Right, so I thought I'd toss my hat into the ring with a Men of the West/Hall of Speakers plan. I've argued for Men of the West earlier, and I think people are kind of sleeping on the Speakers plan: it's more or less a form of representative democracy (rather reminiscent of the Roman system, if I don't miss my mark...), and actually a relatively stable one. It allows various powerful factions in the city to have their voice (insofar as the elite/educated classes are almost universally those who will be selected as Speakers), but also (in the long and medium term, as the Hall of Speakers gains legitimacy and power) chains them to being dependent on the will of the people in general. It's a great long term move!
[] Who needs a Numenorean Man's Burden
- [] Men of the West: The Númenóreans were mortal, once, and their lives were short in the days before the Gift. Many have forgotten that, in their hubris. Once we bled and wept and crawled in the mud, and we were not noble teachers then, or mighty kings, or aloof lords, but men, who suffered as men must. So we are tall now, and our days long, and our eyes bright -- what changes this? Cut our skin, and we bleed as they bleed. You will not come to them as conquerors or masters, but as peers. This is a slim minority position among your people -- a great many of them support it. Should you pick this option, you will treat every group of Middle-Men you meet as peers and equals. The various Middle-Men groups you encounter will be granted entries in the Realms of Middle-Earth tab, and will be mechanically treated as distinct entities.
- [] Hall of Speakers: Rather than an oligarchy of the most powerful, you separate the city into great divisions. Each division shall select from among themselves a Bêthan, a speaker who will represent his people's interests to the Sea-Lord, meeting in a great convocation called the Bêthzadan, the Hall of Speakers. This form of representation first originated in the densely populated cities of the Faithful, where with populations so large it was possible for individual voices to be lost in the fray. Here, every man has a voice through his Speaker. Dealing with them would probably interfere a fair amount with your ability to get things done, and the Hall's power may grow with time. (Reduce the amount of vote options a turn to 7. Each turn, your advisors will inform you to a somewhat accurate level what the people are most interested in seeing done. Your people will be fairly disgruntled if you ignore their opinions. You will have one Speaker for every two hundred people, and for every five Speakers you have, gain a permanent population growth bonus.)
- [] Encourage Immigration From The Middle-Men: Let it be known wide and far that the doors of your city are open to any of the Men of the West who wish to dwell therin. The Middle-Men are unlearned, wild, and hold no love for Númenór, but they may still come in droves.
- [] Expand the Militia: Enlist more volunteers to the defense of the city, should you think it necessary.
- [] Watch the Mountains: Eyes in the crags, voices in the dells, a shadow on the heights. The White Mountains hold a threat that at any moment could spill over all Enedwaith. Plant a guard to watch the Pukel-Paths, and see who comes and who goes by them.
- [] The Walls of Tharbad: Tharbad has stood a thousand years, and it's walls once repelled the forces of the dark lord at the ford of the Gwathlo. Those same walls lie now in ruin, but might be raised again given time and effort. The master of Tharbad has promised great things should his walls be restored to the glory of his fathers' time, and endless friendship besides. (Sends Shapers. All building projects delayed by one turn)
--[] Uriphel
- [] Ironbark: In the deeps of the Iron Forest dwells an ent, an old thing with old eyes. He is no foe, not yet. But he is no friend of men, you do not think. Not anymore. Break words with him, and see if the strength of oak and yew might be bent in friendship. (requires hero)
-- [] Inzilbeth
-[] Alternate: Do not visit the Middle-Men, but travel to Tharbad instead to question them on the Middle-Men's claims. (Requires Imrazor)
--[] Imrazor
- [] The Men of the White Mountains: The wildmen who dwell amid the snow-capped peaks of the white mountains to the east are worshipers of the Dark Lord Sauron. They have given their hearts and minds to Mordor, and act as it's servants in all things. But they are not orcs or wolves, but men still, and they might be parlayed with, could you find them and break word with them. Númenór, in her glory, has turned many who toiled in shadow from the whip of their master -- but it may be no easy task. Still, you send an envoy to break words with them.
- [] Investigate the Branded Orcs: You begin to dig into the matter of where these orcs came from, and what, exactly, the strange brand on their head means.
- [] The Orc Hunter: Some men are good at hunting. Some men are very good at hunting. And others hunt a different sort of prey. Perhaps this one is ready for greater responsibility. Hero opportunities are unlocked by successful Hero Events, and may be failed. If successful, they give a new hero character to send on votes and impact the story.
Right, so some thoughts on the plan in general:
First of all (and forgive me for my arrogance), but I'm kind of shocked that more plans don't have The Orc Hunter in them -- heroes are perhaps the most valuable currency in this game (they can, after all, function as both additional actions and as bonuses) (as well as being immensely cool to read about), and here's an action that actually gives us one! In terms of action-efficiency, this absolutely tops the chart.
As for the rest, I'm guided by the thought that we remain in an early -- and thus fragile -- state. Well before lofty dreams of surviving so long we rival Gondor and Arnor -- and even before contacting various far-flung polities that simply don't matter to us right now, we should take care of two things: growth and security.
Our easiest avenue towards growth is, of course, immigration (natural population growth being fairly slow on the time-scales we're concerned with). I chose to encourage immigration from the Middle Men to both reinforce the Men of the West choice (nothing like first-hand experience for it!) and to get this into the culture of the colony 'on the ground floor', so to speak. In terms of other things (the establishment of farms, expansion of the city, etc.), I"m mostly content to wait until the public brings it up as a real issue. Another concern I have is that a growing population (which we do inevitably want!) is going to encroach on the woods, sooner rather than later. Hammering the Ironbark action in search of an accord seems wise, in this light.
Almost all the rest of the actions I've chosen are geared towards security. Mordor -- and the Eye -- is well-known for employing spies and scouts for selecting their targets. To that end, we absolutely have to keep an eye on the local servants of the Eye (the Pukel-men), and catch any trouble/invasions early. I'd also like to get a sense of their martial strength before we run into any mountain invasions (terrible things, those), and I'd doubly like to resolve the Tharbad situation before we commit to any offensive action.
Rebuilding the walls of Tharbad gains us their friendship everlasting, while simultaneously not giving them any additional offensive capabilities -- this wins us an ally and preserves operational flexibility for the factfinding Tharbad mission.
