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My group is getting ready to start Rivers Run Red, and we’ve been given the kingdom building rules so we can familiarize ourselves with them. I’ve run several different simulations with our fledgling kingdom, but so far, every scenario ended with negative BP and rampant unrest within 18 turns.
From what I can see, the main problem is that consumption always equals or exceeds income. For example, each turn my consumption cost is between 4 and 6 build points for a kingdom of size 1-4, and my income is roughly the same. But consumption occurs 100% of the time on each turn, whereas income only occurs between 45-55% of the time (Economy bonus of +11-14 against a DC of 21-24). So my average consumption is 5 BP, but my average income is only 2.5 BP. At this rate, even without any development at all, my kingdom would be bankrupt in 20 turns. Add development and kingdom growth, and bankruptcy occurs within a year and a half.
I must be doing something wrong, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it is. Help is greatly appreciated!
Are you factoring in the offset for farmland hexes?
"A kingdom's Consumption is equal to its size plus the number of city districts it contains plus adjustments for Edicts minus 2 per famland" pg55 (also repeated on pg64)
Luck
Baldy
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Are you factoring in the offset for farmland hexes?
"A kingdom's Consumption is equal to its size plus the number of city districts it contains plus adjustments for Edicts minus 2 per famland" pg55 (also repeated on pg64)
Luck
Baldy
I thought that immediately developing farmland would be the answer, but the problem is that there aren’t enough available hexes early in the game to develop farmland. For example, our capital and hex 1 is the Stag Lord’s fort. Since we built our city in this hex, we can’t develop farmland. The next hex we claim is the fangberry patch hex, but since there is a special resource there, we can’t develop farmland in that hex either. The river crossing hex has a farm, but then we get to the old willow hex, same problem with existing resources there.
The figures for consumption I initially listed include reductions for all the farms I am able to build within the first five hexes of development. After that, my BP treasury is too low to continue expansion.|
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Stay small during the early game to reduce kingdom DC and upkeep. 3-4 hexes are enough. Build farms asap until you have reduced upkeep to 0.
Make sure no council positions are vacant and select ECO as bonus where it is possible.
With this, you should have a 100% (95% if you treat a 1 as an automatic failure) chance to succeed with your economy check, giving 4-5 BP each round.
Stability will be problematic, but 1 unrest from a failed STA check can be offset by the royal assassin, or by building some cheap UNR reducing buildings. LOY is unimportant as it will only be used when you go to war or roll certain events.
If you found your city on the Stag Lord's fort, you will receive a 50% cost reduction for a castle - this should be your first building. Afterwards, focus on ECO buildings until you are up to +50 ECO.
Develope the city before you expand any further and always make sure to build farms to so upkeep stays at 0.
I see. I never tried building the castle first, I always looked at it as too expensive, despite the 50% reduction. Let me model that and see how it goes, keeping the kingdom to no more than 4 hexes for the first year or so. Thanks!
You can build farms on special hexs, you just can't have a farm and city in the same hex. Try to build so you keep consumption at zero.
You can build farms on special hexs, you just can't have a farm and city in the same hex. Try to build so you keep consumption at zero.
+1
You can build farms in any grassland or hills hex - so the hexes with the fangberry thicket, old sycamore etc. are perfectly valid for farms. You gain the bonus for a resource in addition to whatever you do to develop the hex - while some resources have restrictions, most of them are wide open to development how you see fit.
I strongly discourage starting with an expensive structure like a castle. Start with inexpensive buildings, focusing on getting your Economy up to the point where you can reliably make the rolls. In your initial few rounds, add three (or seven) hexes to your initial hex, and immediately develop a road in each, and enought farms as you go to offset all the consumption. Remember:
* You gain +1 economy per four hexes with roads.
* Using the Stag Lord's Fort hex as your capital grants you a +1 bonus on each of Economy, Stability and Loyalty.
Finally, check to be sure that you've filled all ruling positions (no vacancies) and that you've selected Economy for those that have a choice.
If you do all that, by the time you burn through your initial BPs, you should be able to make it work. I also strongly suggest you look at this thread: The Overlords Guide to Kingdom Building and download his Google Docs file (linked right near the beginning of the thread). He does an analysis of the various choices that I found very helpful.
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And, btw, resources and landmarks do not prevent you from building farmland. Even if your GM rules it does, just claim the river crossing in round 1 and the hex east to the staglord ford in round 2. Build two farms and you are self sufficient.
edit: And don't forget to enable light taxation for extra ECO.
THAT would be the piece of information that I was missing. If I can build farms on any non-city hex, then consumption can be offset by farm building fairly easily.
I tried building the castle first; for the first twelve turns, my kingdom is stable, although I have only claimed two hexes. Now that I know about how to build farms, I expect I can expand more quickly and not worry about depleting my treasury.
You guys are awesome. I would add you to my government if I could ;o]
Well, not ANY hex, any grassland or hill hex that doesn't have a city. Forests, mountains and swamps cannot be farmed.
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There aren't many and they're not game-changers but there are a few treasures that PC's would normally scoff at but, in KM, they're BP's (and actually detailed as such). Events cancause a gain or loss of BP's so they are, for the most part, a wash.
In my own game, the PC's built up slowly then, after about month 15 or so, they got in on the magic economy and things boomed from there. If they had moved in that direction sooner, they might have prospered earlier. I suppose its not necessarily obvious at first. Some GM's alter how this works, also... So check.with your GM to see.
Right now, they have three flourishing cities, their leader is a duke, the capitol city is on its second district... So it can definitely work.
