Straight up N6 and N5 and then cross where we fought the river drakes, I believe.
Yes, that is indeed what I had in mind.
Thirded.
Map updated to include your most recent explorations. I've also removed the "bridges" to avoid confusion: the points where the rivers can be forded are indicated with arrows.
Nariel: your scroll is waiting for you at the River Manse.
Feel free to RP your decisions on what to build, but purely ooc ("if we build an X, that gets us bonuses Y") talk to stay in the discussion thread, please :)
A quick sketch of your NPC advisers (at least, what you have observed so far):
Eva is still kind of wondering what she's doing here, but she's enjoying it so far and nobody has ordered her to leave. Plus the warm bed and free food. She regards Aivar and Sasha positively, and is neutral towards the rest of you. She and Karinna don't get on, but have reached an unspoken agreement to stay out of each other's way. At the council meetings she almost never says anything and will tend to sit next to Jhod, whom she has developed some respect for.
Jhod is grateful that you haven't made a big deal of his real name and regards you all favourably as a result. His concerns are for the well-being of the common folk, both on a physical and spiritual level, in keeping with his calling as a priest of Erastil. He occasionally disagrees with Karinna, who prefers to hang onto the tax revenue rather than spend it, although he appreciates her caution in this regard. He is neutral regarding the other advisers, although he has struck up an unlikely friendship with Eva.
Karinna has plans for this town and the province that you are building. As a worshipper of Shelyn, she wants to create a place where beauty and art are celebrated. She is practical enough to know that this is not a high priority for the rest of you, but is hoping to manage the economy well enough that in time she will be able to have some suitable buildings constructed (she has already sketched several plans and will happily discuss them with anyone who shows the slightest flicker of interest). Her attitude towards Nariel, Tristan and Aivar is positive. She has some antipathy towards Raquel and Eva. Her attitude towards the rest of you is neutral.
Kesten has walked away from more battles than you have faced combined. He has done so by careful planning and ensuring that his troops are up to the task, but is resigned to the fact that even a victory has losses. He takes a highly negative view of things as a result and is inclined to expect the worst so that he can prepare for it. The only thing that really makes him anything resembling cheerful is when things are worse than he expected, because it doesn't happen very often. His attitude towards all of you is neutral. His goddess is Iomedae but he doesn't make a big thing of it.
Yuri is grateful to have something to occupy himself with following his court-martial in Restov; his attitude towards Sasha and Aivar is positive as a result. As a Caydenite, he also regards Raquel favourably. His upbringing as both a noble and a Swordlord have inclined him to regard battle, adventure and duels as the highest honour, although he has gained enough experience of fighting to know that the storytellers who made it all sound so glamorous have inexplicably left out the smell, the fear and the entrails. He regards Kesten with something approaching awe and will almost invariably defer to the older warrior's suggestions on the rare occasion they are offered.
I'm not sure how such a 'fund' as suggested in the gameplay thread would translate to game rules, but I imagine it would be akin to setting aside one to three BP that locals can tap into for relatively minor expenses such as the purchase of a cow, basic farming equipment, quality seeds, a loan for the purchase of linens and wool, and whatnot.
The idea is not to make a tidy profit from the interest we ask, nor to have those whose undertakings fail to end up becoming indentured to the Mark, but to acknowledge that many of those who got send here came with nothing but dreams and hopes. And we can empower those hopes and dreams.
It might be an idea to organize this effort through the temple of Erastil for the farmers and the temple of Shelyn for the craftsmen - this way, the dominion of the Mark and the influence of the Divine can come together and guide the people to a better tomorrow. Aivar hopes he can find an equilibrium of sorts in this with Karinna and Jhod: the Mark wants to care for its people, knows it needs the Faiths to accomplish this, and wants to include the Faiths in achieving this, but if the Mark grows, more Faiths might establish a local presence. Notably, Cayden and Abadar. Aivar is not averse to welcoming new Faiths as long as they'll help to improve peoples' lives. Asmodeus can politely piss off ;)
Interesting idea. Your various NPCs will almost certainly have thoughts on the matter, but I'll wait to see what the other players have to say first.
In terms of game mechanics, it sounds like an Edict of sorts: increasing Consumption (= putting resources back into the kingdom) to get an increase in Stability or Loyalty (1 consumption gets you +1; 2 gets you +2, 4 gets you +3 and 8 gets you +4). I'm inclined to play it out that way unless you want to do it differently.
Reminder: you don't currently have ANY temples. Or shrines, even.
Well, 'faiths' or 'churches of' if you will =P I always find it odd to use the word 'church' in a fantasy setting as a church is literally a Christian temple.
Maybe we should build a temple. :D
... *looks at the treasury* ... *looks at the cost of a temple* ... eh, how about a shrine? :'D
Shrine works!
In terms of game mechanics, it sounds like an Edict of sorts: increasing Consumption (= putting resources back into the kingdom) to get an increase in Stability or Loyalty (1 consumption gets you +1; 2 gets you +2, 4 gets you +3 and 8 gets you +4). I'm inclined to play it out that way unless you want to do it differently.
I'll post again in more detail tonight when I have more time, but I think this is exactly how I would handle it mechanically. Effectively, this works something like a small business grant, which would come out of taxes (effectively BP consumption).
As to other items, a shrine might not be a bad idea as it helps to reduce unrest and increase stability, and given that unrest still exists after the murder last phase, it would be worth looking into. I'm going to review our options again more closely; it's been awhile since I looked at our plans.
Slammed with work, update tomorrow. Keep up the RP, it's great to read!
Did we already do a holidays thing? My post was made without actual thought to the kingdom building mechanic, but if that IS something we've already done then I totally missed it.
OK, I need a decision on:
1) Whether you're going to increase consumption to get a "borrowing fund" that adds to Loyalty. And if so, how much consumption you're going to add in.
2) Whether you're going to run that competition that Aivar suggested; and if so, whether it's open to Freeborn citizens only, or Freeborn and Indentured.
3) What hex you're going to claim - the farmland or the gold mine.
4) Where you're going to place the shrine in Thornhold.
Also, to be clear: it's your decision to make (well, Aivar's technically). You don't have to agree with your advisers (although ignoring their suggestions may have longer-term consequences, of course).
1) I'd say add 1 Consumption for now for the borrowing fund.
2) Raquel supports the competition for everybody.
3) Raquel votes for the gold mine.
4) Put the shrine near the inn, maybe, at square 9? I'll defer to others' suggestions on this one.
1) 1 BP will do for now. Aivar doesn't want to upset some of his more privileged advisors with radical notions of breaking the chains and elevating the destitute!
2) Aivar is in favor of Aivar's plan. He is in favor of both, for skill knows no class.
3) I like gold.
4) 9 or 15 seem sensible. Admittedly, my PF KM rules are rusty so I'm not sure if this will ruin any synergy bonuses between buildings. I'll defer to more sage and wise suggestions.
Tristan is in favor of securing the mine and building the shrine, and maybe holding off on the fund and the contest.
Fiscal responsibility is so not a Lordly thing!
Keeping a valuable asset like a gold mine as the official property of the ruler sounds exactly like the sort of thing this society would do, so I imagine it would be the norm. Wastrel?
Honestly, I don't think it makes a difference when it comes to the rules, but in-game it would make sense to have the gold mine be tied to the estate of the Graf: nobility tend to use their agricultural and special holdings, like a gold mine, to fund both public and private ventures. And when you look at medieval structures, a count, duke or king's public and private life tend to be one and the same xD
Anyway, feel free to ignore it for it is nothing but a bit of RP.
The mine is also an excellent choice, and I do agree we should claim it. I still argue that we build the road to the new hex, as the additional road increases out road hex count to four, meaning a +1 economy bonus.
Also, since the mine is already built, I'm assuming that we don't need to incur the 6 BP cost to build it. That would be great, as the mine will net us 1 BP during the tax phase, and an additional +1 economy. So as I read it, I have the following:
Revised Round 4
1. The Borrowing Fund. Since it raises loyalty as opposed to economy though, I think it makes more sense to call it a Grant. Cost: 1 BP
2. Claim Hex J4 and connect with roads. Cost: 1 + 3 BP
3. Build the Shrine. 8 BP (I think 15 would work fine for a location)
Total cost: 13 BP
Modifiers:
+1 Consumption (Grant)
+2 Loyalty (Shrine and Grant)
+2 Economy (Mine & Road)
-1 Unrest (Shrine)
+1 BP during tax phase
I think that is everything? I didn't see any indication of what the contest would have in terms of kingdom impact.
Also, I'll be out of town for a few days. I may or may not have reliable access in the evenings, so you might not hear from me until Sunday, though I'm hoping for a quicker response.
Uh, no. The mine is in ruins and needs to be re-built and shored up to make it safe. You also need to remove the symbols of Droskar that are daubed all over the walls.
Full cost (sorry).
Ah nuts. Well in that case, we can afford either to get the shrine or the mine. Refurbishing the mine grants +1 economy and +1 BP for a 6 BP investment (or 11 BP total if we build the road for the extra economy), whereas the shrine nets +1 loyalty and -1 unrest for 8 BP.
I think the mine is more important than the shrine right now.
We got a pretty strict deadline when it comes to constructing more mines thanks to our deal with the mayor of Restov.
Yeah, I forgot the tax you pay as well so you're another 1 BP down. I'll do a summary post and update the kingdom sheet.
Right, that's Kingdom Turn 4 done and dusted! What next?
Shall we head out to explore again? Perhaps start at G8 and work our way west along that row?
Works for me! I'll get something up later today.
No posts from Sasha this week; hope things OK.
I might not have time to put in proper thought into 'what next?' until later today. If I stay silent, I'll go along with Raquel's suggestion! ;)
G8, H8, I8 and J8 explored! J8 is a Resource hex due to the hot mud: a Quarry or a Farm built here will get an extra +1 benefit.
Waiting on Tristan and Sasha. If they haven't posted in the next couple of hours I will post the next turn regardless.
@Raquel - technically you needed a light melee weapon to do that, but the visuals are pretty awesome so rule of cool prevails!
@Nariel - in addition to the 1-round casting time, Summon Monster has a range of 35 ft (25 + 5 ft per 2 levels). So you won't be able to conjure them right next to the thing, based on where you're standing at the moment.
@Nariel - in addition to the 1-round casting time, Summon Monster has a range of 35 ft (25 + 5 ft per 2 levels). So you won't be able to conjure them right next to the thing, based on where you're standing at the moment.
Yeah I know, there isn't anything that can be done about that... Summon Monster is a full-round action. I did forget to mention that Nariel would have used her extend rod as she always does with this spell, so the duration will be 10 rounds.
I rarely check the forums much over the weekend, but I happen to have caught it in time. Posting soon.
Tristan, Nariel, Arianna, Sasha are up.
Haste is in effect this round.
Waiting on Aivar and Sasha.
J9 works, but we could also hug the coast line there and explore K9?
Either way is fine with me.
I imagine that K-9 will have us run into a stretch of water that we can't cross without the help of a boat or magic. It's still worth taking a look before moving east. Information can be more valuable than gold.
We might be able to follow along the north side of the river eastern most point of K-8, to at least get a view of the hex.
This new source of information means we must revisit what to do next: do we want to bother visiting the now-revealed-but-yet-unvisited tiles? Or head back home and brood on a plan to deal with the Sootscale tribe?
My brain might be failing me here, but do tell if there are any objectives we have yet to fulfill down here. We got the clay/mud, yay, was there anything else?
Tristan is just glad to maybe finally have some use for his diplomatic station!
I don't feel like there's a lot of reason to stay down here. Doesn't seem to be much in the way of features and the treasure island should wait to be our entire focus for an outing.
I agree. I think there are more pressing matters to be solved at our own doorstep and it would be more beneficial to head on home.
I'd be fine heading back, though I am curious about the ruins on the island. What the new tiles reveal is the potential for a lot more farmland, which is a good thing. I think eventually we could push the Mark to the Mivon border and incorporate these settlers into the new state, they certainly don't seem opposed to the idea.
I agree with Tristan though, we should find out what we can about Mivon; a state struggling with the plague on our doorstep is definitely a concern.
Hi, all - RL is giving me a bit of a kicking at the moment. I will get some posts up this evening/tomorrow with a view to resuming normal service thereafter.
Sorry for any delays, thanks for bearing with me.
Hey all, I messaged Wastrel directly, but I figured I should come here and let you all know as well. I have to back out of the game. I don't have the time right now to write as often as I'd like and any time that holds up the game isn't fair to you all.
I just wanted to say that it's been a lot of fun and you all are great players. Thanks for the good times. :)