End of the Beginning of the End

[EQandcivfanatic]

Really, the amount of people you want to send to scout depends on your population size. For the most part, in this game (as opposed to botwawki), your forces have a pretty good chance of getting back, and actually for scouting, the smaller the party, the better. Larger parties will attract larger attention, witness the Crimson Dragons. For scavenging, raiding, lumberjacking, mining, etc, THAT'S what you need large parties for.

In other news, the front page has been updated for two new additions. First of all, there is now a "Explored" rating for zones that have been scouted at all. This represents how much of the zone has been thoroughly scouted and explored. If there is no Explored state, then the zone has not been explored at all.

Also, for easier reference, I have added Dungeons to the Heroes post. This is for if you want to go on a nice raiding party for phat loots and treasure. Also, it will be important to have these located on the front for when we have some active heroes.

@Immaculate: I have no receipt of your new orders.

 

[Zappericus]

@Immaculate: I have no receipt of your new orders.

EQandcivfanatic has used: BUREAUCRACY!
it is super-effective!

On another note, I've edited my orders in light of the new exploration percentage system. Don't want to leave my capital region unexplored, obviously :,)

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@Zappericus: I just realized I forgot to answer a question. A number of more resource-oriented starts get "free" production of food and water as their bonus, while you got soldiers and weapons. Wells in general produce a maximum of 60 Water per turn. They certainly aren't the pumping stations of botwawki.

 

[gay_Aleks]

@Tolni: There are no adventurers outside of the factions that exist. In lieu of heroes existing yet, either you or another faction will have to launch a raid of a dungeon to reap any of the sweet, sweet spoils. Yes, the odds of Heroes arising is increased dramatically in a dungeon raid.

Can I ask other factions nearby to join my raid?

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@Tolni: Certainly, as long as you don't mind splitting the loot. Of course you could always betray them and take it all for yourself.


For those interested, plan is to start the update next Monday, unless 90% or more orders are received sooner.


EDIT: This time around, not as likely to be on Steam, mostly because I've gotten readdicted to World of Warcraft, so not logging into Steam all the time. If you have questions that are not suited for general consumption on the thread, send them by Private Message.

 

[Sonereal]

@EQ

Besides agricultural, is fishing a viable way of producing food or does "farming equipment" actually cover that end too?

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@Scarlet King: Actually I hadn't thought about fishing, because I had been going off of the Fallout ruleset, which assumes fishing to not be viable. For the time being let's assuming "Farming Equipment" includes any equipment used to increase food production, including fishing.

 

[Shadowbound]

From the Elves of Windgard
To the Dryads

Spirits of tree and bark,
something something hark,
night is dark and full of terrors,
so overlook our previous errors.

Let's be friends, and share,
and in that way show we care,
about the fuzzy woodland animals,
and something something -als.

You help me, and we'll help you,
on this we pledge to be true.
Give directions when lost,
and that'd just be boss.

something something mutual defence,
so we can have pretty painted fence(s).
we're the cool kids, and you can be too,
if you just let us pass through.

*mic drop*

 

[Immaculate]

From the Elves of Windgard
To the Dryads

Spirits of tree and bark,
something something hark,
night is dark and full of terrors,
so overlook our previous errors.

Let's be friends, and share,
and in that way show we care,
about the fuzzy woodland animals,
and something something -als.

You help me, and we'll help you,
on this we pledge to be true.
Give directions when lost,
and that'd just be boss.

something something mutual defence,
so we can have pretty painted fence(s).
we're the cool kids, and you can be too,
if you just let us pass through.

*mic drop*

 

[Grandkhan]

Wells in general produce a maximum of 60 Water per turn. They certainly aren't the pumping stations of botwawki.

Wait, so uh, are we meant to be unable to support our initial starting population? Because near as I can tell there's no way of getting nearly enough water, short of desperately buying it. Literally no one has enough magicka just to convert it, and if literally all efforts go towards getting baseline water needs you never will.

Also wrt selling magicka, converting it and selling it more or less defeats the point since you might as well convert it into the resource you need. Not that I'm complaining, mind - selling it was hilariously broken.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@Grandkhan: That is true, but there could be more creative ways to do that.

 

[Zappericus]

Suck the moisture straight out of the weak.

or, y'know, find a freshwater lake

 

[Shadowbound]

@EQ: Would the tree-bangers object if I used magicka to mimic modern sustainable lumbering practices by planting new trees and rapidly regrowing them?

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@Shadowbound: Probably not, the dryads are only linked to old-growth trees.

 

[Shadowbound]

Spoiler :

Windgard: Shadowbound
Leader: Toruviel, Mistress of the Mountain (Politician)
Race: Elves
Faction Trait: Adventurous
Capital: Windguard (Elven Enclave; Zone 96)
Structures: School, Fortifications, Lookout Tower, Well, Farming Equipment, Lumber Mill, Forge
Population: 606
Education: General
Gold: 0
Food: 1,259 (+325)
Water: 1,164 (+230)
Lumber: 210 (+50)
Ore: 10
Magicka: 393
Weapons: 80 Spears
Animals and Transports: None
Soldiers: 50 Archers, 10 Mages

Stats note: Windgard is spelled as Windguard in the Capital section.

Trade Orders

Sell 200 units of lumber for 14400 gold. BUY LOW SELL HIGH YO

Buy 500 units of water for 3000 gold.

Exploration Orders

Three exploration parties will be sent out again, each consisting of a mage and 7 archers, for a total of eight elves.

Two of the parties will continue to explore the Grey Vale, with an emphasis on finding sources of fresh water to address our imminent shortage. While it won't happen for four or five years, for an elf that's a blink of an eye.

One of the parties will go northwest and explore outside the Grey Vale. Our keen elf senses tell us that there is loot in that direction.

Domestic Orders

Our lumber mill will continue to operate, but we will implement sustainable lumbering practices in order to address Dryad concerns. Using our elf magicks, we will take small trees and rapidly grow them to full-size to fuel our demand for lumber. 50 Magicka will be spent on this, which will be equivalent to just magically building the lumber. If this practice is more efficient, then we'll have the population harvest the extra lumber.

We're going to forge our remaining 10 ore into two swords, and our remaining 10 lumber into two longbows.

Because we have LOTS OF GOLD now, we're going to spend some of it on defense. A mage costs 300 gold, so we're going to spend 1500 gold to train 5 new mages. We're also going to spend 2 swords, 2 bows, and 200 gold on 2 new archers.

Our goal is to make the dryads happy, so our finest poet has composed a message that should be given to them. Being friends with the supernatural inhabitants of the forest will be useful, even if it cuts into our lumbering.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

Just a reminder to all that orders are due next Monday, so get them in!

 

[Sonereal]

The Private Journal of Regina Flores

If found, please return to my office!!


7 August..01?

It is remarkable how humans can fall into a new normal so easily. The specter of hunger and destruction looms over the university, spooking the Ideology child into submission. She hides under her blanket, afraid to look out lest the monster gets her! But that young child won't be young forever. The monsters are real, as she will come to understand, but they're manageable. Once she realizes the monster is tamed (provided we don't all starve to death), she will begin asking tough questions.

This is my fear for the university. Our structure was fitting in the old world, but soon the university will need to make hard political decisions. Everybody can gather around and agree that food production, at least for now, must be communal in nature and rationed according to need, not so much want.

Someday, though, we will achieve food and water security and will need to decide how to proceed not just beyond the walls of the university, but beyond the walls of our current thinking and understanding. I was elected to run the school by a board, but none of those board members were "elected" by anybody! Well, unless you count the board. The board members elect board members, which was fine when we were but a university.

I don't believe the our economic system will survive in its current system for long. Right now, the university cannot sustain its weight. In the future, the university cannot possibly regulate every economic activity that occurs within, and someday, outside her walls!

Some members of the board I've talked to outside official sessions (where these matters are too small and distant to be bothered with) believe that the university must shed herself of the imperium and allow the citizen-students to decide how the new country will be ran. Others, such as Professor Boyd, believe that the university and the village that grows around it, must subject itself to technocratic rule, which he says is the only thing keeping us from all starving to death anyway.

I don't tell him, but I think, "What? Create a Foundation? Look at how well that turned out!" Our country could very well outgrow our lofty tower' ability to understand its people. I don't tell him because then he would ask, "Oh yeah? What do YOU think we should do MMMM?" and I don't really have an answer for that haha.

We have time before that question forces itself out of somebody's lips. Somebody that actually has supporters.

-RF
-----

OOC: Later that day

A liberal arts student (we still have those???) asked me which direction the school was going. I was about to have a heart attack! Did God send him because of what I wrote? I asked him what did he mean and he said, "Is the school going to direct more resources toward practical studies or will it maintain the current size of its liberal arts/philosophy/whatever departments?"

My STEMaster race reptillian brain almost screamed, "We can't be a school of literally starving art majors!" but I stifled that little bastard right quick! I gave him a noncommittal answer that clearly didn't satisfy him and said, "I will bring up the issue with the board at our next meeting", which did satisfy him, if only barely.

Now, I'm no fool. History, philosophy, and liberal arts are important to the cultural well-being of university and apparent city-city. Knowing the history of the old country would be...nice, except there's no indication that we'll ever go back to that old world. I'm going to suggest we emphasis practical development. We need better agricultural and fishing practices before we need a critique of Plato's Republic. I'm going to suggest we shrink down the liberal departments greatly, the social sciences slightly (we actually probably need psychohistorians on the payroll), and redirect those resources to our engineering department mainly.

I hope I'm doing the right thing, and I feel like I"m doing the right thing. Only time will tell, and I hope that, if we survive the winters to come, people will look back on this decision favorably, or at least, understandingly.


-RF

 

[Koro]

With their deep tunnels collapsed, the dwarves must set out and explore topside. When the tunnels collapsed, the most prominent moisture farms and fungal caves were buried in rubble. While in the long term it will be necessary to excavate the lost tunnels, Bolin realizes that his people would starve long before they reclaim their ancestral homeland.
Orders are sent to move farming production topside, as their supply of cave fungus is running low. In order to facilitate the farmers, resources are devoted to the production of new farming equipment, as well as shoring up the remaining underground moisture farms.
The dwarves will never survive a fight against the humans, their numbers are simply too low. In order to give his people an edge against any soon to be invaders, Bolin orders the great forges to be rekindled. Some dwarves head topside to gather wood for the great fires, others begin reconstruction on the forge itself.
Lastly, Bolin prepares a team of his best musketeers and scouts to survey the land surrounding their new home. The dwarves must learn what they can about this strange and unfamiliar territory.

TRADE ORDERS

Spoiler :

Sell 500 ore (-500 ore, +13000 gold)
Train 50 footmen (-50 swords, -2500 gold, -500 ore)
Purchase a Well, Forge, Farming Tools (-700 ore, -900 lumber)

GENERAL ORDERS

Spoiler :

25 population will be tasked with surveying the immediate area surrounding the hold for suitable farm land, and 100 population will be tasked with clear cutting the forest immediately surrounding the hold. Neither group will stray too far from the entrance to Dun-Karaz, and they will have 10 musketeer guards and 20 footmen keeping watch.

10 footmen and 10 musketeers will be sent to survey the zone. Their orders are observation only. If they make contact with any threats or other civilizations, they are ordered to report back but not engage.

Challenge: We no longer know where we are, and the world has changed dramatically from what it had been. Our people are on the verge of panic and look towards the leadership for answers. What do we tell them has happened?

Response:

Spoiler :

The dwarves of Dun-Karaz have always relied on tradition and family. Caste and Clan means everything socially. King Bolin reminds his people that even in the face of great calamity, the clans will hold together. While his people were well aware of the effect the sundering had on the tunnels and caves, they were unprepared for the drastic changes to the surface.
Where Dun-Karaz was once nestled in a range of snow capped mountains, the dwarves sent topside have reported finding themselves in a vast pine forest, with no end in sight. Bolin shares all of this information with his people. With the tunnels collapsed, many more resources than are currently available will be needed in order to begin excavation, and they have conveniently found themselves in the middle of what looks to be an endless supply of timber. In order to reclaim their homeland below, Bolin will have to lead his people to the surface.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

Just a warning to all of 24 hours until I begin working on the update. At current count, less than half of orders are in at this point.

 

[christos200]

- Yang Kang, King of Shu State​

Yang Kang had strongly disliked governing Shu: he had to oversee hundreds of reports and tens of building projects, he had to make sure that justice was served, the harvest was going well and that all of his people were well fed. He had to work all day long and he rarely slept much at night. Yang Kang loved his people and that's why he did his best to fulfill the above mentioned tasks as best as he could, but did not enjoy much doing all this hard work. However, there was a part of being a King that he strongly liked: he could create and command his own army.

During the past years of his reign, he focused more on building up the nation's defenses and facilities. This year, he was going to focus instead on building a military machine. A small one, due to lack of resources and people. The Shu State was a relative poor Kingdom with only 618 inhabitants and no magic skills at all. So, the forces he could muster right now were just 20 footmen. A laughable and humiliating, for him at least, number of soldiers. But this would be the beginning one of the world's greatest military machines, or so he hoped.

Although a year ago he would have preferred a simple life to that of a King, Yang Kang was gradually becoming more and more ambitious. He was now more mature and more strict. A few years ago, he would tolerate everything and he would forgive Ministers too easily. Nowadays, he would put to death those Ministers who repeatedly failed him and downgrade those who were starting to fail him. He would also dismiss advices of the Ministers and take personal control of the state. Yang Kang was changing from a boy King to an ambitious despot.

But there was one person he could not forget, the young woman he had met a few months ago. Unfortunately, Minister Dong Fang had already arranged for his daughter to marry a young scholar and so this whole affair ended up as a fiasco. Yang Kang was not one who would use his royal powers to take the woman of an other man, so he gave up on Dong Ying, despite his love for her. This affair made him a bit bitter and so he was now focusing on the training of his men.

He would personally train them. "Hack down on the enemy!", he shouted on one occasion as he showed his men how to battle. He then demonstrated his war prowess by hacking down with his sword on an imaginary opponent. "Never rest! Always move forward and attack! Attack, attack, attack! Never defend, never retreat!". His small miniature army of 20 men was gradually becoming more and more well trained and experienced.

Of course, Yang Kang knew that with this small army, he would not be able to explore effectively the nearby area, much less build an Empire as he had hoped. But it was a beginning. And, as all beginnings, a humble one. But did not all great conquerors had a humble start? He was still young, Yang Kang thought, and by raiding and conquering nearby villages, he could gather enough resources and men to muster a large enough army to spread out his rule across the continent.