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Westernesse: A Númenórean Colony Quest

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So, now that voting is opened, here is my plan:

[X] The Men of Sunlight
[X] Fear, Overcome

[X] Plan Green Shoots of Hope
-[X] The Great Alliance (Tharbad)
---[X] Trade (Tharbad): Stone for Grain.
-[X] Pay a Visit to Rivendell (Imrazôr)
--[X] Invite Hazrabân to come with us to learn about his heritage, and show him the virtues our people have nearly forgotten. Both the Middle Men and the Númenóreans descend from the Edain, and he can hear these stories from those who were there when Men stood together with Elves to fight the darkness in the North.
--[X] On our way back, spend some time visiting the former Middle Men serfs of Tharbad, welcoming them as free Men and allies.
-[X] Expand Pastures
-[X] Send an Envoy to the Barrow-Men
-[X] Send an Envoy to the Men of the Great Lake
-[X] Send an Envoy to the Dwarf-Friends
-[X] Research the Middle Men
-[X] Ironbark (Barazîr)

Rationale
- Beginning our Great Alliance with Tharbad this turn means we have something tangible to show to the Middle Men when we go to see them, and means that Tharbad's "subjects" can be freed a turn or two earlier. Rolling in trade of stone for grain makes a lot of sense when we are sending craftsmen up the river to build walls out of stone.
- Going to see Elrond is something I could not possibly avoid as it is far too exciting. Bringing Hazrabân with us to Rivendell shows that we view him as legitimate, and can show him that lordliness, power and knowledge do not have to be exclusive with kindness, generosity and wisdom. He can also hear the legends of the Edain in the place they are perhaps best-remembered on Middle Earth, and realise that both we and the Middle Men share a common heritage and spirit of defiance against the dark.
- Personally, I think Elrond will be happy we're bringing him - and given how clever Elrond is, perhaps not even surprised. Elrond has an interest in the politics of the region too, and the Last Homely House is nothing if not welcoming to all travellers who need it. We will be bringing a retinue anyway, so it's not like Imrazôr alone is suspected.
- Learning more of our Middle Men neighbours is universally popular, and personally I find their histories and cultures fascinating. We are saplings from the same tree.
- Going to see Ironbark means that we can maybe move towards a sustainable timber situation, and expanding the pastures is very popular amongst our speakers.
- Lastly, as I've mentioned, I have left out options on either the Legend or the response to the fear of death, so that voters can "vote with their conscience" here, as I think it is fundamentally a question of moral outlook and the stories our people choose to tell about themselves and use to cope with the world.
- Please write in your own vote for the legend and the fear of death!

(I will probably edit my vote into this post later, but it's just a personal one, and will not be tallied with the plan by the vote tally.)
 
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[X] Plan Hard truths, explorers, and friends
-[X] Establish Pastures: Grain is well and good, but some among your smallholders have been aching to purchase sheep and goats in large numbers from the Middle-Men, that they might establish their own herds. Stake out plots of land where they may graze. (will reduce possible construction projects by one) A decent population of your people support doing this -- 3 Speakers are behind it.
-[X] Expand the Militia: Enlist more volunteers to the defense of the city, should you think it necessary. A noticable population of your people support doing this -- 2 Speakers are behind it.
-[X] Send An Envoy to the Barrow-Men: Far to the north is a great valley where mighty barrows lie sleeping in the dark, monuments to ancient kings told of in no songs of Men or Elves. They are kept by a gaunt and sallow people — the Barrow-Men of Braen.
-[X] Send An Envoy to the Hillmen: The Men of the hills of northern Enedwaith are clearly Men of Darkness, enemies of all folk good and fair and free — but that does not mean you cannot at the least attempt to break words with them.
-[X] Send An Envoy to the Dwarf-Friends: There exists a tribe, or a confederation of tribes, who have grown wealthy trading food and supplies with the dwarves in the distant north. Send an envoy across the Gwathlo to meet with them.
-[X] 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)
--[X] Barazir
-[X] Pay A Visit To Rivendell: You yourself have personally been invited to Rivendell by the great Elf-Lord, Elrond Halfelven. Paying him a visit may strengthen your relationship with the elves.
(Imrazôr)
--[X] Invite Hazrabân to come with us to learn about his heritage, and show him the virtues our people have nearly forgotten. Both the Middle Men and the Númenóreans descend from the Edain, and he can hear these stories from those who were there when Men stood together with Elves to fight the darkness in the North.
-[X] Research the Middle-Men: It dawns on you that migration and exile have forced many of the men of twilight from their natural lands. Those with whom you now parlay are neighbors with men who may be all but strangers to them. Middle-Men you call them all, but you imagine they must have names for themselves in their own speech.

-[X] The Men of Sunlight
-[X] Doom, Unerring:
 
Hey, Skippy, I just realized that we have 10 options including the hero actions, meaning we have an extra 2 things to do. What do you wanna use them for?

Edit: Okay before everybody makes another plan, please recount how many things you can pick that aren't hero actions, please!?
 
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Interesting to see the number of votes for Doom, Unerring here. Was not expecting that.

rokafella said:
Hey, Skippy, I just realized that we have 10 options including the hero actions, meaning we have an extra 2 things to do. What do you wanna use them for?
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Oh, I had interpreted this to mean that we have eight options, two of which we can assign a hero to, rather than eight options + two hero options:

Telamon said:
Pick Eight (8) options. You may personally assign yourself or Barazîr to any votes you pick, making them personal options. As you have 2 heroes, you may make two votes personal options. Specify which character you want to send on which mission in the plan vote.
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I believe that's how it worked in the last plan, but it's actually long enough ago that I can't recall for sure. @Telamon?
 
[X] Plan Green Shoots of Hope
[X] The Men of Sunlight
[X] Doom, Unerring

Cope, peoples dies, that suck but two thousand years did not give any solution.
 
I have been reading over the last few turns, and please tell me we didn't get the pick of some options because we thought the hero actions also counted as normal actions.
 
[X] The Men of Sunlight
[X] Doom, Unerring
[X] Plan Green Shoots of Hope
 
[X] The Men of Sunlight
[X] Plan Green Shoots of Hope

Still very much torn on the doom of men vote. Glad to see Ironbark time in the vote. And from a practical matter we do need to expand to open more construction slots
 
[X] Doom, Unerring

I have not decided on the other things yet, but we absolutely should not fall into the same trap the Kings Men are drifting into. Best swallow the bitter pill now.
 
Telamon said:
'Working hard' would be understating it.

Three times a year of old the Kings of the Blessed Isle would climb the Meneltarma and leave bloodless offerings for the Eagles of Manwe. Upon that silent mountain, the King -and the King alone- would offer thanks to Illuvatar in the High-Elven tongue.

But now the kings lapse, and the mountain is climbed rarely, if ever at all. The old words are spoken out of habit and tradition, and a lingering fear. Elvish is heard not at all upon the Blessed Isle, and the Eagles who once dwelt in the great eyries of the Meneltarma are nowhere now seen. To speak of the Valar is to be met with scorn and laughter, and of Illuvatar a sullen silence.

Only in the lands of the Faithful are the old traditions still kept.
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Whilst I think this vote should absolutely be a personal one, I would quote this just to remind people of the import of the decision we're making here. I can understand wanting to avoid Life, Unending due to the symbolism it has in the context of this vote. But I do feel that simply going "cope" to our people and not taking the opportunity to renew and reaffirm our most sacred traditions of devotion to the One is going to be a... bold decision.

Now, that is not necessarily a wrong decision, I do not believe there are any wrong decisions in what is essentially a spiritual choice. But we are very much breaking from the outlook of Númenor here, and instead turning back towards something more like the grim welcoming of Death seen in the rest of the Edain. It is the same spirit of the heroes of old, who lived short and brutal lives battling against the cruel arc of destiny and rejected the fear of death with stubborn defiance. It is the spirit embodied most clearly in the books by Eowyn, who was able to defy the terror of the With-King because in that moment she wanted with the fullness of hope to die.

Think less of a Christian acceptance of death as the route to life everlasting in the bosom of God after a life well-lived, and more of the values of Siegfried, Beowulf, Hervor or other antique heroes of northern Europe. That life is short, the world is cold and dark, and we are frail and easily killed, but we will not go gently into that good night.

There is a lot to be said for Doom, Unerring, and I think it is very cool and extremely Tolkienic. But in my view, it will likely cause significant upset and unhappiness in our colony. (Possibly ameliorated if we later build a sacred space for the Faithful, creating a more syncretic culture.) I say this not because I am attempting to lobby votes one way or the other, but just so that we can vote better-informed.

(Also goddamn, @Telamon, really knocking out of the park with a real philosophical choice of a vote here.)
 
I, on the other hand, fully believe that this is the wrong choice. Even the Faithful have these institutions and they still turned out okayish. I'm just marching into the teeth of being wrong anyway because damn it I want to see if it's possible.
 
How do the construction projects in reaction to Hurin's death interact with the construction project to rebuild Tharbad's walls?
 
Arhin said:
I strongly believe that there is nothing bad in excellent medicine and quality-of-live improvement. Any ideology that states otherwise has something deeply, deeply wrong inside. It's definitely Life, Unending for me.
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No one is saying building hospitals is bad. The Faithful build them. What is bad is the reason why we would build it rn. It's telling to our people we can try to use médecine to become immortal. It is impossible, we're only human, so I think it's best for Men to understand and accept it now, not to give them false hope.

We will have the occasion to build a House of Life later, and when that moly will come I'll vote for it. The problem is the timing.

Fezzes said:
I, on the other hand, fully believe that this is the wrong choice. Even the Faithful have these institutions and they still turned out okayish. I'm just marching into the teeth of being wrong anyway because damn it I want to see if it's possible.
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The House of Life isn't wrong, it's obviously a very good thing in itself. The problem is the timing, it would be giving out people the false hope that medecine could avert death indefinitely. It's better to rip the bandage now, instead of having to do it later.
 
K von Carstein said:
It's telling to our people we can try to use médecine to become immortal. It is impossible, we're only human, so I think it's best for Men to understand and accept it now, not to give them false hope.
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I repeat: this deapth could be avoided with hospital. Building the hospital is absolutly logical conclusion in the case of accident. Give up the hospital idea (end even set it aside for later) is the same to Barazir to say "It's sad that kid is missing, but it is not really matter because Doom is Unerring anyway".

Also I believe that medicine can make humans immortal in time. We are not there in RL (and will not in our lifetime), but it is right and noble idea. I am not sure if this possible in Tolkien setting, but developing of hospital care is a good thing as is.
 
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