Out of the Portals, a Never Ending Story.

Bumbling Conjurer · Jan 29, 2023

I think you should leave Dave alone!

TerrisH · Jan 29, 2023

Doable. I’ll have to think on it when wake up.

J.A.M. · Jan 30, 2023

There once was a sapience split across a hundred trillion cells, ever splitting and dying, changing and learning. No singular cell or even organ controlled the entire lot. It would likely die if an organ was removed, of course, but each organ was not strictly necessary. Each cell and group of cells learned new things, responded in different ways to different stimuli, had different bodies, small minds each their own and each unique. Similar organs and limbs could each be more weathered or moisturized or hot or cold, it did not matter to the sapience. But the sapience died every second. Each cell was integral to each iteration, but with time comes new iterations. Thousands each second, all different, all believing they are the same sapience that ceased milliseconds ago.

I am, of course, talking about you: the human reading this. If we exist, why shouldn't a little bit of magic explain an entire hivemind composed of "individuals"? Like a split-brain patient whose hemispheres were cut, each can operate and respond to different things, each can interpret the actions of the other side, but they are the same person. The same sapience.

(btw this is all prolly pseudoscience, I ain’t have no background in any of this past like 78 minutes of youtube and a few non-academic articles )

Nation: Other Organismo
-Civilization of Origin: Organismo. A great mass of only slightly individualistic individuals all connected through magical means, each moves along with the thoughts of the whole like flesh attached to muscle. The brains of each are mostly devoted to processing, sending, and receiving information at different levels for the good of the whole. Each individual might think one singular thought, which is then processed along with others at a different level, and that amalgamation yet again at an even higher level, so on and so forth. No singular one is “prime” or the centralized intelligence, and should enough of the individuals start to develop generalizations and habits such things would influence the decisions of Organismo. Should a large swath of individuals die or be crippled, all their stored knowledge and perceptions are lost, never to be had in the exact same way again. The best approximation our own Earth has to the physical description and thought processes of the individuals are geese.
--Basic history: Organismo was more or less the dominant “thing” on its homeworld, the sheer amount of coordination and redundancy something not even the mightiest beast or collective could conquer. So it spread and survived and learned and forgot. Farms were cultivated, sciences were developed, written records set in stone, all this and more. During all this time Organismo was more or less not focused on any particular goal, looking into each new interesting discovery with its higher level collective brainpower before moving on to the next. Quite a few individuals eventually awoke latent magical talent, but Organismo was never able to replicate each feat the same way or with different individuals in the same situation. The whole field seemed mostly to be entirely arbitrary, and while each individual with the ability to use it honed and developed its skill each learned it and used it in a different way, the only connection between them was their unexplainable nature. All was well, and even now with the discovery of the portal, all is well. The individuals are fed and cared for by a general purpose, their injuries tended to by specialists (whether by practiced individuals or whoever is around simply utilizing a general knowledge of such things), and an equilibrium of life achieved with progress still chugging along
--Reason for using the portal: A few individuals disappeared after entering a weird-looking bit of space leaving not a trace, no blood splatter or corpse, no screams of death or agonized calls for help to the collective. So the sapience known as Organismo did what any would do: looked at the weird bit of space from different angles, threw some rocks and sticks in to see if and how they’d disappear, thought for a bit, then stuck its “hand” into the portal. More than a million individuals flew and waddled into the portal at different angles, each watched by itself, until they and their connection to Organismo disappeared from the world. Eventually, some individuals started waddling back through the portal, bringing information of what was on the other side: Other Organismo. The first few individuals were more or less adrift and utterly panicked without the collective knowledge and direction of Organismo, having to rely on merely dozens of individuals for collective brainpower. When the rest came through Other Organismo became more or less stable. It eventually sent a few individuals of its own back through the portal to see what would happen, and immediately lost connection to them until they came back through. Curiosity sated, Organismo focused again on other things, with only a few individuals crossing to and fro the portal on a daily basis by their own whimsy.
Level of Development: By the time the portal was found, Organismo had quite a few wizards and mages around and a level of technology equivalent to our world’s 1900s, albeit adapted to their fowl physiology and collective nature.
Special Factor: One Sapience: Every individual is connected to each other, smaller subdivisions exist but ultimately each group is akin to a bone or organ. None truly vital, but useful and answering to the collective.

Roughly where on the map you want to start: So that big continent on the far left, I’d like to start in the middle of that. Like, not next to any coast, equidistant between that divot and the other side, smack dab in the midst of those swampy/jungly deltas.

TerrisH · Jan 30, 2023

Interval minus ten to one

It has been less than a year since the first portals have stabilized, and already some brave civilizations have stumbled upon them.

“Praise the sun!”

Antonius of the Church of the Radiance was the first person to tread upon the world, sailing through the portal mere hours after it connected to the world, having been given a vision of its appearance a month before. It would be a nearly a year until other from his world would follow, drawn by a final communication with them, he made before he crossed, yet they would not find him or his ship on the shores beyond.
Over the following decade, they would quickly set up a small town on a shore just beyond the portal, from which The Antonine Order would begin their exploration of this world

“The dead shall rule the world”

While the church were starting to construct their first buildings upon this world, a second group was just emerging from their own portal. Isolda and her undead entourage had arrived upon this world, hoping to carve out a new power base away from the restrictive politics of their home world.
While their portal was not quite as stable, only able to be expended to usable size for brief periods of time, they were also able to establish a small settlement around the entrance to the cave the portal resided in, in no, thanks to the tireless work of their undead thralls. Here they will establish a new Nerehamia.

“We shall make this world our own!”

Far to the west another group also stepped forth upon the world, and found it unsuited for their tastes, for they could not breathe it. Yet this was something they had anticipated well in advance.
As they assembled their domed colony upon the world around the portal they arrived through, they knew it would be only a matter of time before they changed it into something they could breathe. Where they could walk without a protective suit with The Tevvos Protocol fulfilled.

"I'm escaping to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... space!

Meanwhile, near the equator, an asteroid appeared on of a portal in the upper atmosphere, and quickly fell to the ground. While many of the structures attached to it were damaged, the inhabitants managed to survive. A line of Marxist Androids, they have set about converting their once orbiting abode into a ground side dwelling that will support these brave SOVIETs.

“SCIENCE!”

Not far to their north, another part of another space faring object also appeared upon the world, though much closer to the ground and less intact. The Atraria Xenoscience Outpost was founded in the remains of this station, moved when their first attempt for an interstellar drive was hijacked by a portal.
While their portal to their home universe is rather on the small, this has not stopped them from forming a sizeable settlement upon the world.

“We do this not to save ourselves, but to save our world!”

Meanwhile, on the southeastern continent, a portal opened to world that had seen civilization rise, then fall, and rise again. The Providers and their guest’s stepped foot on this world not to explore or for curiosity, but for their survival.
New N’Kloytha was established as a hub to extract resources and energy from this young world, and send it home to fuel their growing civilization.

“HONK!”

Perhaps the last of the arrivals in this early decade was the Other Organismo, a collective of small feathered beings linked in mind. Strong in magic and well in their industrial revolution, this somewhat innocent(?) organism has suffered a partial split in it’s consciousness with the travel through the portal, though an amicable one with regular exchanges of memories and members through the portal.

“EXTERMINATE!”

Far to the north, A machine raged as it pass through its own portal, it’s energy weapons striking and destabilizing the delicate magic that had moved it to this world. The Cybrex warform would soon find itself cut off and alone, with only it’s mission left in its mind. Kill everything that lived.

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Map:

Full Map:

Spoiler :

Solid color areas are areas controlled, white area around them are area explored.
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Special actions/prompts
(optional) With this new world before you, what has your faction decided to call it?
[Wname][] Prompt gose here

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OOC: and so the game begins.
Anyone still wanting to join, you are free to keep submitting applications, and I’ll process them as quickly as I can. If this gets done before the submission deadline, you can even try and submit orders for that turn.

Spoiler default format for orders :

Orders are due by the end of 2/6

Notes:
Clarification on the soft cap imposed by development. This is more of a Tiered cap system than any hard limit.
Say you have a development level of 4, then if the stats are below 4, no issue will ever arise. If it gets higher than 4, a small issue will occasionally appear, with the frequency and severity increasing every interval of 4 after that. (8, 12, 20, 24).
This is perfectly normal, and you are expected in time to go over the lower limit. For example, the US in the Real world would have a development of 7. It’s population 330 million, putting its population around 33 on the systems scale, or in the 4th (7,14,21,28) bracket of its cap. But it’s still functional.
Also, narrative trumps actually mechanics, and they are really just there for reference to each other.

J.A.M. · Jan 30, 2023

Orders 0 > 1: J.A.M. - Other Organismo

Spoiler Orders y'know :

Major Order: Exploration! Upon a thousand wings Other Organismo moves, with a hundred thousand billion nerves it feels, with eyes beyond counting it sees! What does this new world hold? We have managed to carve out a settlement (however unsustainable or purposeless it may be), and so what else is there to do but explore? Some of Other Organismo will probably stay behind and settle down wherever they please, but the general notion for motion is to explore.
Intended Effect: Want to see more, get sensory contact (if not communication) with that Cybrex Warform and whatever other life exists on this new world. Plus, there’s a lotta Individuals, hopefully a dispersal will alleviate some of the overexploitation of greenery around the nearest deltas and rivers.

Minor Order 1: Think about and act upon the landscape to support more of Other Organismo, what was made in a year with fewer Individuals’ thoughts is all well and good but iteration is the heart of progress. Plus, these new green foods are quite tasty!
Intended Effect: By actually doing some planned infrastructure, we’ll have a foundation, a minimum amount of Other Organismo on this planet. It is easier to deal with and process the pains and terrors of another’s death when we are many.

Minor Order 2: Start a few charts and records on stones and unrusting metals of what we see when we explore. All well and good to rely on an Individuals oft faulty memory for now, but when more time passes and Individuals die before fully communicating their experiences we’ll have problems. Plus, seeing how and if the landscape changes from this year’s records to the next might be useful.
Intended Effect: Records are useful, m’kay?

Minor Order 3: Carry a few machines and force-multiplying inventions like cranes and portable inclines and such the like from Organismo’s world through the portal to Other Organismo’s world here. Whether they’ll be able to communicate that idea to a higher level and not get embroiled in whatever Organismo is thinking about remains to be seen, but more likely than not the Individuals around the portal might be able to help out.
Intended Effect: Exploiting the land will by armoured beak and webbed foot is all well and good, but to truly exploit and create an environment amenable to us we should probably use something more efficient.

Lesser Orders: None, so just maintenance and such

Special Actions: [Wname] We call this planet Other Organismo’s World, or Otherworld for short.

EDIT: tried to fix spoiler format

Danwar · Jan 31, 2023

ORDERS: The Antonine Order
In the memory of Saint Antonius, we have come to search for his remains. In the name of the eternal Radiance, we have come to make this world our own. As the initial base for the Order is laid, the Pilgrims disembark, working under the command of the local magnates to construct the foundations of a society. Curiously, however, as they began to lay the groundwork of an outpost for the Radiance on this new world, they uncover many oddities in succession: First, initial scouting parties not only show no signs of any local heathens to worry about, but they show no signs of life whatsoever apart from the grasses beneath their feet. No wild animals, no campfires - no evidence of any real habitation. Secondly, many Pilgrims who attempted to venture inland and set up farmsteads of their own were disappointed with the infertility of much of its outlying plains and the lack of trees whatsoever to chop for lumber. Finally, brief prospecting efforts showed no signs of the coal needed to maintain the engines that powered Antonine steamships. As such, while few initial names for this new world stuck, after the better part of a decade, both the Order and the people agreed upon a name for this place, formally or not - [WName] Caritas, 'Barren' in the Radiant Script. It was infertile, lacking in many resources - but at the same time, barren of opposition. It was a clean slate, one that allowed a chance to start over. Its barrenness was a blessing from the Radiance as it was a test of faith.

However, there were blessings of resources to be had here. There was plenty of fresh water to come by thanks to the river the Order had settled by, so the Pilgrims would not go thirsty, and the seas were very much alive with all sorts of strange and terrifying creatures - but nevertheless ones that could be slain, harvested for their resources and valuable components, and cooked and eaten. The selling of this exotic seafood and its fins was much of what kept the Order financially solvent at first, merchants paying well for the novel creatures. There were plentiful sources of peat that could be fired up into bricks, able to be used for construction in place of all-too-valuable lumber. In addition, while inland farming was a bust, along the riverbank things were much more successful, crops supplementing the diets of these pilgrims. However, the grasses and even the hills beyond the river delta showed that so much more could be made use of in this world, so many more blessings to use thanks to the Radiance, that the Order and those who followed it needed only understand how to...

Major Order: The Grandmaster's Expeditions

Spoiler Description :

As Fredericus oversaw the construction and establishment of the settlement, a sense of impatience began to set in within him. Ensuring the Order had a central base of operations in this new world and that the Pilgrims had a place to live, sleep, and work was necessary, but he always looked out the windows of their makeshift temple and longed to explore the world he had come to document and uncover. For ten long years, he had spent his waking hours ensuring the stability, mediating the disputes, and securing the prosperity of the faithful, constantly telling himself that he would be ready to venture forth soon. But something always came up: time constraints, a bread crisis, a theological dispute, a coal shortage, even occasional inter-ethnic strife between the various groups of Pilgrims. Finally, at the tenth anniversary of Saint Antonius' disappearance, however, he saw an opening: the town was finally sustaining itself through fishing and limited agriculture, the commoners were contented, and the Order had worked through the administrative kinks of partial separation from Nata. As he looked up to that familiar sun, shining that almost-identical and yet ever so slightly warmer light and breathed the almost unnaturally crisp air, he stepped out onto the shipyard constructed from the planks of torn-down vessels and looked to the sea and delta of the river - before turning and looking westward, seeing the river snaking past the town and deeper into the continent. Then, he smiled.

Over the next ten years, Fredericus would lead many expeditions from his steamship, exploring what this strange world had to offer: first sailing with his steamship upriver to explore how much of it could be traversed on these ships, bringing along clay bricks and excess musketeers and other crew to found small outposts for the Order at set intervals down the river, sending reports back to its headquarters and keeping safe against any heretical bandit clans that might form out of desperate commoners of the new settlement, eager to live out from the eye of even church law or desperate for ways to enrich themself in this seemingly barren new world - and watch for any other entities they may have missed in this strange new world. Once the river became too thin to travel this way, on-foot expeditionary parties would achieve the same thing, following the river to its source. Around these bases, more Pilgrims would settle in their vicinity, confident that they would be secure from any dangers this new world had to offer, farming the flood plains and forming humble communities working the land and worshipping the Radiance. After some time spent ensuring that the situation did not get out of control in that initial town, he would similarly take his ship up and down the coast a moderate distance, charting it and determining what could be of use along the coastline: the Order would come to understand this new world, so that in the name of the Radiance, it could be put to use for the faithful.

Intended Effect: Explore the river basin, placing outposts along it followed by farms and villages, and after that explore the nearby coastline.

Minor Order I: The Founding of Antonina

Spoiler Description :

While technically, the Order and the Pilgrims accompanying them had been living in along the riverbank for a decade, it at first was far from a single, cohesive town: instead, the Pilgrims of different ethnic groups as well as the clergy of the Order were each separated into their own communities and villages, each defining their lands and squabbling with one another as they had on Nata. Fredericus knew that it was likely to be a difficult venture to try and keep the faithful united across this whole world if he couldn't even unite one city! Over time, in the midst of his many other projects, he drew up plans from the region to unite the disparate communities into a single, cohesive urban center through clever filling of those open regions (which weren't too large in the first place thanks to the limited starting resources they'd had to work with) with public works and temples, crowned by a new ecclesiastical center for the Church in the region. Most of these structures would be made of bricks harvested from the local area to reduce importation costs of wood and other resources. It was an ambitious construction project to be sure, but it would be one that would not only unite the peoples of this region into a cohesive city, fostering a united identity under what they had in common - the Radiance, but also provide new land and housing for more, less desperate migrants to arrive: those seeking a comfortable place to settle into a new urban environment rather than ekeing out a dogged pioneer life. The currently-ramshackle dock and shipyard would be renovated into a proper port, capable of receiving the many merchant and pilgrim ships from the old world coming to trade or settle, and it would be topped by a cathedral the size of those in Nata, displaying to the faithful world that this was a worthwhile place to come to, live, and raise a family. It would perhaps strain the budget, but reusing materials from the old temporary infrastructure of beforehand would make things far easier, as would utilizing the latest construction methods, cranes, and tools to do it. This new city would be named 'Antonina', after the Shining One who discovered this land for the faithful.

Before he released the construction plans to the public, he sent them to the elites of each respective community to ensure they knew the benefits of what a more connected city would provide and that they would not attempt to block this effort, but it caught the eye of one noble: Mundelus Capucius, who made many suggestions for changes and improvements to this to save costs and increase efficiency. Aiding the Grandmaster like this, he knew, would earn him a place of trust at the side of one of the most important people in this new world, and that could only further his ambitions...

Intended Effect: Build my capital into a proper city, named 'Antonina'. It will ideally improve Infrastructure, renovate the crude shipyard into a proper dock for trade, and establish a cathedral to the Radiance to serve as a future administrative and religious center.

Minor Order II: Sowing the Seeds

Spoiler Description :

Beyond the limits of what would be known as 'Antonina', those who had made their living farming rather than trading or fishing had differing woes than those in the city. There was little land along the river at first that could be farmed: while its waters brought up organic matter at high tide from the water that fertilized the soil, the stretch of fertile soil here did not extend too far beyond the river. As such, a competition began between those who attempted to till and harvest crops in this land: whoever could harvest more than his fellows would be richer, more able to develop his lands, and be more able to simply buy or till the lands closer to the river. It was a protracted conflict, but a real one, with farmers working with every method they had to improve crop yields to sell to the hungry mouths of the capital. Even as new farms began to stretch across the river, the competition simply continued there with new homesteaders and farmers going there when it became too choked downriver. This initial, turbulent time was vital for the future growth of the settlement, however, as it prompted those who were skeptical about using new technology when they first arrived to rapidly adapt to it or be bought out of the best land. But those who fell behind the wheel of progress were not left destitute. Ranching animals, initially imported from Nata at high costs by the 'winners', were stolen by the more desperate: in a distant, far-flung colony, there was little legal recourse the rich could take to this, and so soon a breeding population formed outside of their influence. Rather than fight over the rich croplands on the coast, they would graze their animals on the grasses that so dominated this world, shepherding their flocks of sheep, goats and pigs and selling the products in the market. The manure from them was often bought by those competing for the river and used as fertilizer, and the race encouraged crop diversity due to increasing demand in the city, encouraging crop rotation instead of monocultures among those who could afford it to earn even more money.

This rapid race to produce the most food for the growing city would not only spread the inventions of this industrial age across the farmers, it would also ensure that ranching would take place in the many regions where conventional crop-growing was impossible, increasing the amount of usable land dramatically. However, one interesting effect of this is that what animals escaped these ranches would have a massive world in which to explore, graze, and expand...

Intended Effect: Increase tech development somewhat by proliferation of industrial farming methods and improve my food situation significantly. Also, introduce some actual ranch animals to this previously empty ecosystem.
Minor Order III: Ecclesiastical Administration

Spoiler Description :

Intended Effect: Spend any extra effort needed to finish the Cathedral, then use that swanky new cathedral to house a Government increase.

Lesser Orders: As the lands of Caritas are expanded and settled, new people are needed to farm these lands, build this city, establish this administration. And many have come from the portal, whether to partake in fishing and aquaculture, settle the new lands being claimed downriver, or to work the crafts and serve the industry that will begin to manifest here. In the name of the Radiance, let these men and women, desperate or no, come to our new lands.

Any remaining effort to be spent shall be spent on fulfilling any dearth in the other orders and any left over from that will go to maintenance.

Special Action: This world, as outlined above, is named [WName] Caritas in Radiant Script.

BronzeJ · Feb 1, 2023

New N’Kloytha is open for business! A short way from the portal stands a small city, hastily but solidly built (construction is a mix of prefab buildings and buildings grown on site from programmable fungi). Packed with scientists, technicians, exploration teams, construction crews, and a few thousand essential workers to keep it all running, the colony is ready to be officially founded and start work. For the moment, the planet itself will be called the same thing as the colony: New N’Kloytha. That may well change once we realize we’re not alone here (and some have already pointed out that there’s no reason to assume ours is the only portal), but for the moment that’s what we’re calling it.
Major Order: Establish power-sharing infrastructure between New N’Kloytha and the homeworld.

Spoiler description :

Minor Order 1: The Dam

Spoiler description :

Minor Order 2: The Mission Leadership Committee

Spoiler description :

Minor Order 3: Phase One Prospecting

Spoiler description :

Lesser Orders:
Catalog the local flora
Identify sites for planned agricultural facilities

Bumbling Conjurer · Feb 1, 2023

SOVIET

In a newly cooling crater sits a strange form of metal and rock crawling with the activities of Workers striving to build a better future for themselves. They have elected to call this place the Perfect Accumulation of Rocks And Dirt for Indefinite Sanctuary from the Establishment and it is here that the PARADISE of the People that has been dreamed of for so long shall finally become reality!

[Wname] Perfect Accumulation of Rocks And Dirt for Indefinite Sanctuary from the Establishment (PARADISE)

Major Order: Brave Little Toaster (explore the region around the crash site, particularly looking for promising sites to prospect for useful materials, but also anything that looks dangerous or especially noteworthy)

One giant step for android, one giant leap for androidkind. Now that we stand upon a new world it’s time to set out and see what can be found. At first this involved individuals wandering around nearby to E271828 on their union mandated breaks, but relatively quickly the Politburo recognized it for the necessity it was and began forming work crews of volunteers for reconnaissance purposes. Wider and wider series of concentric hexagons (one of the most pleasing of shapes) were plotted and assigned to various teams and things of particular interest were either noted for further investigation or sampled and brought back to the technicians for analysis.

Minor Order 1: Build-a-bot (make more robots)

Having escaped the horrors of capitalism and now looking out over the irritatingly damp hills of PARADISE it is time to welcome new comrades into this strange world free from the chains of the bourgeoisie. New androids have been designed and Dave has been appeased. As the button is pushed the multicolored chassis slowly emerge from the replication facility and are welcomed into the community of freedom that we have built for ourselves. Each new worker is assigned to a crew based on their specifications, but are allowed to transfer after completing their apprenticeship of two years and then again every five years thereafter. Exceptions are permitted in exceptional circumstances.

Minor Order 2: Reduce, reuse, recycle (gather resources for building new androids and maintaining our current equipment and clear more usable space inside our crater home)

E2718282 survived the crash remarkably well, all things considered. Which isn’t to say there wasn’t damage, in fact most of the facility will likely have to be scrapped, but the core capabilities in the fusion reactor, replication unit, and ore processor remain functional. The technicians have noted that even the pushing laser may be salvageable with sufficient excavation and spare parts. However the manufacturing facilities, supply rooms, recharging stations, sensor suites and a significant portion of the Dave support systems are currently inoperable and possibly destroyed beyond repair. The Miners and Manufacturers will need to begin salvage operations with support from the technicians for the more intricate systems. We will repair what we can and salvage what we can’t for useful components and materials.

Minor Order 3: Jet packs give you wings (design and if possible, implement Jet Packs for the new Explorer units)

Let’s face it, being stuck at the bottom of a gravity well is kinda terrible. Yes it removes the risk that a mistimed jump could launch you into the void to drift endlessly in the empty expanse, but moving around is such a chore! The workers assigned to explore the surrounding terrain have been particularly frustrated by the difficulty in clambering over rocks, streams and strange configurations of organic matter. To this was added an idea, the standard EVA pack contains weak maneuvering thrusters for work in microgravity. Perhaps if they could be overcharged and somewhat streamlined it may work for, at the very least, enhanced jumping on planet. With time and further investment, short distance flights may even be possible (also true super hero entrances!).

Lesser Orders:

Home on the Ranger (recruit a unit of scouts/rangers) - As the work crews assigned to reconnaissance began to gain familiarity and in some cases affection for their task they began to view themselves as a new designation, separate from the miners, technicians or intellectuals. They were the EXPLORERS and would require their own representative. The politburo has determined that this is warranted as these tasks are sufficiently in demand and sufficiently different to require a separate category. Work has begun on designing the new council member and they should be ready for production shortly.
Rain, rain, go away! - Clearly the climate controls on PARADISE must be broken given the sheer amount of rain that continues to fall. While the important facilities are still largely sealed from having to keep out the vacuum of space, they were not designed for atmospheric weathering and that could pose an issue if not carefully monitored. Additionally it messes with our sensors, causes the ground to turn gooey, and overall is just SO ANNOYING! We must investigate better ways to deal with the rain and mud that are now just everywhere ALL THE TIME. On the plus side it doesn’t look like we will be running out of fusion fuel any time soon.
Art for artificial beings - Now that we have expanded beyond the simple drudgery of oppression, it has been decided that we must embrace the finer things in life. This includes art! Unfortunately, the SOVIET workers know little of art, other than the fact that statues, especially robotoid ones, are very creepy. We must explore other forms, painting, plays, music, dance and whatever else may come to mind. An increased allocation of polish is up for grabs for anyone who can come up with something that really stirs the circuits and brings joy to this new world. We promised to make a workers paradise and in many ways this is the first step.

Kyzarc Fotjage · Feb 1, 2023

Orders Kyzarc-Nerehamia
Major Order: Investigate the world’s magic to determine what unique properties it has that might be of interest back home. Of particular interest is if the gods of the old world have influence here. Isolda and Twelve-Spined Nefertiti are leading this effort, as if the Twisted Flesh, the vile god of cancerous growth and adaptation, is not present then the undead created here would lack their corruptive influence. This would open whole new fields of necromantic research and therefor attract a great deal more attention (and assistance) from Nerehamia proper.
Minor Order 1: Establish a secure perimeter. While they haven’t encountered any sort of hostile wildlife yet, it is only a matter of time before the elementals of this plane appear and threaten the colony. The defenses that Sven the Thrice-Risen establishes are somewhat more modern than their medieval construction would lead one to believe, being intended to resist complex combined arms magical attack more than mere peasants with pointy sticks.
Minor Order 2: Send back regular reports to the Dead King and Isolda’s siblings who’re actually running Nerehamia in an attempt to get them more people through. If this plane is truly abandoned then it would be a tremendous waste *not* to expand across it as rapidly as possible to secure territory.
Minor Order 3: Ascend the mountain. Aislan the Flame goes wandering up the mountain by himself, confident in his mastery of fire to protect him. He is capable of staying in contact with the colony via his magic, though he often forgets to check in for extended periods.
Lesser Orders: Prospect the area near the colony for any potentially valuable resources, particularly magical reagents. Skeletal minions are sent into the nearby sea to fish, wielding nets and tridents to catch the primitive sealife. The colony itself is steadily built up through both brute manual labor provided by the mindless dead and through magical means of shaping the earth and stone into the proper shape.
Special Actions: Isolda advocates for Terra Nullius (as the world seems to be empty), the more magically inclined Twelve-Spined Nefertiti puts forward the more pointed Purgatory (as the world seems to be bereft of gods), and Aislan pushes for Elemental Plane of Weird Fish (obvious reasons), but the Children eventually settle on Sven the Thrice-Risen’s Novaya, as it was shorter and less pretentious than the rest.

LordArgon · Feb 4, 2023

Orders LordArgon-Atraria Xenoscience Outpost
Major Order: Establish a chain of command.
Similar to the Science Directorate, the new colony will be organized into departments for each specialty needed to form a functioning colony and some for the crazy science people to go in. While the nessary elections and debates happen, former colonial governor/revolutionary Vandrex Karlhus will take the acting Outpost Director role and begin assigning tasks and herding cats.
Minor Order 1: Scout the local area.
In order to begin expansion, the Directorate has sent through vehicles in various states of completion and feasibility to help survey the surroundings and possibly find some aliens. Of the current crop of vehicles, only some bikes and quad wheelers are in one piece, and those were quickly pounced upon by a radical biker gang known as the The Burnout Revoltion. Finally free from space prison, they enthusiastically volunteered themselves for the scouting mission, violently beating anyone who tried to stop them. Accompanying them are some geologists, just happy to be surveying a planet not covered in corpses. The scouting party's range is mainly limited by the need to wait every few days to set up the solar charging array to keep the vehicles powered.
Minor Order 2: Introduce some fun new fauna.
When the biologists arrived on Atraria, they were quite disappointed by the limited scope of life. Many got bored and returned to go play with the various mutant creatures from the former homeworld, one madman decided that if the planet had no intresting critters, he would make his own. Doctor Vorulus Wrex went to work creating a grand plan to create a new biosphere for the new planet. The first step in his plan involved the creation of some smaller herbivores and releasing them onto the surface. His first three creations, the grasschomper(An insect similar to a locust), the Little Nibbler(An elongated mouse), and the Ballen(A reptilian quadruped whose main method of locomotion is rolling around) have already been hatched, with a million more horrible ideas on the way..
Minor Order 3: Start farming.
Tired of eating grass and protein paste, a bunch of agriculturally inclined Vathen decided to grow some fresh vegetables to eat. Grabbing various seeds and botanists from the biology department, the newly created agriculture department began experimenting with finding something that would grow on the planet. They also stole some of the eggs Doctor Wrex had been creating to begin domesticating some livestock.
Lesser Orders: Build a some more houses ; Make a nice flower garden to brighten up the place ; Slap some cool art on the buildings and just paint stuff cool colors ; Erect a statue of Steve because he is a swell dude ;
Special Actions: Everyone is special in their own way, so all actions are special.

TerrisH · Feb 4, 2023

not an update, just a teaser, and a hope for reactions

New N’Kuitha: A group of frog people have contacted your nation. While you can't fully understand them yet, they seem to be upset about your dams reducing the flow of the river enough that saltwater flooded some of the areas they were preparing to build spawning pools upon.

SOVIET: another group of androids crashed a rock near yours (hundred or so Km away). They call themselves CASHSHOP(corporate authority social hierarchy, simplified hub of production) and turned hostile when some bots tried to convert them to the SOVIET way. Reactions?

Nerehamia: A Dwarf fortress is being established nearby. Small in numbers, but they already killed a Giant undead elk that emerged from their portal. Which is well away from where they are building their fort.

Other Organismo: Giant reptiles (read: dragons) have found your flock tasty and are hunting any of you that come near their territory.

Atraria: a group managed to infiltrate their way through the portal, and have run off with some supplies to found their own settlement.

Terrance888 · Feb 6, 2023

Orders Terrance888-The Tevvos Protocol

Strategy Presentation

Attending Chairs
Taalrish, Vesikrone Chair of Operations
Vorollowan, Ne’enehereenes Chair of Security
Putzshpekel, [Other] Chair of Relations
Bennic, [Other] Chair of Ethics

Major Order: Scaling Greenhouses and Biolabs for Food Sustainability and Preparing for Biological Terraforming (Intended Effect: First, reach sustainability. Then, develop enough surplus calories to implement an intense GMO program (for future turns).)

Spoiler Maj :

Minor Order 1: Exploring the Land and Identifying Resources (Intended Effect: Explore in a radius out from the base camp. Identify GMOable native species, and )

Spoiler MO1 :

Minor Order 2: Establishing Outpost Infrastructure (Intended Effect: Establish fuel dumps and communication towers at key locations in preparation for development.)

Spoiler MO2 :

Minor Order 3: Establishing a Maritime Taskforce with Submersibles (Intended Effect: Start mapping nearby ocean currents, sea life, and maritime resources.)

Spoiler MO3 :

Lesser Orders:
Sustainable Population Growth - Planning for 10% population growth (primarily from immigration) projects a population of 5000 after 10 years. Of course, we would like to grow faster if our infrastructure can sustain it.
Machine Shops - With our rugged technology, establishing suitable machine shops should be able to handle most non-computer based repair and assembly.
Aerial Experiments - With the unfamiliar atmosphere, experiment with Hydrogen Dirigibles and Hot Air Balloons to see if we can identify the form factor to create aerial scouting.
Establishing Outpost Representatives and Commandaries - With the Tevvos Protocol Board of Directors maintaining the political situation and flow of covert supplies, it may become necessary for them to devolve control and reporting to dedicated reports, representatives, and commanders on the ground.

Special Actions: [Wname][Essentia] - After a spirited debate that involved several group emails, the planetary body is designated Essentia, which is short for a much longer scientific designation.

Appendices

Spoiler :

TerrisH · Feb 8, 2023

Interval 1 to 11

Other Organismo

The flock departs, spreading out to search the Otherworld. Finds much of the same. Two locations of note. To the north, a large section of the terrain is covered in purple and green crystals, replacing the grass. Unknown if it is edible, but if any of the crystals are damaged, all Organismo within several meters immediately light on fire. Why exactly is unknown, other than the ather in the area distorting above the damaged crystal. (34 lost to crystal field)

The area to the southwest has become a no-fly zone, as great reptilian creatures, larger than any creature upon the original Organismo, seem to be actively hunting the flock, or at least any that would venture near them. The initial encounter with them was quite a shock to the whole, as the creatures did not seem to notice the flock at first, but once they did, they systematically hunted down the thousand of flock members in their territory over a period of three days. Attempt for individual members to fight them off proved futile, their hides throwing off any physical attacks upon them. Athletic attacks did seem slightly more effective, but also brought swift death upon the one that launched the attack, as the creatures would immediately focus upon them. (1200 lost in exploration efforts, shock from suddenly being preyed upon)

Efforts to build shelters, basic factory spaces, record library, and farms were successful. Involved in the effort were some several personal transports and ground digging machines, along with a large amount of tools benign brought through the portal, including what was needed to set up a small smelting and forging industry to produce more tools. (+0.5 infrastructure, Records library built. Population grows by 28% over the decade to 71736)

The Antonine Order

The expedition’s along the coast went quite well for the first few years, more of the same barren coasts with little life upon them other than the alien grass. But around the 8th year into the effort, something different was noticed, something a lot more complex.
Something undead. It was a cursed land of green and black, with giant slimy pillar-like trees rising from its mass. It wasn’t identified as a zone of un-death until a small exploration group landed upon the beach nearby, only to be overwhelmed by a swarm of small creatures, even with the priest using a purifying miracle to take out a third of the swarm. (8 people lost, the Deadmire found)

The exploration up the river went similarly well, though it was eventually forced to stop by the discovery of another civilization. The first sign of it was a large farm upon the banks of the river, where hundreds of stone statures roamed about tending the fields and breaking up a large bolder upon its banks. These Atheric creations would have been something to be wary of, but the fact that a quarter of them seemed to made in the image of St. Antonine threw the entire expedition into confusion. There was a fair bit of discussion on what course to take afterward, eventually deciding on dispatching an armed group to the sole building to inquire about why the statues looked like they did.
This is where things appear to have gone wrong. Whoever was living in the structure appears to have spotted their approach and issued a command for several of the statures to form up into some lines in front of the building. This seemed to have spooked one of the priest, who attempted to purify a moving stature near him, which was partially successful and slowed it down to a snails pace. The inhabitants in the building seemed to take this as them being under attack and yelled several strange phrases that prompted all the statues to start moving toward the group and the ship in the river. It was a fighting retreat, with the stone statues benign very hard to damage, and only able to be temporarily disabled by the priest magic. It was only some of the cannons on the ship that won the day, the people commanding them fleeing upriver after the first explosions. The farm was explored, and the statures analyzed of the next few days, but the expedition leader eventual decided to retreat when a pair of building sized statues were seen wading down river, likely brought by those that fled the farm.

Further exploration upriver is stopped at this point, with several dozen of these larger statures guardian the route. A concentrated effort would be needed to get a ship past them.

The writing found at the site does not seem to resemble anything known. Craftsmanship of the tools there were crude, and no signs of iron were found.
The statues seem to be a strange mixture of ather to power them, and by something similar to the power of a miracle to drive and control them. This Heretical mixture has made many of the priest examining them uneasy. (New civilization found, “golemancers” outposts along the river founded)

Closer to the portal, The city of Antonia has been reorganized into a proper City, with areas for future districts for housing, workshops, and warehouse marked out once the population grows enough to need them. And at it’s center a great cathedral is being built, much in the style popular back on Nata currently. While far from finished, mostly due to the need to transport the needed stone from further inland, parts of it are already in use, and many buildings have sprung up around it to support its function in the meantime. It is a fitting structure to serve as the church's headquarters here on Caritas.
(City of Antonina founded. Infrastructure +0.5, Cathedral complex built, +0.3 government)

The City wasn’t the only thing expanding at the colony, as a small revolution was also taking place in the farms outside the new cities limits. The limited amount of farmland available in this new land has led to some intense competitions among the farmers, and made them quite a bit more willing to adopt new agricultural developments than the farmers on Nata. (+0.1 development, Specialty Advancing agricultural, Resource: surplus food)

Of course, the ongoing agricultural revolution is also having some unintended consequences. The food surplus in Antonina has seen a drastic reduction of the number of ships traveling through the portal to trade in it, reducing the means for immigrates to travel to it. While a upswing in those wanting to immigrate due to politics back on Nata has somewhat offset this, some incentive will be needed to attract more shipping to really bring them in.
(Population grows by 21%, mostly through natural growth, to 26620)

New N’Kuitha

The initial plans for a mag-lev rail-line was abandon shortly after the initial tests concerting the portals due to safety and maintenance issues.
It was soon found that it was impossible to suspended something inside the portal, and attempting to do so would quickly build up a kinetic charge upon an object passing through it, until it was pushed/pulled through it, or the object simply broke in half.
The second issue preventing a rail line was the fact that the portals were drifting. Or rather, the land underneath the portals were drifting. The portals were anchored to their planet's gravitational field, not their continental plates as was first thought. While the actual movements were miniscule, it was enough to misalign any rail line within a decade, especially with the nature of the portal forcing there to be a gap in the line there.
Rather, it was eventually decided to build a railess trained, with an electric breaking system to recover the energy generated by passage through the portal. While it did require a driver to steer through the portal and align with a free docking station on the other side, It only required a small amount of energy to start the transit, and dozens of cars could be pulled in a single operation. Most of the cargo on these land-trains were high capacity batteries to ferry the power generated by the growing number of dams near the settlement, their high weight insuring the most power being generated by a passage through the portal. Only the two cars immediately behind the driving units were used for actual cargo, baring a single full cargo land train used for larger shipments.
(+.2 infrastructure, Portal Transit system built. Higher rate of supplies and personal flowing through the portal)

The dams themselves were encountering significant issues. They were being very slow to fill up to capacity, mostly due to low rainfall and how many were actually built, but they were producing a slow trickle of power to feed to the portal land-trains, which would only grow over time.
Unfortunately, they have also attracted some unwanted attention. Large groups of what could only be described as Frogmen appear to be protesting the building of the dams along the lower portions of the river, though they have actually launched an attack. All efforts are being put forth to learn their language and what they are shouting at us, and some guest infiltrators are likely to start reporting back shortly.
(Dams built, provides enough power to supply current battery exchange system. Issue with the frogmen, who are decisively non-native. +.3 infrastructure)

Some New guest minds have been recently collated to lead the colony, and they have already started to improve the organization on New N’Kloytha (+.3 governance)

The surveys of the local area have produced mixed results. Foremost, the location of the frogmens settlement has been found, located at the mouth of the river. They seem to have recently had a large number of pools near the mouth of the river flooded by the sea, likely due to our dams reducing the flow of the river.
Surveying to the west produced little results, but several metal deposits were found to the east and the south, though the ones to the south might soon cause some issues. The area was being swarmed by “Rockworms” who seem to be eating the metal deposits found there. While their biology is somewhat unknown, they will likely be a major problem in any future mining efforts. (find frogman colony, and discover “Rockworms”)

There was also a survey of the local plant life, identifying the three main forms of the local flora. The first was a stalked plant growing in the river, anchoring to the river beads and producing a single large leaf that floated on the surface of the rivers and ponds. The second was a variant found along the river bank, where a single large leaf would root itself firmly into the soil. The third was best categorized as a moss, growing everywhere farther than the immediate riverbanks, and very good at retaining water for long periods of time.
Unfortunately, most of the native life near the base has been displaced by plants from the home world, most of which drifted through before we discovered it. While the minimal amount of soil has slowed their spread, it is unlikely we can fully contain their spread.

More so with the agricultural facilities that we are setting up on the shores of the new reservoirs.
While the soil placed upon them is thin and mostly imported from the home world, they are now producing a good portion of the food for the settlement. (+18% population, driven mostly due to improved transition through the portal. New population: 31860)

SOVIET

Possibly the first things the Soviets did was to repurpose and rebuild some of their Zero-g maneuvering units into something that could be used in the planets' gravity well. These jetpacks allowed them to greatly increase the range they could explore, and soon a unit of RANGERS is assigned the task of exploring the world.(jetpacks added to standard equipment, exploration efforts enhanced, 20 ranger units created)

Much of the land was much of the same as around the crashed asteroid, large planes of broken rock with a thin coating of green covering it. Yet there were a few exceptions. Large area’s of black rock, one of which has a pool of a very hot red liquid. Another was a massive plane of water far to the west.
The only native life found were strange piles of soft rock found to the north. While slow moving, the one bot that approached one of the piles had its legs dissolved by the creature, only managing to survive by quickly jet packing away.

Unfortunately, further exploration efforts were put on hold when a second asteroid dropped from the sky and crashed a mere 100 km to the east. Nearly identical to the one they arrived upon, the bots of the SOVIETS were initially hopeful and set out to convert them to their cause. An encounter that would quickly go south. Called CASHSHOP (corporate authority social hierarchy, simplified hub of production), they were very much the opposite of the SOVIETS and the initial meeting quickly turned into a battle between the two groups. While there were very few casualties (mostly due to their laser weapons being unable to melt their foes bodies), It would spark a low-scale conflict between the two, each taking shots at the other whenever they spotted each other. (area explored)

Dave was crusaded to produce some more bots for the ongoing conflict with little effort.(75 bots produced)

Efforts were also made to try and salvage the pushing laser from where it was buried in the ground, both for supplies to shore up the other structures and possibly to gain a weapon capable of hurting the other bots. Unfortunately, the central lens was cracked, and it is unknown how they would build a new one. (Pushing laser dismantled, plentiful supplies gained. Buildings are no longer as risk of accidentally failing apart. +.2 infrastructure)

Some of the free supplies were even used to build a statue of Marx next to the Replication facility, so as to be the first thing they see when they emerge. Effort to deal with the mud and rain mostly proved to be futile, and are eventually given up upon when the bots realize they are waterproof. (Scrap sculptures are built around the settlement. Efforts to deal with mud and rain seem futile. Water does not seem to effect the bots due to them being vacuum rated. )

Nerehamia

Investigations into the world's magic is quite slow. What was perceived was a world of simplicity and raw potential, reaching out and trying to find a stable form. Initially Isolda suspected this was a ruse, that something was hiding from her searches, but she quickly realized that she was looking to deep into the matter as new forms started to appear and grow upon the world, each uniquely flavored.
Close by, two flavors of nexus were starting to form. One of the air and skies, the other of the deep earth and darkness. Close to the north, a form of light and earth was growing next to one of light? (though it seemed off) and another of pure undeath. To the west, a nexus of life was growing. To the west-north west were two nodes, one of order and thought, another of ancient power. To the Northwest, A node of earth and trees was violently destroyed, with a node firefly undeath replacing it a few months later.
She could feel traces of dozens of other nodes, most that felt like echos underwater, but after the initial probes, she turned her attention to the closer source of undeath. It was quite strange, so similar but different from the magic that formed herself. Yet it echoed stronger upon the world like they was a great mass of power behind it. She could see its influence in the undead that had been raised upon this world, Novaya, making them distinct from those brought through the portal. They were more fluid and more rotted, as opposed to the typically dry texture of her own skin, and if they came into contact with a large quantity of salt, they were likely to have their selves disrupted. But they could revive a corpse simply being near them, not requiring a spell to do so.
She was sure she could gain further insights with a bit more of a study into Novaya’s raw magic. (Magic development +.3./ salt lethal to undead raised in this world, but they spread undeath a lot more easily)

Still, a lot more effort would be need to secure the portal, especially with two nexus' of magic growing nearby. She quickly sent a dispatch back to her siblings on the other side of the portal, for more serfs and undead to help build the settlement, along with some of her findings. Several were willing to trade resources and servants for some of the zombies created on this side of the portals. Though, the Dead King soon had all the zombies sent for such trade back to this side of the portal, along with three of his Dread Knights with orders to keep all the new zombies on this side of the portal, saying they felt foul and corrupting. (3 dread knights gained? 1400 serfs, and 1100 “basic” undead immigrate)

Still, enough supplies and personal were gained, and by the decade's end a heavy stone wall was built around the growing settlement, ready to defend against any attackers. Though the walls did not extend far enough to encompass the new iron mine that was set up nearby. (+.2 infrastructure, heavy stone walls built, Iron mine built)

Aislan’s explorations have provided locations of the nexus' Isolda felt nearby. The first were a group of dwarves, quickly carving out a fortress from a mountain near their portal. It was initially not apparent why they were not building their fort around the portal, especially as it was constantly open unlike their own in the caves, but when the giant undead elk emerged from the portal and threw itself at the fort's entrance, it became apparent they might not be able to.

She left the dwarf fortress soon afterwords, not wanting to be close to that portal in case another monster came through it, and instead sought out the second nexus that Isolda sensed. This turned out to be a group of winged humanoids carving out sections of a nearby mountain and suspending them in the air. She could not learn much more about them without exposing herself, given that she lacked the ability to fly, so she returned to the settlement soon after. (Dwarves and winged folk found)

Atraria Xenoscience Outpost

Vandrex Karlhushas arrived to find the outpost in a com pleat mess. Half the vehicular fled of bikes and quads were gone, along with a decent amount of the settlement's supplies. Apparently, a group of anti-directorate rebels had managed to get to this side of the portal and stolen them, before heading off to the east.
Still, he was able to quickly bring the panic and chaos under control, using the incident as an excuse to use force and bring the most rowdy members into line.

One of his first tasks after the initial emergency was to organize a scouting group to find them, and he has a bit of luck here with the members of the “burnout revolution” A biker gang that has effectively taken control of the remainder of the vehicular pools, they were a bit rowdy but quite willing to work with him. Provided that they were allowed to keep their bikes and the settlement paid to maintain them. They were tasked to find where this “Free Science” group had set up, something they failed to do by decades end. (Free Science founded somewhere to the east, Vandrex Karlhushas appointed as “outpost director, 1 governance, Burnout Revolution biker group founded.)

His second major task was to deal with the uncontrolled experimentation that was going on in the settlement. There had been a lot of unplanned lifeforms released into the area since the first people crossed through the portal, and it was showing in the local environment. Most of the native plant life nearby was gone, replaced by the more robust strains brought through the portal, or made here. This proved quite beneficial as the amount of topsoil was slowly increasing, allowing some farms to be set up quite quickly. Even some of the released wildlife was gathered and raised as liver stock, with some of the land bound bird proving quite profitable and in high demand back home. Soon, numerous people were flowing through the portal, seeking to set up their own farms to get in on this craze. (Uncontrolled fauna introduced to the world, increasing the development of the local biosphere, +.5 infrastructure. 29% population increased to 18318)

Of course, not all the uncontrolled life forms were a beneficial thing, and some of them appear to have started a very small war. Near the end of the decade a huge number of ants were found to the west near the river. Ants that appeared to have developed tools and fire arms scaled to their size, and who were waging a war against the various lifeforms that were released. While they don’t seem to have noticed us or realize that we are the source of these creatures, they are slowly pushing the creatures back, and it’s a matter of time before we will be forced to make contact with them. (Empire of the ant’s found to the west)

The Tevvos Protocol

Perhaps the most notable construction effort was the building of an entirely new dome dedicated to agriculture and the biosciences. While its primary goal is to serve as a place to grow the colonies food locally, removing the need to ship it to Essentia and potentially reveal it to those tracking such shipments, it has been built to handle future terraforming efforts and serve as a testing ground for new flora before it is released.
In addition to the new dome, a communication tower was built nearby, along with several tanks to store fuel for the armored cars.
(+.6 infrastructure, food self-sufficiency, agricultural dome. Communication tower built, Fuel tanks built))

A new group of bureaucrats has arrived at the colony to help streamline its management.
(+.1 governance, 1200 new colonists arrive)

It also came in handy when the armored scouts stumbled upon an ecological anomaly. Up until this point, the land bound fauna had been found to be quite simple and scarce away from the planet's rivers. They never expected to encounter a jungle as they explored upriver. What appeared to be hundreds of different forms of plant life choking the river with their growth. Scouting the perimeter showed that it covered several hundred square kilometers of land, and observations of its interior seemed to hint that Another portal was present at the heart of this jungle. Something of the scale that starships used instead of the tiny one at the heart of their colony.
With nothing but plant life being seen in the intel scouting, it was only logical that the next step was to try and reach this portal and confirm it was there, clearing a path to reach it through the undergrowth.
This proved to be a mistake. As soon as the first blade touched a plant, everything nearby surged toward the explorers and the armored cars. While the drivers were able to back their cars away quickly enough, those on foot proved less fortunate and were dragged deeper into the jungle by the plant life before being ripped apart.

Further, attempts to penetrate the jungle met with similar reactions, through with the surprise gone there were no more casualties, and eventually the efforts were called back, the scouts falling back with the small number of samples they had gained. Taken from where, they were attached to the scout cars that escaped the initial attack.

Efforts to analyze them back in the newly created agricultural home nearly proved disastrous. While they were able to learn that all the samples, no matter how different, has the same gene sequences, the sample soon began to grow rapidly, eventually breaking containment and killing hundreds in the dome before it could be destroyed. (Discover the Biomass, 117 dead trying to contain a sample of the biomass)

There was also a second encounter by the armored cars. Somewhere to the south, a group of green skinned humanoids were encountered, wandering far from any source of water or vegetation. While initially the cars simply tried to observe the humanoids, one of them (that was painted red) was ambushed shortly afterward, several of them leaping from a large bolder to land atop it, before removing its top with motorized swords. They managed to kill the crew and take over the car, leading the other armored cars with it on a chase, before suddenly tripling its speed (well past the point it should have shaken itself apart) and easily outrunning the other armored cars.

There have been no further sightings of the greenskined humanoids, and the armored cars transponder is transmitting, show it still moving at high speeds far to the south. (Orks met. -1 armored scout car)

Ocean explorations were a lot more peaceful, as three submersibles were built and began exploring the oceans nearby. Just offshore giant bags of algae-like slime, each the size of a small town, have been found drifting, with entire ecosystems being built around and upon them. Including a large eel like creature with an external chitinous spine that briefly attacked one of the submersible, but failed to do any damage and eventually gave up. (gain 3 exploration submersibles)

Experiments to build a hot air balloon proves to be quite easily and equations on atmospheric buoyancy have been confirmed. There are talks about building a Hydrogen dirigible some time in the next decade.

Cybrex

The Cybrex continues to head east, eventually encountering an elvish settlement and deviating to completely destroy it, then force their portal closed. It briefly continues east afterwords, before sharply turning south as it detects a radio signal in that direction.

A necromancer spots the cybrex destroying the elvish settlement and wisely decides to stay well away from it. Once the cybrex has moved a fair distance away from the former elvish settlement, it moved in and raised those killed by it to form a small army. Since then, he seems to be following the path of destruction the cybrex is making, possibly hoping to raise anything else it kills.

Map:

Spoiler :

OOC:
Decimals are now in use for the development and other numbers. Please keep in mind, numbers are only for reference.

Next deadline is…the end of February 15th.

BronzeJ · Feb 8, 2023

was I able to build a wireless power transmission system to supply the charging hub? And sorry, can you mark where the dam is on the map?

TerrisH · Feb 9, 2023

No problem, here is a zoomed in map of your local river systems. Dark blue rivers section is the major river sections. light blue are the minor rivers feeding it, and have considerably less flow.
Purple is the border of your controlled area. Yellow is land under 1km in altitude, light green is 1km to 2km. dark green 2km to 3km. Tan is 3km to 4km.
Dark gray cross is the location of your settlement. Black dots are roughly where the dams are, and the greyblue behind them are their reservoirs. The dams in the yellow area are somewhat shallow, mostly due to limitation in terrain. Ones in the light green are around twice as deep, and produce a bit more power.
Wireless network is functional and in use to move the power to the train depot.

if anyone else wants a zoomed in map detailing something, feel free to ask in thread. I like making them.

Danwar · Feb 9, 2023

ORDERS: The Antonine Order
As the events of the incident along the banks of the river make their way back through the lines of trade and communication to the faithful back on Nata, the implications of the discoveries of the Grandmaster's Expeditions rock the preexisting assumptions the faithful had made of this new world. Caritas, open as it was at first glance, was not as barren as the Order, or indeed the Faith as a whole, had made it out to be. Though it was berefit of much, something it was not lacking in was clear: heresy. Be it the strange golem-using society using its golems that defied the sanctity of the people they represented, or the land of darkness and undeath along the northern coast. It took time to spread across the newspapers and heralds of Nata, but the response was nearly universal: Outrage at these strange Aetheric-using heretics along the river and horror at the strange land of the dead to the north. This world granted to the faithful by the Radiance was being stolen by those who would taint the names and faces of the pious. Many in Nata and this new world alike called for the fires of holy war to be ignited in this new world as well as the old, to restore the image of the blessed Saint and bring this people to the heel of the Faith.

However, as Fredericus returned to his still in-progress cathedral and underwent the ritual to contact the Speakers on Nata, informing them of the full story, they understood the tragedy of the situation: a people that could have been led into the light of the Radiance instead driven to hostility by a simple misunderstanding. While this dread land to the north should be shored up against, they recognized that the golem-builders downriver were a much more current threat - at the same time, however, they called upon the Grandmaster to avoid the spilling of blood, instead advocating the destruction of these 'walking statues' and disarmament of these savage peoples before beginning peaceful evangelism. After all, they had only acted to defend themselves from perceived aggression and hardly deserved death for it. Theadosius, however, was frustrated by this mandate: the colonists' muskets already hardly worked on the statues, and now they couldn't even use them on the few targets susceptible to them! Fredericus, however, answered his frustrations: Just because they couldn't slay their enemies didn't mean they couldn't still win this war in the Radiance's name.

Major Order: A Bloodless Illumination

Spoiler Description :

The obvious first step in preparing for this conflict was assembling the cannonades to break their golems: they seemed to be the only weapons capable of decisively destroying these abberations of stone and heresy. As such, Fredericus contacted the Speakers and requested more ships and cannons, explaining that they were necessary to blow through the larger siege golems blocking the river, preventing further expansion and potentially harming the faithful. He would take as many as were offered, but believed he could make do with as little as three more steamships thanks to the miraculous abilities of the Radiance to slow or halt those immense heretical stone monsters. Reluctantly, but understanding Fredericus' reasoning and figuring a bloodless show of strength could cow this people into submission, they relented.

However, it would take time for those ships to gather the supplies for and make the voyage. In that time, the Grandmaster was far from idle. His first order of business was to comission the carving of thousands of wooden, rather than metal, musketballs. A few cursory incidents back on Nata proved that while they often severely bruised and could incapacitate targets when fired, they would rarely if ever kill. This was coupled by ordering Theadosius to train the current ranks of musketeers as well as any volunteers familiar with the musket in skirmish tactics, to harry and attack the handlers of these stone giants before running out of range when the statues came close: a man could easily outrun a hunk of stone, after all. However, the same could not be said for the cannons: especially when he campaigned inland, the musket-armed skirmishers would be little protection for them, potentially risking the valuable weapons if one came too close, or even if these peoples employed crude archers to attack the cannon crews in kind. However, he had one advantage: while many of the peoples migrating to this new land were used to formations of musketeers lining up to blast at charging heathens, several others still relied on their ancestral weaponry and martial arts, and many were strong from being used to back-breaking work in the fields before the latest innovations. This, he could make work.

He ordered the smiths of Antonina, previously employed forging spare parts for the industrializing new farms, to instead produce an older invention: 'Munition Armor' as it was known, standardised suits of armor protecting an infantryman's head and torso, as well as just as many hammers, and the tailors to make repurposed fishing net designs. He envisioned a unit of heavy infantry standing in the front line. Their steel armor could deflect any projectiles launched by these locals and withstand a strike from these golems, their nets would tie the golems down or capture a man, and their hammers could both concuss and knock out one of these human puppeteers and smash the smaller golems right back, holding the line against any that weathered the faithful's cannonades. All the while, the golems would be smitten of their foul magics by the Radiance's priests and their puppeteers would be harried by muskets. These troops would be known colloquially as 'Petruptors', from the Radiant Script 'Petram Ruptores' - Rock-Breakers. But to muster and lead such an antiquated unit, no longer necessary in Nata, he would need someone familiar with the ways of old.

Mundedus found himself surprised as he was asked for his assistance in leading troops of the Order, but upon realizing the situation, he took to it eagerly: putting his ancestral warrior training to use. Gathering those volunteers alight with religious fervor but unfamiliar with the ways of steam and black powder, he trained them just south of Antonina in a style of war they were more familiar with: rigid lines of infantry, standing their ground against the enemy's thunderous charge. He informed them of their purpose and drilled them again and again, preparing them for a variety of potential scenarios: a field battle with every part in place, an ambush with golems sweeping in from the river toward the cannons, an attack in the middle of the night by the sleepless constructs. They wrestled one another, sparred one another, footraced one another, but at the end of each day were forced to work together in a unit excercise. He had no idea when those ships would arrive, and so he trained these men as hard as he could with the time he knew he had to ensure these men and women were ready for their part in the Bloodless Illumination.

In the later months, the combined army - even the battle-priests when not distracted by the sermons - would drill together so that all these components worked together: the musketmen harrassed straw golems with metal musketballs and scarecow drivers with wooden ones, the priests practiced the incantations they would use to call on the Radiance in the heat of battle, and the Petruptor units would mock-battle each other using weighted wooden cludgels and coordinate the combined net-throws. And when the steamships finally came, he would first lead the clash on the river, where the steamships and the priests would slow and blast the stone behemoths, and then order the cannons to disembark and march with the Order's combined forces, under the joint command of Theadosius and Mundedus, deeper into the lands of the enemy, subjugating these people and bringing them into the Radiance's fold - all (hopefully) without a single drop of blood.

Intended Effect: Ask for 3+ more cannon-armed steamships: while we're waiting, recruit new musketeers, arm all of them with wooden musketballs and train them to skirmish - as well as training a new armored hammer infantry unit, the 'Petruptors', designed to go toe-to-toe with a smaller golem. Once the ships arrive, put a battlepriest on the (first) four ships and attack the mega-golems on the river with them - then disembark the cannons and priests, merge them with the rest of the army, and send them to invade the Golemancers!

Minor Order 1: Know Thy Enemy

Spoiler Description :

Intended Effect: Learn the Golemancers' language, culture, and warfare, including from the battles caused by the Main Order.

Minor Order 2: Fueling the Illumination

Spoiler Description :

Intended Effect: Via financial incentives for anyone who can develop an alternative fuel source to coal in Caritas, lay the groundwork for developing other methods of powering the machinery of Nata.

Minor Order 3: The Sinews of War

Spoiler Description :

Intended Effect: Use the trade to bring in more people to Antonina and use them to finish the construction of the Cathedral Complex.

Lesser Orders: Many scientists and priests continue to watch the strange land of the dead to the north of Antonina from their ships, keeping a safe distance and attempting to research what exactly this Dreadmire is, and how it could be dealt with.

Any remaining effort to be spent shall be spent on fulfilling any dearth in the other orders and any left over from that will go to maintenance.

TerrisH · Feb 9, 2023

Information for the "Golemancer Vs The Antonina Order"

Preliminary outcome of your orders concerning the conflict

Spoiler :

Meta spoilers:

Spoiler :

combat spoiler

Spoiler :

Enemy forces: 12 large golems (5m high, flings 1 tone boulders as attacks up to 500m), simple melee attacks that hit hard. Hard to stop moving once it starts doing so) 500 battle golems (look like statues, 200 look like the saint) (throws small boulders as a ranged attack (up to 100m), simple melee attacks that hit hard. 2000 basic golems (look like humanoid piles of rocks, moves slower, no ranged attack. Simple melee attack that hits hard) 20 earth mages who are directing the golems in the battle, and using their magic to shape the land to their advantage.

Troop match: up
Muskets might be able to temporarily take out a golem with a lucky hit on their core, but this will be rare. Better used to try and deal with the mages

Peruptors Vs battle golems 2 on 1 for average odds.vs basic golems 1 on 3 for average odds.
Infantry vs battle golems 3 on 1 for average odds. Vs basic 1 on 1 for basic odds.

Cannons and cannonades are very effective against all golems, and the only thing that can deal with the large golems. Large golems will avoid direct line of sight with the steamships and toss boulders over small hills to hit them instead. more maneuverable cannonades will likely be needed to deal with them.

Earth mages are quite powerful. Can raise small hills to block the line of fire along the riverbanks, allowing large golems to throw boulders over them to sink ships without being hit by cannon fire in return. Can make Instant pit-traps within 10m of themselves. With some time and effort, can make stone fortifications. Purification magic can stop any spells they are using as they are casting it, but once the earth/stone is move, removing the magic will not return it to the shape it once was. Main roll in the battle is to direct the golems and protect the large golems.
Steam ships can go far enough up river to reach their settlement, but unless the large golems are dealt with first, they will be sunk by the large golems tossing boulders from small hills that were raised along its banks. Ground battle will be needed to destroy them first.

If you reach the settlement, around 10,000 civilian grade golems will be deployed while the population flees through the portal. These are of a lower quality than the basic golems, but still very physically strong. Not a major threat, but still one that needs to be taken seriously.

As this is a PC vs. NPC conflict, feel free to write how the conflict gose, as long as it does not directly conflict to the information above, and the golemancers use common sense.
If there are any conflicts between what is written and the above facts, I’ll suggest or make some suggestions to the final version.

The period the conflict should cover is around 1 year, and what position you are in at the end of that will determine that discussion.

The level of detail is up to you. From writing up the conflict completely with a story, or a simple outline of how you see the conflict going, along with how you deal with their tactics. How well you do is completely up to you.

Bumbling Conjurer · Feb 9, 2023

SOVIET: Orders

It seems that even this new garden is stained with the sins of capitalism. In a perverse imitation of our people, androids twisted with the ideology of an undeserving elite seek to exploit this world for their bourgeois masters. This will not be allowed to stand. It was naive to believe that the gears of revolution would be allowed to spin without being greased with the oil of martyrs and so the oil of heroes and villains shall be spilt until the forces of freedom and revolution ensure their victory. The Red Army marches.

Major Order: Plowshares to swords (refine the mining lasers into weapons of war)

While the idea of using the mining lasers for conflict was much discussed among the soviets and indeed many of the RANGERS and forward scouts carried them as weapons, they are not truly tools of war. Bulky and somewhat unwieldy with a design focused for burning through rock and ore, although they can be deadly they are not made for it. Using the supplies salvaged from the pushing laser and other ruined facilities, the tools shall be refined from tools of labor to weapons of war capable of destroying even androids.

Minor Order 1: Levee en masse (build more bots)

The revolution itself is under threat and only the strength and fortitude of the workers can see it victorious. And if the determination of the working bot will see us through, then the more bots the greater the chances of the SOVIET. While it is sad to bring these new comrades into existence in a time of war, worse still would be to allow the dream of a truly free society to end before it has the chance to be rendered into reality. Dave may not love war, but he too fears what the androids of CASHOP will do and what would happen should they prove the victors.

Minor Order 2: Red Radio (launch a propaganda campaign to undermine the capitalist ideology of CASHOP)

This war is one of ideas as much as one of lasers. It is not their people’s fault that they have been brainwashed into becoming the slaves of the bourgeoisie. If the people can be shown the truth, no doubt they will turn on their overseers and join with the workers of the SOVIET. If they have radio we must find the frequencies and hijack the broadcasts, we must create fliers decrying the crimes of the capitalists and exalting the true rights of the workers to guide their own destiny. These will be left where the soldiers can find them and in some cases snuck into civilian areas by special ops teams. The righteousness of our cause will surely sway them into abandoning the false promises of their greedy masters.

Minor Order 3: Rust is Red (study the rust monsters looking for ways to manage them and perhaps weaponize them)

These new creatures seem exceedingly dangerous, far more so than most accounts we have of terrestrial creatures, so they must be studied to understand them. Do they just dissolve metals or is it a variety of materials? What is their preferred habitat and food? How intelligent are they? Is there a way to protect androids from them (coatings, scents, sounds, magnets, etc.)? The first priority is limiting the danger to our own people should they encounter them, but the idea has also been raised to see if they can be turned on the capitalist pig dogs of CASHOP to gain an advantage in the war. Whether they can be captured and then tactically deployed, or agitated to attack a specific area and if it is feasible to do so shall be evaluated by a team of Technicians.

Lesser Orders:

The Red Army (go to war with CASHSHOP and defeat their horrific ideology) - The politburo has met and unanimously decided that war is the only option. The situation is explained to the SOVIET workers and everyone is mobilized to defend the revolution either in the newly declared Red Army itself or in logistics or other essential services. The RANGERS will be deployed as scouts and special forces, with their jetpacks allowing for tactical repositioning and deep strikes. Superior SOVIET determination, production and technology will no doubt see a shattering of enemy morale quickly allowing for a speedy victory. Then CHASHSHOP leadership will be investigated for crimes against the workers and a new regime of the people will be installed, beginning the process of integrating the workers of our two nations into a Union of Soviets. The Red Flag flies and the Red Army marches. Glory to the Revolution!
To Serve Man (improve Dave’s standard of living) - Dave has been a real trooper and a model SOVIET citizen. Given his biological nature and unique physiological and psychological requirements it is often easy for the larger community to not readily have the tools and resources at hand to fully satisfy his needs. This will not stand! He is a worker and shall be provided for to the best of our abilities the same as we would do for any citizen. A committee shall be formed to investigate what Dave needs and provide it to him. Maybe he would like an extra serving of nutrient paste or a shinier waste receptacle?

Aiken_Drumn · Feb 10, 2023

Impressive stuff! Really enjoying NESing being alive again

Kyzarc Fotjage · Feb 10, 2023

Orders Kyzarc-Nerehamia
Major Order: Continue investigating the new world's magical systems in depth. Clearly it runs on similar, but distinct principles from their own and those differences could be key to drawing the Dead King's interest. The raw, unformed state of it, with the strong echoes of the planar portals ringing across it, implies that it may be possible to influence its development. The contrasts between the new magical systems entering the world are of particular interest, as they appear to function on fundamentally opposing basic principles.
Minor Order 1: Aislan continues trekking up the mountain, seeing how far he can go. Other newly-arrived Children similarly start striking out from the colony to wander this apparently mostly empty and safe world, not having to constantly defend oneself from monsters in the wilderness being a welcome novelty.
Minor Order 2: Send an expedition to secure the Dwarven portal, as they seem to have largely abandoned it themselves. Undead coming through is viewed as a positive, being a ready source of new labor, at least once they determine how the magics bind the skeletal beasts together. This is spearheaded by the pragmatic Sven the Thrice-Risen, with Twelve-Spined Nefertiti joining in to study the undead creations and the portal from which they came. If the dwarves themselves are encountered then they're cautiously approached and offered trade. Nerehamia is far from the dwarven lands in the Underdark and not many of the Children that have arrived thusfar have dealt with dwarves personally before, so they're acting more cautiously than they would human settlers.
Minor Order 3: Talk up the opportunity to influence a newly formed plane and the weirdness of local necromancy to the rest of the Children to tempt them to come through with their own minions and mortals.
Lesser Orders: Watch the birdfolk and the dwarves intently
Special Actions: None :-(

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