ][Action] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    -Successes sort-of stack. You're not sure how difficult this will be. Better results if more successful. Possibility of finding "there's nothing within X miles" - but even something like that will be good to know.
    -9 success banked.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    -Wolves - scouts? Bears - heavy combat? Deer - trimming invasive plants? You know you've seen all these; you have only vague ideas on what to do with them.
    -Feel free to write in a specific request. The Forest is reaching that point where it can target specific classes of animals.
    -4.5 successes banked.

    Research:
    [ ][Action] Research Lens Trees
    -8 of 30 successes; Lens Trees will give a permanent Growth Bonus

    [ ][Action] Research Thorns
    -2 of 10 successes; unlocks a Defense action to build up a stockpile of Thorns that will damage any invaders

    [ ][Action] Basics of Magic
    -6 of 50 successes; begin the systematic study of this, this Magic/Intent/whatever, that you're starting to use. A larger project, but expected to grant immediate benefits and unlock further possibilities.

    Survival:
    [ ][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    -19 stored; this will function as a spare HP pool against anything that gets through your Defense, and may be useful for other things

    [ ][Action] Shore up Creek Banks
    -Several promising locations, down by the creek-bank, have dangerously unstable soil. Shore this up to allow more Trees to be safely grown.
    -13 of 20 successes.
    -Grants a +25% bonus AND halves any Drought penalties, when Growing any Special Trees, until we have 12 Special Trees total (9 Special Trees with ~10-20 cost, or about 135 progress, to go… so again moderately more efficient than 1-to-1 progress in direct Growth).

    Defense:
    [ ][Action] Raise the Shield
    -Use magic to defend the Forest. Effectiveness is generally fairly high, but depends on the exact nature of the threat. (Not effective against a plague of locusts or similar - that's a Survival roll.) Like most defenses, this does little to nothing if you are not attacked.
    -Gains 2 automatic successes from Shield Trees, if at least 1 Player-Tree votes for this action.

    Growth:
    Note: As the last turn of summer, the following turn will have the effects of Strong Sunlight (Growth +50%). No Drought is expected for the following turn.

    [ ][Action] Grow the Forest
    -This has a +25% bonus from Analyze Creek and Tree Placement until we reach Magnitude 3.
    -8.65 of 50 successes to Magnitude 3

    [ ][Action] Grow <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost. You can have up to 10 Special Trees per Magnitude of the Forest.
    -11.8 of 15 successes banked on Clever Tree.
    -5 of 10 successes banked on Wise Tree.

    Offense:
    [ ][Action] Release Annoying Pollen
    -Not a terribly powerful attack, but it could annoy invaders, at least. Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    Focus

    Choose any two actions from the above for the Forest to focus on. These are voted upon by the entire group, and are in addition to the individual actions taken by each member.

    [ ][Focus] Action Name
    [ ][Focus] Action Name x2

    These Actions will receive a number of automatic successes equal to the Magnitude of the Forest (currently 2) and any bonuses from other sources.

    Squirrel Actions

    Choose what to ask Arthur Scrat to do.
    [][Squirrel] Explore your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Lead the squirrel watch over your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Lead a search-party in (write-in Direction)
    [][Squirrel] Lead a search-party along the (east OR north OR south) path
    [][Squirrel] Focus Tree efforts on (write-in Wildlife Type)
    [][Squirrel] Write-in

    Your Votes should look like the following:

    [ ][Action] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action x2
    [ ][Squirrel] Squirrel action

    Newcomers should add one of the following:

    [ ][Tree] Heart Tree
    [ ][Tree] Mind Tree
    [ ][Tree] Root Tree

    This vote will always be open.
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Robinton on May 14, 2022 at 10:29 PM, finished with 60 posts and 31 votes.
    Action Focus Squirrel Tree
    Click to expand...


    Edit: I've included Alter's vote in Turn 8 for good measure.
     
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    • Turn 8
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    • Focus:
    2+1=3 automatic-successes into Grow Clever Tree.
    2 automatic-successes to Shore up Creek Banks.

    Actions:
    10 dice - 5+2 successes - into: [X] Shore up Creek Banks
    9 dice - 5 successes - into: [X] Basics of Magic
    6 dice - 2+3 successes - into: [X] Grow Clever Tree
    6 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Store Resources Against Future Need
    6 dice - 4+3 successes - into: [X] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    4 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Raise the Shield
    4 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Grow Wise Tree
    3 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Research Thorns
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    2 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Research Lens Trees
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Grow the Forest

    (Dice were a hair above average, and generally evenly split. Similar to last time…)

    Specials (Phigment and Prime 2.0, "Teach the squirrels to use simple machines like levers and pulleys to gain mechanical advantage.") Hmm… Getting ropes (vines) and levers (sticks) shouldn't be particularly difficult. Getting the squirrels to naturally understand them should be a bit harder. Pulleys are likely to be a bit jury-rigged at best, but that's not going to stop them from working… I doubt the Trees initially understand more than the rudiments of pulleys, honestly - that might be a thing the Forest itself learns.
    +1 die to joseluzperez19@g for the consistent cool write-ins on Basics of Magic.

    Squirrel: Explore your Forest.

    With the Focus of the Forest, your project to Shore up the Creek Banks just barely succeeded. This was helpful, as it helped speed the Growth of both the Clever Tree that finished this turn and the Wise Tree that is almost done. (Both had, luckily, been planted close enough that their roots can use the newly available soil.) A new project emerges, due to a few innovative Trees and the cooperation and effort of the squirrels…

    The first Clever Tree is grown! Immediately, you can feel your minds sharpening. It is shorter than many Trees, barely reaching fifteen feet. Its leaves dance slowly, as if in a gentle breeze, regardless of surrounding weather conditions. Strange but lovely patterns shift, ever so slowly, across its bark (significant change from one day to the next; this is "quite quickly" to the Trees but "slower than molasses in January" to the oft-hyperactive squirrels). It is quite interested, in its own slow and quiet way, in pondering the basics of magic…

    In those Basics of Magic, you are slowly making progress. With much thought and yet-more scanning of the Sword, you are almost certain that there are, indeed, two types of magic. Or something very like that.

    A few more Resources were stored against future need. And as the Forest is heading into Autumn, that is a good thing!

    Two Trees ensured the Shield was ready if - and when - needed. But no threats emerged this turn.

    The Forest's first Wise Tree is almost (but not quite) done. If you plan to Focus the Forest on a Research action, try to finish this Wise Tree as well on that turn…

    An attempt to Connect to Local Wildlife has identified the feeling of deer, with extensive help from the squirrels (+3 successes) exploring your local vicinity. One squirrel also reports a beaver dam well downstream, but you're having trouble grasping their minds at the moment. You can only direct them slightly, and their flight instinct easily overpower your tenuous control, but they're beginning to give you options for trimming non-Thinking plants that aren't proper parts of your Forest. They are also, obviously, much larger and stronger than your squirrels, and thus will one day be capable of assisting the squirrel leverage and construction work considerably.
    …
    Arthur Scrat wants to ride into battle while perched heroically atop a stag's antlers. You think maybe you should discourage him? That said, next turn, he will be large and strong enough to go venturing out as long and far as desired - even by himself if you wish.

    Thorns are almost halfway researched. While you aren't actually good at growing them, you have gotten to the point that you can reliably (if slowly) replicate most Thorns that you have seen. Even the barbed ones. A bit of work on generating irritating compounds to coat them with, and you'll be set to focus on the problem of "how to efficiently mass-produce these odd things?"

    Lens Trees are more than ⅓ of the way done! You are fairly certain, from the spare prototype bits that you have, you are fairly certain that your first Lens Tree will be cheaper than subsequent Lens Trees (much like your first Clever Tree).

    A bit more progress was made into Growing the Forest. Not much, but you took full advantage of your mapping of the creek and the last turn of summer!

    Two enterprising Trees worked with some of the local squirrels to try to teach them about gaining leverage via levers and pulleys. Getting the squirrels to understand what was going on proved… very difficult. Really, only Arthur Scrat seems to have properly understood the concept. By contrast, getting the general squirrel population to the point they understood "do what Trees say and something happens" was considerably easier. Teaching the squirrels to set up ropes was actually fairly easy, as there were an unusual number of vines growing this year, and the squirrels were entirely capable of chewing them into something usable. And various broken limbs served as levers. You never did get pulleys you were happy with, but a few sticks with multiple vines wrapped around each side serve well-enough in a pinch. As for truly understanding leverage and pulleys, amusingly enough, even you Trees found yourselves learning quite a bit about what you were doing. (Moving items and lifting things will be easier. Unlocked new option to add Traps to the Forest - the squirrels and any new animals you Connect with will automatically evade. Improved rolls to throw the Magic(?) Sword if an invasion occurs.)

    The Trees seeking any Minds found a cluster of 19 Minds, to your north-east, about a mile off. You are fairly certain it's at the end of the smaller side-trail. In fact, you saw one of the Minds trek quickly/slowly (by Tree/Squirrel standards, respectively) from the cluster, eastward across the bit of path at the northernmost edge of your surveillance, away north out of your senses' reach. After about a week, you felt the same Mind return into your range and trek back to the cluster. And, this time, you had a squirrel watching, and were able to confirm what you'd previously suspected: this was an adult male human. Now, you don't have contact fully established yet, but you've found them, and unless they leave what you presume is their home and start running away, contact is now only a matter of time and effort.
    …
    If you understand these creatures and their dreams right, you think a few of them have had some very weird, tree-ish, dreams lately. You don't think they'll get upset, but best to be careful. After all, a few of your Trees have had dreams of walking around - on two legs - lately, and that is certainly an odd (if surprisingly enjoyable - to have that freedom…) sensation.

    As the weather starts to cool down, the sunlight dims a bit, and Fall begins, what does the Forest do?


    Actions:

    Communication:
    [ ][Action] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    -Successes sort-of stack. You're not sure how difficult this will be. Better results if more successful. Possibility of finding "there's nothing within X miles" - but even something like that will be good to know.
    -10 successes banked.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    -Wolves - scouts? Bears - heavy combat? Beavers - creek work and construction? You know you've seen all these; you have only vague ideas on what to do with them.
    -Feel free to write in a specific request. The Forest is reaching that point where it can target specific classes of animals.
    -11.5 successes banked. 15 successes gives Deer.

    Research:
    Note: Your Clever Tree grants you +10% on Research actions.

    [ ][Action] Research Lens Trees
    -10.2 of 30 successes; Lens Trees will give a permanent Growth Bonus

    [ ][Action] Research Thorns
    -4.2 of 10 successes; unlocks a Defense action to build up a stockpile of Thorns that will damage any invaders

    [ ][Action] Basics of Magic
    -12 of 50 successes; begin the systematic study of this, this Magic/Intent/whatever, that you're starting to use. A larger project, but expected to grant immediate benefits and unlock further possibilities.
    -Most attempts to research the Magic(?) Sword are currently considered part of Basics of Magic. This may change when that action is completed. If you have a specific request, write-in your Action accordingly.
    -Bonus from Clever Trees doubled for this highly-cerebral very-theoretical generally-mysterious task.

    Survival:
    [ ][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    -22 stored; this will function as a spare HP pool against anything that gets through your Defense, and may be useful for other things

    [ ][Action] Prepare Dangerous Terrain
    -0 of 15 successes; this alters the Forest to be as dangerous as possible to intruders. Mostly it involves working with the squirrels to dig small pit-traps, plant sharpened stakes, and such. Between the Mind Trees and the new Clever Tree, you might even manage some snares, rock-fall traps, and maybe even a log-fall trap or two.
    -This will be ineffective versus creatures significantly smaller than squirrels or larger than your own smaller Trees (about 15 feet or 4.5 meters tall). The first would require something more like a plague-resistance Survival Roll and the second… yeah, you don't have anything that would work versus the second, yet. Except maybe "position Magic(?) Sword under giant's foot and hope for the best."

    Defense:
    [ ][Action] Raise the Shield
    -Use magic to defend the Forest. Effectiveness is generally fairly high, but depends on the exact nature of the threat. (Not effective against a plague of locusts or similar - that's a Survival roll.) Like most defenses, this does little to nothing if you are not attacked.
    -Gains 2 automatic successes from Shield Trees, if at least 1 Player-Tree votes for this action.

    Growth:
    [ ][Action] Grow the Forest
    -This has a +25% bonus from Analyze Creek and Tree Placement until we reach Magnitude 3.
    -10.4 of 50 successes to Magnitude 3

    [ ][Action] Grow <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost. You can have up to 10 Special Trees per Magnitude of the Forest.
    -This has a +25% bonus (and any Drought penalties halved) from Shore up Creek Banks until we have 12 Special Trees total.
    -5.55 of 20 successes banked on Clever Tree.
    -8.5 of 10 successes banked on Wise Tree.

    Offense:
    [ ][Action] Release Annoying Pollen
    -Not a terribly powerful attack, but it could annoy invaders, at least. Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    Focus

    Choose any two actions from the above for the Forest to focus on. These are voted upon by the entire group, and are in addition to the individual actions taken by each member.

    [ ][Focus] Action Name
    [ ][Focus] Action Name x2

    These Actions will receive a number of automatic successes equal to the Magnitude of the Forest (currently 2) and any bonuses from other sources.

    Squirrel Actions

    Choose what to ask Arthur Scrat and the Squirrels to do.
    [][Squirrel] Explore your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Lead the squirrel watch over your Forest
    [][Squirrel] Lead a search-party in (write-in Direction)
    [][Squirrel] Lead a search-party along the (east OR north OR south) path
    [][Squirrel] Focus Tree efforts on (write-in Wildlife Type)
    [][Squirrel] Write-in

    Your Votes should look like the following:

    [ ][Action] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action x2
    [ ][Squirrel] Squirrel action

    Newcomers should add one of the following:

    [ ][Tree] Heart Tree
    [ ][Tree] Mind Tree
    [ ][Tree] Root Tree

    This vote will always be open.
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by Robinton on May 18, 2022 at 3:33 PM, finished with 53 posts and 33 votes.
    Action Focus Squirrel Tree
    Click to expand...
     
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