Post/Author/DateTime	Post
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 01:16 AM	Humans cant survive in D&D. Wanna bet? Prove me wrong. The only way Humans would survive is by evolving magic. And it wouldn't look like Eberron. In a generic D&D scenario I just don't think Humans would survive, at least not in castles that we know in medieval times. You got your Elves hidden in the Trees. You got your Dwarves dug deep into mountains. You got your underground races with dark skin. Dark Elves. And you got your Aquatic Elves in the water. (Elves thrive?) On the surface in plain sight? Major competition. Orcs, goblins, Giants, Hobgoblins, Dragons and every other single monster in the Monster Manuals. Humans CAN'T survive. I made a bet with my friend. (He also believes in low magic campaigns. I say thats impossible ) :) He couldn't get past the first obstacle. :confused: Please help us solve the first obstacle. NEWS BULLETIN New players can chose to be the HobGoblin race. Facing the same challenges. Major Challenges: Keeping your population together is the main challenge. You still must complete the other challenges for each year. First 4 players gain 600 population. After that new players will start with 20 goblins to their fortress. You may not succeed. Chosing a Goblinoid Kingdom you are doomed to fail. With so much fighting among your own people your races are unstable and once the Humanoid Kingdom gets large enough they will likely destroy you while you are at a weak point. You are fighting a losing battle, unless you are a mastermind. However with that said all battle strategies will be fun to employ. Best of luck. Your biggest challenge is to recruit population. Goblinoids need a reason to flock to you and stay. You have to solve this problem. Each year. It gets harder every year. You will also have a slave resource. This is how you get labour done, and feed some of your population. You must decide how you will maintain them. You still need to complete the other Challenges of each year. ex. A is for Ankheg. These are your races.(am I missing any?) Orcs: Gnolls: BugBears: Kobolds: Goblins: Ogres: Slaves: Choice of other races. Ogres: Ogres should be easy to recruit to your millitary power for a short period. They are stupid and lack all forms of leadership, direction and management skills. Keeping Female Ogres in your Kingdom may ensure other Ogre tribes returning for mating. They dont get attached to their mates, but they roam with their relatives in a tribe, so they are always looking for a mate. Gnolls: Gnolls have a Matriarchal society. Like Hyenas the females grow larger then males and the females are in charge. The head leader is a female. Gnolls definately keep slaves. They have a specific tittle called Slave Taker, and its the lowest rank of a Gnoll (still above a slave). You may call your Gnolls Slave takers in your Kingdom, and can serve as watch dog type among your population. Slaves are used as food and labour. These creatures are smart, they pretend to be dumb to the enemy and attack with vicious ferocity. Possible mounts; Dire Wolves, Howlers, Worgs Using only the core rules. PHB, DMG, MM. You are given a magic blueprint to design 12 cubic acres of solid stone. This will serve as your fortress. It instantly appears! Chose and design your landscape. Lets say in a land where humans have no home, you are the only hope to save them. Your Fortress serves as the only beacon of hope for the human race. You will start out with 20 humans in your first year. The size of a Thorp. Every year you are successful you gain population. (Wandering Humans needing protection seek your Fortress). Be sure to post your population every time you post. Where would you strategically place your Fortress? You must also decide how you will distribute your villagers jobs. How many are Farmers, soldiers, miners, woodcutters, blacksmiths etc? What is your ratio? Do you have magic users? Where will you get your resources? how? What will be your laws? this is under construction. thank you for your patients We are using the Core Rule Books Only. PHB, DMG, MM. It may be easier to keep a thread for yourself for all the details of your Kingdom. there is a Campaign building Forum, perfect to store your thread. Post here to have it reviewed by all and Provide a link for us to refer to your thread. This is what you start with: A magic blueprint that instantly creates a fortress. Keep it safe. The Blueprint creates 12 cubic acres of solid stone. Any add ons your people build themselves. 20 humans. You gain population every successful year. Gold piece limit in effect. You cannot have any item worth more than this limit Town Size Population GPLimit Thorp 20-80 40gp Hamlet 81-400 100gp Village 401-900 200gp Small Town 901-2,000 800gp Large Town 2,001-5,000 3,000gp Small City 5,0001-12,000 15,000gp Large City 12,000-25,000 40,000gp Metropolis 25,001+ 100,000gp According to the DMG chart. Any suggestions welcome New Class: King :king: You are the King of your people. Every year you are in power you gain one level. Don't get assassinated. Chose your governing Alignment Chose your currency: trade, gp, slavery Chose your political system: Do you want one? I ask that you display the following information each time you post. This helps me keep track of your settlement. Thank you. Pop= Terrain= Alignment= Disclaimer:These rules are subject to change. Ideas to think about Does your Fortress Settlement have a name? Do you have a different tittle? You may call yourself whatever you want. Overlord, Tyrant, Underlord, Emperor, Primeminister, God...etc Types of Governments; Democracy, Dictatorship, Communist, Magocratic, Autocratic, Feudal, Tribal, Theocratic Do your people vote? Do women have equal rights? Women fight in war? Do you have prisons? Guilds? Slaves? City Districts? Coliseum? Theaters? Schools? Other races? What will be your laws? What is your main source of food? Do your people hunt in a dangerous D&D environment?
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 01:27 AM	Please keep an eye here for updates. This will be for all the new challenges. Start with the first Challenge. Successfully defending against the first challenge graduates you to the second year. Each successful year you gain more population and your King level goes up. Challenges Year 1 A is for Ankheg. Ankhegs are eating your farmers! I am not satisfied that any one of these work alone %100 Build a 50' deep moat. Ankhegs only burrow 40' deep. Build your fortress on a solid rock. Build your fortress in a terrain not suitable for them. Build a stone wall underground. Keep armed ballistas ready to shoot them on the fields. <--doesnt work. Build a trap that kills them. Burn and smoke them out. Cause disturbing vibrations to annoy them away. Like clock work. Build a layer of stone 2' under your crops. Poison them with bait. Make your castle float in the air. Spread Purple Worm Poison in the area to scare them away by scent. Research. Farm during times they dont feed. Ankhegs remain fertilizing the farm. Domesticate.<-----still to be proven Ankhegs are Large Beasts CR 3. 10 feet long, they travel underground, burrowing tunnels 5 feet wide, 40feet under the ground. They eat fresh meat. Str. of 21 and Int of 1. Acid spit. They have tremorsense. Positive points=Ankhegs are very good for farms. How do you solve the Ankheg pest problem? Year 2 Ambush A wandering tribe of 60 Orcs wearing painfully unpleasant vivid colors, have spotted your fortress. They sneak up and ambush your farms at night. Stealing and taking whatever they can. Your scouts have reported that these Orcs will stick around as long as food is available. They believe this land is theirs. They were here first. If your farms are inside fortress walls, the Orcs hide outside waiting for any easy targets. If you havent solved the Ankheg problem, you find an Orc or two dead outside your fortress from Ankheg attacks. Your Advisor suggests not to make them mad or they will team up with the Hobgoblinoid Kingdom. If you have watch towers or signal towers across the land, the orcs will vandalise them if they can easily get to them and not gaurded by a force larger then them. Year 3 Allot of problems this year. Fishermen A few of your fishermen have been getting really sick from the waters. This desease is turning their skin into clear, slimy membranes. These fishermen die within an hour unless kept in cool fresh water. Some of your fishermen have gone missing, boats and all. Reports of beautiful mermaids have been gossiped to lure fishermen from their duties. The odd fisherman has vandalize some fishing equipement. Burning boats, dislodging your water mill, attempting to destroy your damn, or any other building. Its hard to say why these fishermen are acting like this, perhaps they are mad at the working conditions. {If you dont have fishing this is not a problem} Miners Miners are on STRIKE! The miners are upset at the hard labour they have to endure. Why should they do all the heavy work while other villagers get easier tasks, like sitting in a boat all day in the nice sun and look at beautiful mermaids!? Their work is dangerous, with cave ins and such. And recently they cant work due to attacks from a large rock eating creature, who has outsmarted them and is addicted to the miners metals and minerals. A Delver. Fire Your buildings have been catching on fire. And to keep rebuilding them is costing allot of wood, which you will run out of too. On the topic of wood, every villager requires wood every day for cooking, and your black smith too to smelt the iron. You may have to find ways to conserve your wood soon. Sewers Your town stinks! Your people pee freely at any corner they spot. Flies found circling only reveal what was hidden behind a bush. Rotting food attracts more pesky Ankhegs. And you have dead bodies laying around really smelling up the place. How will you handle this? Year 4 Curse Your villagers have been reporting attacks of a wild viscous beast. Killing ruthlessly at night. The assaults have increased, and seem more frequent during the full moon. Pitchforks in hand a mob points fingers at your high cleric. At the height of rage they lynch your highest level cleric. But still the problem is not solved, other villagers are infected with the curse. Who is it?
Dwelf 07-31-07, 01:33 AM	Hypothetically, it would be possible to dig up your fields, pave over them with stone, then put a 2 foot layer of dirt over that. Replant and continue living. Ankhegs cant burrow through stone.
B4_life 07-31-07, 01:34 AM	or, you can make your moat 50 foot deep, and have all the farmland inside the fortress.
Samotep 07-31-07, 01:48 AM	Humans have creativity and the ability for reasoning. They could come up with a way to trap the Ankheg, and though they may lose some men, I'm sure that with enough people that step up to become leaders they could overcome the obstacle. As a human, you honestly don't give your race enough credit! :D
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 01:51 AM	Keep an eye on this post for future Race modifications Neighboring Races Elves Elves live in the Forest. They send you (the King) a message via; a talking humming bird. "Please stop your people from cutting down our homes. You are destroying wildlife. The Grand Master Druid is not pleased and the Treants are ******! If you want wood, grow your own!" ~The Peaceful Elves This is under construction so far these are some of the possibilities the players have generated. Elves like to trade. Export (stuff they make and sell) -Really good wine. Because they live so long. -Fine crafts -Bows and long bows. -Wood stuff. -Druid stuff. Import (stuff they need and buy) -metal and armor (from the dwarves) Elves are willing to live peacefully as long as you dont bother them or their home. Friendly and willing to help. Elves like to trade. Asking for help in a war; If you are too new to the area, the Elves dont see a reason they should risk their lives to help you. You could turn around in the end and betray them. You must gain their trust first. The Elves will take some humans into their home if your Fortress is destroyed. Saving the humans, but this means you have lost your Fortress. (game over) Some players may chose to war with the elves and just harvest wood as they please. Fighting the Elves will be a very tough battle. You'll never eradicate the Elves. You will have difficulty to find their homes. Thats right, they are hidden in the Trees. Attacking them on their own terrain spells dissaster, since they are well fortified. And they could easily move and grow new homes if you become too strong for them. You will lose a possible trade and gain a permanent enemy that could spell dissaster for your race. Dwarves One day you find graffiti on the outside of your fortress walls, except its chissled into your stone. "GKAZXHGROUK GRHOUSH PLAHGSHOZHOLIZT KIZZ MINE ARZE" Translation "How do you like it if we chip at your home? Stay out of our mines and mountain, Moradin rightfully gave us those ores, gems and gold. Its ours!" ~ The Neighboring Dwarves This is under construction These are some suggestions players have come up with Dwarves will trade. They will buy or trade stuff for cheap prices. Export (Stuff Dwarves make and sell) -Gems -Metal -Gold -Rock -Masons(they build good buildings -Metal Weapons -Metal Armor Import (Stuff Dwarves need and buy) -Wine (from the Elves.) They need more. -Ale -Bows. -Wooden stuff. They will be friends with you. They will leave you alone if you leave them alone. They will trade with you. They will not assist you in war. You can turn around and Betray them, they just dont know you well enough yet. Some players may chose to war and force the Dwarves out of the mountains. The Dwarves are a war loving race. If you chose this option, read the Dwarven Defender class first and then decide if you think its a good idea. Plus to attack them you will need to enter their fortified stone halls, which is not much room to manuever. HobGoblins I've decided that war tactics are infinite and a long process. I decided to allow new players to chose to be HobGoblin Kingdom. Allowing players to co-ordinate war tactics against each other. Cheers have fun! In your 3rd year, these guys may be your biggest problem. You get an update from a scout (if you assigned scouts) "Sire. Over 'der mountains ares a Kingdom of HobGoblins, Ogres and Bugbears, oh my! They are war smart and vicious! These lands have roaming Orcs too, everywhere! They think this land is theirs! What shall we do?" ~ Scared Stiff Scout. (I hope you assigned a scout, if not you're gonna lose) the Goblinoid Kingdom is 2,400 population including women and children. Its is 100 km away from you. This is under construction Possible solutions the players have created This hasnt happened yet. ... Prepare for war. The Hobgoblins are master war generals. Victory looks hopeless. They have spies and scouts. Orcs Orcs believe the land you are on is theirs for the taking. Orcs are strong and warlike. An Orc at peace is an Orc looking for a fight. All allies are temporary. Orcs fight among their population. Orcs see failed attacks as a victory as long as they have sacked a few villages, carry of plenty of food, drink and treasure and escape to fight another day. An Orc doesnt trust fellow tribe members enough to become attached to them or be willing to sacrifice for them, but seeks as much power and wealth as can be acquirred. These views are an obstical to racial unity. Dwarven and Elven dieties unfairly cheated Gruumsh out of territory for his creations. So Gruumsh smote the lands for to make caves and badlands for the Orcs. He also made his children strong, so they could take whatever they needed from others. He made them bloodthirsty and selfish so the frail couldnt drag down the mighty. Each tribe has a chief. Male Orcs have complete power over their mate and children. Orcs use slaves to do the work the Orcs dont want to do. Aquatic Elves These guys live deep in the Sea. Anyone living near large bodies of water may encounter them. No contact has been made yet. They are just too deep. Arial Elves This race does not exist in the 3 core rule books. The sky terrain seems to have the least competition. Feel free to move into the air! Halflings Halflings have been spotted working in your town. They work hard and get allot done. They have been knocking on your villagers doors asking for work in exhange for a place to sleep, they promise to pull their own weight and then some. Thier numbers very subtly grow as your population expands. Will you allow the Halflings to reside in your town? Gnomes This section is for players with population of 800 or more A tall man dressed in a long coat knocks on your front gates. He says he has a message for the King (you), he must deliver in person. Upon meeting this man and greeting him in person, he hands you a note and a closed basket. "Dear King Oh my! you are expanding very quickly and everyone is noticing. If your village keeps expanding at this rate you will plow over our hills! Can we live in peace? Will you allow us to live in our homes? The Gnome Mayor of Gnome Hills" Nothing inside! The Joke is on you! A closer inspection reveals Fruits, Baked Breads and Pies. They are invisible! Those Gnomes up to their usual tricks After reading the note and not realising your strength you shake the tall mans hand and you tear his arm off, blood sprays everywhere! The man walks away moaning in pain with his now severed arm in hand.
Label 07-31-07, 01:59 AM	First of all, I'll place my fortress on the shores of a navigable river, with good harbor location, and at the feets of a mountain (big or not), and if possible I'll try to have a high ground AND access to the river. I'll make grow rice in the sides of the mountain, and eat fish from the river. I'll deal with the dwarves in the mountain so we can be, at best "in peace" or at least in a "no intervention" treaty. I'll trade with them for minerals in exchange of food or tools or sake (they are dwarves after all... alcohol is the key here). As for the anhkegs, I'll do nothing. Since their environment is "warm plains" and I'm not in that kind of environment since im a the feets of a mountain, I'll not see any of them. But in the case they come as random encounters, I'll let the dwarves handle it since they both live underground. And my farms are on the mountain. You wonder how humans can survive in D&D ? By using Trade and Diplomacy.
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 02:00 AM	Hypothetically, it would be possible to dig up your fields, pave over them with stone, then put a 2 foot layer of dirt over that. Replant and continue living. Ankhegs cant burrow through stone. Thats allot of work. But I like your idea. This already beats Eberrons ideas. A few questions. Is 2 feet of dirt enough to grow crops? How thick is your stone? Where are you getting stone from? this will take a long time. You plan to keep doing this even until you city reaches a population of 10,000 ? Dwelf :) I like your idea. Please tell me how you assign your villagers, are they all farmers? any soldiers? some will be workers (for all that diggin') And tell me what land scape you think is best! Edit: I just realized that Ankhegs can use the acid spit to burrow through the rock. So it would make sense that they would still attack, but with great effort on their part. They will probably have favorite holes to which they already ate the rock of and and continue the attacks. But this way they are easier targets to see coming.
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 02:04 AM	or, you can make your moat 50 foot deep, and have all the farmland inside the fortress. That is a smart idea. You will eventually run out of land. But this seems like a necessary idea. Until you grow bigger. How do you chose to design your 12 acres of cubic stone? How do you assign your villagers?
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 02:09 AM	Humans have creativity and the ability for reasoning. They could come up with a way to trap the Ankheg, and though they may lose some men, I'm sure that with enough people that step up to become leaders they could overcome the obstacle. As a human, you honestly don't give your race enough credit! :D :D very funny :) Ok, Samotep. I assume you are a human. Lets hear your creative reasoning. What does your trap look like? Remember you are the leader. Just a heads up, according to the Human alphabet (common) the letter 'D' is very early... hhmmm what monster starts with the letter D?;) I cant wait to hear what you got.
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 02:35 AM	First of all, I'll place my fortress on the shores of a navigable river, with good harbor location, and at the feets of a mountain (big or not), and if possible I'll try to have a high ground AND access to the river. I'll make grow rice in the sides of the mountain, and eat fish from the river. I'll deal with the dwarves in the mountain so we can be, at best "in peace" or at least in a "no intervention" treaty. I'll trade with them for minerals in exchange of food or tools or sake (they are dwarves after all... alcohol is the key here). As for the anhkegs, I'll do nothing. Since their environment is "warm plains" and I'm not in that kind of environment since im a the feets of a mountain, I'll not see any of them. But in the case they come as random encounters, I'll let the dwarves handle it since they both live underground. And my farms are on the mountain. You wonder how humans can survive in D&D ? By using Trade and Diplomacy. I sense a labyrinth of intelligence here. :) My friend feels Diplomacy will be his greatest tool too. As for the attack of the Ankhegs. We could argue for hours if they could reach you or not. The Dwarves live in stoney tunnels, so Ankhegs are not their concern at all. They have different pests. Ankhegs eat decayed organic matter but prefer fresh meat. Your farmers and their crops are a juicy target of food. I guess since you would like to be close to a mountain and have a large rock under neath you, it will limit their burrowing attacks. So we can agree that Ankhegs do attack just not as frequently. If thats the case, some farmers would like to farm in the safer areas. So their is large bids (or arguements ) of who gets to farm inside the fortress (depends how you designed it) or who gets to farm on the safer lands. Ofcourse the farmer furthest out will be the first target. And you will always have one farmer furthest. This farm land debate is going to be the biggest debate in your kingdom among your villagers. Why should the last guy stay in your Kingdom if he will be eaten. Their will always be a last guy. Some angry villagers threaten to leave if you chose to do nothing. If you disagree with any of these thoughts let us all know. With logical reasoning, ofcourse. :D Im no weather geographical expert, but I think its safe to say that it rains allot in your area. Nothing that would stop a human. One of my personal favorite Hazards are rock slides. How do you avoid that natural disaster? "Oh and being on a mountain will make you a target to mountain type creatures, who have access to throwing large boulders from high altitudes. " your Assistant advises you this. ---->Which reminds me 'Dwelf' would still get a few attacks too. Am I wrong?
Samotep 07-31-07, 02:39 AM	Well, first off, we would organize some spears and several of the stronger men so that we can organize some tactical advantage. We would organize things in such a way that we move our band of warriors around an area with many stones and boulders. The most agile of us will strike upon a boulder with a hammer at a regular beat. The pinging should draw the Ankheg... with good placement of my warriors we may be able to take it down, or at the least scare it off. If we can brace the spears on the ground, we can impale it as it tries to pull back into its tunnel. It will be even more possible if I have a couple of PC classes.
CaptainSpartan 07-31-07, 02:59 AM	Well, first off, we would organize some spears and several of the stronger men so that we can organize some tactical advantage. We would organize things in such a way that we move our band of warriors around an area with many stones and boulders. The most agile of us will strike upon a boulder with a hammer at a regular beat. The pinging should draw the Ankheg... with good placement of my warriors we may be able to take it down, or at the least scare it off. If we can brace the spears on the ground, we can impale it as it tries to pull back into its tunnel. It will be even more possible if I have a couple of PC classes. Thats funny.. I picturing warriors with rock slabs tied to their feet waiting for Ankhegs to pop up. hehehe:D um remember Ankhegs spit acid. Even if you kill all the Ankhegs, next year they will appear again. So if your solution is to kill them every year, thats fine, but the MM has allot of pages. Your men wont have time to farm! If you read the Ankhegs info in the MM it states that they are good for farms. They provide nutrients and irrigation, making farm lands very rich. Read it and think carefully. You could harvest their shells(which is acid proof) and they are a source of acid!
Label 07-31-07, 03:31 AM	Well, AFAIK, rice is grown in water. As I said, I use the sides of the mountain to grow rice, so it's terraced. The water can easily come from the top of the mountain if there's a lake or if it's a snow-capped mountain. And from the rain of course. Since my "farmlands" are filled with water, I don't think ankhegs will came to dig winding holes in it. It's not a "farmland" in the way they like. As for the natural hazards of rock slides... I have 2 things to help preventing this : 1, trees. With careful exploitation of the mountain trees, their roots will keep the rocks where they are. 2, I have terraced rice plantations. As for the giants that can throw me rock... it depends on the type of giant. If they are cloud giants, then it can be a nice neighbooring. They love music, wear jewels... anything we can make. It could even become a cultural trade. There will be no lawful evil fire giant, since they prefer volcanoes or other hot places. Frost giants? artic places. I'll not see them either. Hill giants however can be a concern if there is only some individuals, since they take what they want and don't trade. But since it's individuals, a bunch of armed guys can kill it. Maybe with losses, surely with wounds... but hey that's the life. Tribes of Hill Giants are more open to trades, for food and trinkets. So let's trade with them. Stone Giants are neutral, playful and sometimes artistic barbarians. No problem with that. They'll love our sake :cool: . In addition, they are herders. Nice food to trade, again. Storm giants are gentle, neutral good guys. They too love jewels and good crafts. Edit : and I suppose you have heard of "half-giants" ;) Make love, not war! hehe.
Optimized_Commoner 07-31-07, 08:24 AM	Sorry, not going to participate in the challenge but seriously... that's an awesome campaign idea. I love the idea of the humanoid races hiding in vaults with the surface dominated by dragons, illithids, beholders, etc. It's like Reign of Fire meets Fallout. That's pure awesome and win. I am so stealing this.
Samotep 07-31-07, 12:19 PM	Thats funny.. I picturing warriors with rock slabs tied to their feet waiting for Ankhegs to pop up. hehehe:D um remember Ankhegs spit acid. Even if you kill all the Ankhegs, next year they will appear again. So if your solution is to kill them every year, thats fine, but the MM has allot of pages. Your men wont have time to farm! If you read the Ankhegs info in the MM it states that they are good for farms. They provide nutrients and irrigation, making farm lands very rich. Read it and think carefully. You could harvest their shells(which is acid proof) and they are a source of acid! Nice points, but I don't even own a MM, I'm not that much of a twinkie/munchkin... but if they are good for the soil, what we might try to do is work them into the ecology, perhaps even feeding them livestock... it kind of depends on how to control the Ankheg population... If we can salvage the carapace and acid that is cool. The thing about Ankhegs is that they are barely animal intelligence, so they aren't inherently evil... Who knows, maybe we can even "domesticate" them... BTW I am not going to have enough time to really play this game, as work is going to be kicking it in full gear as the football season starts, but it's pretty fun all this problem solving. It seems though that at the rate that I am going to have problems, I WILL have some PC classes, and if we don't all die, they will all gain levels like crazy! In addition, if we are just going alphabetically, instead of by CR or random, then there is no way ANY RACE will survive this test. It doesn't matter that the other races are all isolated and cozy, when you hit the D creatures, they will be having just as many problems as the humans have. Then the humans' average character level will be higher than any other race. Wouldn't they?
Hapless 07-31-07, 12:31 PM	Make the castle float 50ft in the air, ontop of a lake, with (magic) missile turrets (wizards) surounding the lake and castle to ward off dragons nasty elves and goblins, have some sorcerors, who make illusory piles of gold when they see a dragon, make friends with the goblins so tey kill the goblins and orcs and stuff, and have sorcerors make those magic feast things. either that, or have a sorceror rent out mordenkrains infinitely sized house thing.
Samotep 07-31-07, 01:42 PM	Make the castle float 50ft in the air, ontop of a lake, with (magic) missile turrets (wizards) surounding the lake and castle to ward off dragons nasty elves and goblins, have some sorcerors, who make illusory piles of gold when they see a dragon, make friends with the goblins so tey kill the goblins and orcs and stuff, and have sorcerors make those magic feast things. either that, or have a sorceror rent out mordenkrains infinitely sized house thing. But then, that is what Cap said, without the use of magic, humans would never survive. But then, that's where I beg to differ... :D
Forfeit 07-31-07, 04:00 PM	I would create 600 adventurers and rule the world. Humans win because they are crazy, breed like rabits, know how to create shiny steel blades and always know how to lie with a smile on their faces.
Einvaldurinn_mikli 07-31-07, 04:16 PM	You are mistaken my dear Spartan. A does not stand for Ankheg, it stands for Aversion. Suddenly the Ankheg has lost all interest in our fields. Strange that.
Einvaldurinn_mikli 07-31-07, 04:18 PM	So, if we do this, what resources exactly do we have at our disposal? I mean, what make up of classes and levels do we have? Money? Equipment?
elondir 07-31-07, 04:34 PM	Using magic and the Epic Level Handbook (I consider it core)... What is the spell level limit? how much money to start with? If there is no limit I would use the wizard spell Genesis to create a series of linked demiplanes, customized to my needs. Since the wizard version isn't nerfed, they can be made of esoteric materials and can be enlarged twice per year. The entrance to the Prime would be a gate on the flying castle surrounded by magic missile turrets (wand of magic missile) and disjunction cannons (staff of mordenkainen's disjunction). Put a mythal in the center warding away any hostile creatures. Any time the population gets crowded, grow the residential area or make a new one. If the mineral resources are scarce, make a demiplane of the type you need. If the food is scarce, make some nice farmland to import crops into, or better yet, make some everful larders and everful basins. Want some parks? Make a hilly fertile ground and hire a druid consultant to import and maintain a temperate forest ecosystem. Make a marketplace at a good trade site. Place a mythal in the center of town warding against creatures with hostile intent.
stargate525 07-31-07, 04:36 PM	Alrighty then, I'll give this a shot. My town, dug into a sheer cliff face which overlooks a navigable and calm bay. Farming is done on top (primarily livestock, since we've only got 4-12 inches of soil before hitting bedrock), and trade is done by sea below. Access to the cliff city is done via lifts and drawbridges, made of local wood. In case these should fall there is a secret staircase that leads down most of the mountain, and a rope ladder can be lowered from there to the ground. Public places and Expensive homes are carved into the rock, and the rock that is carved out is made into stone, used as an export and as building material for clifftop barns and shelters. Ankhegs are thwarted. They can't burrow up from below us, and with them having to come above ground at us, we simply pick them off with longbows. Should they close, we move into the shelters and onto the cliff. After a year or two of this, they should be smart enough to avoid us.
Stormonu 07-31-07, 04:50 PM	You don't need magic. These obstacles are silly easy to overcome without it. Oh, please, the ankhegs are easy. Dig a trench around the town, line them with stone, leaving one way for the ankheg to get in. Then get 4-5 sharpened logs (big ones - f*ck the elves), setting them up like a portcullis over the unblocked area and a tripwire. An ankheg burrows through the unblocked area the logs drive down and kill it. End of Ankheg. Or - kill a few deer and set up traps, waiting for the Ankheg to surface. Have you seen Apocalypto? The only bad thing would be cleaning up the bug juice. Or - lure a purple worm into a trap. Milk the poison from its stinger and smear it around at key points in the village. Any Ankheg that smells that poison will think there's a purple worm nearby (purple worm: mmm-fresh ankheg) and will move somewhere else. If it surfaces, kill it with a ballista. ---------------- Elves and Dwarves. Send emmisaries, wishing to trade goods for the use of their resources. The elves and dwarves don't own everything; the humans can import wood or stone from other areas or find places that aren't inhabited by elves and dwarves. And if they continue to make trouble, ally with the orcs and goblins to kick their hiney. We'll build armor and weapons for the orcs to go do it. I'm sure they'll be pleased to do it for us. Let me reverse this for you. Humans own all the countryside. They are everywhere - how are your elves going to live when they're fighting orcs and goblins and the humans are cutting into your woods everywhere you turn around? <Edit> The Diplomatic Return to the Elves "Dear Peaceful Elves: We are sorry if we have upset you with our logging. We were not aware of your ownership of the forest beyond our township. We respectfully request a meeting with our lumberers so that we open barter of dead wood for whatever our community can produce to your liking (I understand that many of your elves have eyed our vineyards; several of our vinters have several generations of experience). If we may not log from your woods, we ask assistant from your druidic elders to help us find alternative means to house our kindred - your advice and experience in this matter would be greatly appreciated. P.S.: Our long-range scouts have espied an orcish and goblin horde some 100 km from our own community. We would like to arrange a conference with your leadership to forge an alliance should this horde swing in our directions, as we fear that should they attack us, your kind will not be far behind in witnessing a similar slaughter." The Diplomatic Return to the Dwarves "Dear Brothers in Stone; We are regretful for having trespassed into your sacred mines for materials for our community. For the time being, our masons have been ordered to dredge stone from the nearby mountain streams for our building supplies. We would like to meet with your craftsmen to discuss terms of trade. Our craftsmen are greatly skilled in working raw metals, and in return for stone freely given from your mines, we would be happy to work whatever your metalurgy needs might be for no cost. We also invite your brethren to our mead halls, your songs and stories shall make fine accompanyment to the brews our brewmasters have devised for your pleasure. Our long-range scouts have espied an orcish and goblin horde some 100 km from our own community. We would like to arrange a conference with your leadership to forge an alliance should this horde swing in our directions, as we fear that should they attack us, your kind will not be far behind in witnessing a similar slaughter. Though we know you dwarves put faith into your halls of stone, we understand that the goblinoids are capable miners, and their numbers are great enough to lay siege to your halls and we fear to overcome any defenses you might muster. Give us this chance to display your wares of war and to help keep these hordes from ever even darkening your doorstep" And if Diplomacy doesn't Work To the elves. Our lumberers will set fire to the elvin woods. If we're first level, they are too! If they've got high level magic to counter our wildfire, I'm sure we will too. Lets see how well they stop a deliberately set forest fire. To the dwarves. Lay seige to the dwarve's fortress. Cram the entryways to their underground halls with logs left over after burning out the elves. Seal every exit from the hall with wood, and light it. Let it burn for days, until the stone shatters from the heat (it's how mining used to be done before TNT), sealing the dwarves in. Those who don't die from asphixiation will suffocate when the entrances collapse and no new air comes to replinish the smoke-filled halls. Don't f*ck with the humans!
Lady_Sophia 07-31-07, 05:54 PM	New Comer to this Thread Hmmm...building forts and overcoming things. I like this idea. How in-depth do you want the fortress design? How long do we have to build the fortress? Will i be able to add extensions to it later? Is it assumed we have the right materials to begin with, or do we have a starting pile of materials? I have more questions, but i am going to assume this Fortress can be built over years and we have the material to do it. My Fortress (by Lady Sophia) Location: On a Hill Height of the Hill: ~140-160ft South Side - Steep/Rocky slope. Impassable. Incline: 81 Degrees (0 degrees being flat. 90 degrees being vertical) Description: There is a river that runs below the slope. On the other side, grassland for approx 400 metres (1/4 Mile). Then dense woodland. Along the river (eastward towards the sea) there is a raised bridge on two raised banks. These banks have been protected by stone, the bridge also made of stone. On raised banks, there is a small town either side of the bridge, with Palisade (wooden-wall) defences. The road passing through the small town, comes out of the wood (destination unknown) and makes it's way to the town. The road then branches off into two; one road leads towards the sea on a raised bank, protected by stone. The other, leads towards the north, again, on a raised bank protected by stone. North Side - Gentle/Grass slope. Passable by creatures and War Machines (for the record). Incline: 26 Degrees Description: Open grassland for miles. Patches of trees patch the grass, but rather featureless. A road can be seen in the east on a raised mound of earth. It is strengthen with stone. West Side - Gentle/Rocky slope. Passable by creatures. Not by War Machines. Incline: 36 Degrees Description: The River from the south side opens up into a lake, approx 200 metres (1/8 Mile) from the Fortress. The lake is large and holds fish. There is a dense forest on the south side of the lake. Mountains are on the far shore (the West bank) with the North bank branching into another river heading into the grassland. Woodland and the Mountains dominate the far bank of this river. East Side - Steep/Rocky slope. Impassable. Incline: 82 Degrees Description: The River from the south side continues along the wood. Scouts report the stream heads to the coast, 4 miles away. There is grassland with the head of the river, being a suitable place for a harbour. You can clearly view the sea and any boats that may make there way up the river. River: The River is approximately 150 meters wide at its widest point, 150 metres at its thinnest point. Reasons for picking this location: - The hill allows protection from two sides; the south side, further protected by the river and the dense woodland and the east side, which allows a view to the sea and watchful presence over the river below. - The hill also allows a vantage point against attackers, even though the West and North sides, are pretty slight slopes, there is a clear sight for miles around. - The river is fresh water, coming off the mountains. Though it floods once a year (flooding a fair portion of the grassland) it provides fresh fish and fresh water to the growing settlement. There is a sizable area of land that is untouched by the flood waters, resting on the hill, so for the most part, the basic settlement should not be harmed, though farm land will be destroyed once a year by flood waters. It should be noted that, with most floodwaters, these waters also provide minerals and fertile soils off the mountains for good harvest in the following year. A sacrifice, i am willing to make. - There is wild game in the grasslands and woodland for food. - The grassland can be farmed even though it floods once a year (it could also flood unexpectedly. Unseasonable rains, more rain than usual, etc...might be something to consider DM). - There is ample space for a fortress and settlement. If more space is needed, raised earth can be used and protected with rock from the annual floods. - There is a small settlement along the river that is appears friendly (Scout reported a mixed race community who welcomed him and his companions). Potential traders. Downside: May need to protect them from dangers - make allowances inside the Fortress. - The sea is not too far from the settlement, and the river can support a small trading post for small vessels (the bridge is not high enough to allow larger vessels through, so expanded trade would need a coastal harbour). Potential Threats / Drawbacks: - The dense wood to the south, offers little visibility. Enemies could sneak up through the woods. However, the wood ends, 400 metres (1/4 miles) short of the river. Thus, there is a bit of time to see an approaching enemy. Siege Weapons cannot pass through the wood (unless the wood was cleared first). - Enemies sneaking up or down the river. Could use the steep slopes as cover for smuggling goods or kidnappings (potential for Orc trouble?). To overcome that, there may need to be sentry towers deployed up and down the river with signal fires). - The flood maybe stronger than usual, and damage the settlement. Though, that would be a rare occurrence, it could happen. - Floods could be bring bugs and disease - Little access to Stone. Mountains are a fair distance away, with no suitable roads to or from them to the Fort. Possible trade with Dwarves? - Wood is plentiful, though transport maybe hindered by the road and the only access being through the village. Potential taxation or local issues? - Anymore the DM can think up? (or anyone else for that matter). Assume the hill and roads are strong enough to support the flood damage. Continuing On Settlement Layout...
Lady_Sophia 07-31-07, 05:55 PM	Settlement Layout: The Fortress will be at the top of the hill, as to ensure it has maximum visibility. Outward from the Fortress, you have the local Blacksmith and Armoury as well as the barracks for the local militia. These buildings circle a large courtyard, which is walled off from the main settlement. These walls can be locked and patrolled by archers. Out of the gate, and you see a long wide road. Either side of this road are homes and shops, with wooden stalls set up against the walls. Streets peel off the main road that eventually circle the entire settlement. The settlement is walled with stone, with a moat created from the river around the hill. A Palisade wall stands in front of the stone wall, with raised pikes to prevent climbing. The stone wall can be patrolled by archers. Stone towers are positioned at the entrances and at the “corners” of the settlement along the walls (though the walls are actually rounded to help prevent siege weapons breaking the edges). There are also five wooden outpost sentry towers that signal the watchtowers in the settlement of approaching danger. These towers are, Tower A – West, along the River Tower B – East, along the River, near the Town Tower C – North, beside the Road Tower D – Southeast, beside the River on the East Side Tower E – Southwest, beside the River on the West Side These Sentry Towers warn of approaching danger or important events (travellers on the Northern road for example, rebellion in the town, forest fires etc). Of course, if I am supposed to “build-up-to” this point, then this is what I am trying to achieve J. If that is the case then, I’ll start out with a simple settlement; raised on a mound of dug earth, small moat encircling the hill, palisade wall surrounding the fledgling settlement. The wood is coming from the few trees in the grassland (the wood to the south is difficult to get to…the river and the transporting it through the town). These are used to create the wall, with simple wooden housing for the population. Population: 300 10 Healers and Child Carers (who look after the elderly and younger children) 20 Hunters (5 teams of 4 / 10 teams of 2) – Hunt Game 6 Patrols (in teams of between 4 and 8) will patrol the local area. Women and Children can forage berries from the grasslands. They can also milk the cows and make cloth and clothes from the few sheep and livestock. The rest of the able men will help with construction work
Lady_Sophia 07-31-07, 05:55 PM	There's probably more to write, but i have to go. I'll think of some more stuff to add tommorrow. Let me know if i have missed anything, or not made anything clear. Thank you.
Hsien 07-31-07, 06:35 PM	What's my population size? ~Fortress; Location = piedmont region built at a rivers fall line ( from coast go upriver until you hit waterfall/rapids ). I would use the river as on of my security points and have a secure bridge/fort across the river. Surrounding hills will have traditional motte/bailey smaller forts to protect the people at night and provide mutual support. Army; since it's hills/plains = Cavalry,lances and mounted archers. ~Ankhegs; several options ( if they really are an annual problem or not ) 1: Lures with live animal as bait and let the arrows fly. 2: Smoke/Stink Pots, Burning Wood/Hay into their holes to drive them out...in extreme cases depending on terrain we could also flood the fields. Have archers ready as needed. 3: Annoy them away.( my favorite ) Set up small stone huts that go into the ground, around your perimeter at odd intervals. Set a big drum into each onto the stone and have round the clock drummers. The continous sound vibrations will play havoc with the ankeg's tremorsense, think stampede coming through the ground, and they will likely go to more pleasant areas. Expand drum system as needed. ~Elves Diplomacy: Accept that there has been a misunderstanding; we scouted those woods and saw no signs of elvish habitation, which they wouldn't unless the elves wanted them to probably. As humans will need cut wood for construction and daily life, ask for thier advise on the best way to farm downed trees, and see if they can assist ( quick growing seeds ) in setting up a seperate tree farming zone away from thier forest. ~Dwarves Diplomacy and trade for mutual benefit. Pseudo-historically this has always been slightly easier with dwarves, as the can obtain food and textiles through trade, thus leaving more time to mine for the good stuff. ~Humanoids; traditionally there can be no peace. 100km is about 64 miles, 3 days solid travel, so that gives us some comfort room; with any luck the dwarvish mountain range will be between them and us or at least in proximity and dwarves will agree to an alliance in case of an attack. Until we are strong enough, any war will be the Humanoids coming into our territory; in the open lets see how they like our cavalry/mounted archer units.
Lady_Sophia 07-31-07, 07:51 PM	Ah, yes, the Elves, Dwarves, Orcs/Humans and the issue of those Ankhegs... Dwarves: Trade liquor with them, in exchange for stone and metals. Liquor - : Ale - can be made from growing Barley and Wheat, spiced up with crushed herbs (all grown on farmland) : Rum - can be made from growing sugar-cane : Wine - can be made from growing grapes Alternatively, long-term relations could include the deeds to a mine or personal supply from a Dwarven Family (though that would be long-term. Maybe need to do something for them first? Help them rid the lands of Orcs?) Elves: Trade and Diplomacy. Set up trade routes with them, and acquire Wood and Elven Bows (even if they are second-hand / cheap ones). Alternatively, agree to help rid them of Orcs / Goblins or other evil creatures which may plague the lands. Overall, make firm relations with the native people and aim for long-term relations rather than short-term fixes. Ankhegs: Learn when they like to attack, what seasons, what times of day etc, and farm accordingly to minimise casulties. In the event of an attack, use alchemical fire to burn them out or torch the grassland to drive them out. This has two benefits. 1) Burn't land encourages new growth and shoots to flourish. This in turn encourages animals to the area (so we can hunt them) 2) Burning the Ankhegs out will allow us to take there charred bodies and use whatever materials we can take from them, for our own benefit. For example: - Acid: Used on the ends of arrows, allows our archers to increase there effectiveness against intruders to our settlement. It can also be traded with alchemists for resources. - Body: The outer shell/skin can be used for armour and clothing or storage skins (drinking bottles, bags, etc...think "Buffalo / Indians"). The shell (is there a shell?) can be used for Armour and building material. Possible Trade Goods. - Meat: Is the meat edible? We can find out. - Other: Is anything else of the creature edible or useful? Are there any glands or organs that can provide good meals for the people? The animal is beneficial to farming, so it could be used as a fertiliser to improve farming if nothing else. Did i miss anything?
Einvaldurinn_mikli 07-31-07, 08:41 PM	Okay, lets do this for real. For the purposes of this post, I am going to assume that these 600 people function just like a village, as per the DMG. This means that we have quite a few low level classed people to work with. I am also going to assume that under normal circumstances, roughly 10% of a town's assets are liquid currency. This gives us roughly 60.000 gold pieces total to work with, we can't spend it on any magical stuff though, no characters capable of crafting things, yet. The breakdown of talented people would be as follows: One 3rd level Adept. One first level Aristocrat, we will assume that this is the mayor. A fourth level Barbarian. Two second level Barbarians and 4 1st level Barbarians. A 2nd level Bard. The local rock star. He has two wannabe followers. A third level Cleric, the minister and his two helpers.(1st level Clerics) A ninth level Commoner. Two 7th level, 4 5th level, 8 3rd level. A second level Druid. Two first level Druids. A seventh level Expert. The Siege Engineer. This means that there are also 2 5th level experts and 4 3rd level experts. We won't lack for weapons. A third level fighter.(The Sheriff) Two first level fighters. A first level Monk. No Paladins. A fourth level Rogue. Two second level Rogues and four first level. (Local thieves guild?) A second level Sorcerer. Two first level sorcerers. A third level Wizard with two apprentices. A fifth level Warrior. (Two third level Warriors) A second level Ranger with two first level friends. A second level Wilder, yes, I am going to include Psionically gifted people. I do love me some Psionics after all. Two first level. A third level Psion. Two first level. A second level Soulknife. Two first level. (The local emo kids. Knives prepackaged) A third level Psychic Warrior with two first level friends. I would like to include some Magewrights, but they aren't open content are they? The rest of the population is spread out as follows: 481 first level commoners. 27 1st level Warriors. 16 first level experts. Five first level Adepts. Moving on to the Fortress part: The fortress would be located on relatively small hill, maybe 100 meters high but relatively steep. It would be less then a day's march away from a small forest, and within three days of a large forest. There would be a river nearby and a lake. Most likely within a few days travel of the ocean as well. The fortress itself would be a relatively simple design. The standard four walled tower monster we are all so familiar with. It would however be surrounded by a series of moats, each one deeper then the last. The moats would be lined with stone. Inside, you have the "core" of the population so to speak. Armories, the temple, the school, the food stores, at least three wells, stables, the Barracks and other assorted services. And of course a keep. (Takes a few minutes and sketches this out). There would be some farming going on inside the walls, the usual stuff. Assuming that you can support five people per acre, and are using most of the land inside the walls for farming, you could only support 45 people with that. That's not good enough, which means that we will have to go outside the walls to get some food. More on that later. On the towers on the corners of the city walls, there are stationed four first level Warriors with a Ballista and Longbows. They should be able to kill most things within range, ones that would bother with walls anyway. Now, the issue of food. Most of our food would come from farming, let's say that a total of 400 people are kept solely on farming. This means that we need farmland totaling at least 80 acres, but we will be using some 200. Two people per acre, that should be doable. Then we have livestock, another 100 people should be able to survive on that. Fishing in the rivers and large boats in the ocean should provide quite a bit and there is always hunting.(Might not be the best idea in a D&D world though) Farming could likely be accomplished by maybe a hundred people or so? That would mean one person for every two acres. They would likely travel in groups though, rotating where they work daily. The groups would consist of maybe 17 first level commoners(with their Morningstars), a 3-5th level commoner(the others would be using the Aid another on this dude, out of game concept wise), three first level Warriors, armed with Longswords and Longbows and wearing Studded Leather with Bucklers, and an Adept(in case someone gets hurt). Dealing with Ankhegs: Seeing as how they are usually solitary creatures, they would die if they assaulted a group like the one above. So they wouldn't, not really. If they did however, we would dispatch a competent team of adventurers that would track them down and kill them all. The team would include most of the people with PC levels and as such would have no problem with Ankhegs, solitary beings that they are. Dealing with the other Humanoids: We would send the local rockstar to plead our case and establish friendly contact. A second level bard can have a +21 Diplomacy modifier. (+6 synergy, +5 ranks, +3 Skill Focus, +2 Negotiator feat, +4 Charisma, +1 from a bribe or something) With the other two bards aiding him, he would be able to turn foe to friend simply by taking 10.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 05:51 AM	there is no way ANY RACE will survive this test. It doesn't matter that the other races are all isolated and cozy, when you hit the D creatures, they will be having just as many problems as the humans have. Then the humans' average character level will be higher than any other race. Wouldn't they? The Elves and Dwarves are hidden. Not in plane sight like a bullseye. But surely these other races have methods of survival that we never think of. This test should change the concept of how we see humans survive in a D&D fantasy world.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 06:01 AM	Make the castle float 50ft in the air, ontop of a lake, with (magic) missile turrets (wizards) surounding the lake and castle to ward off dragons nasty elves and goblins, have some sorcerors, who make illusory piles of gold when they see a dragon, make friends with the goblins so tey kill the goblins and orcs and stuff, and have sorcerors make those magic feast things. either that, or have a sorceror rent out mordenkrains infinitely sized house thing. Now thats what Im talking about! This doesnt look like some ordinary castle on a hill.:cheer:
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 06:22 AM	You are mistaken my dear Spartan. A does not stand for Ankheg, it stands for Aversion. Suddenly the Ankheg has lost all interest in our fields. Strange that. I didnt catch what you ment. I have a feeling I will find out. Fore shadowing? nice. So, if we do this, what resources exactly do we have at our disposal? I mean, what make up of classes and levels do we have? Money? Equipment? Resources? You have to get your own resources. Need metals = mine for it. Need wood = chop for it. Need food = farm or hunt! Class? You can be any class in the PHB. core rules. You dont really need to be any class or level since as a King you should be really busy trying to run your Kingdom and never enough time to adventure and gaining levels. :king: Perhaps King should be a class! Level? if you wish to chose a level thats fair. I'd say starting level 6-10. Equipment? You can have the appropriate equipment according to your level. Chose what ever you want from the DMG if you wish to have magic items. Stay within your level limit. Remember I already gave you a magic blueprint! Thats free :) In my opinion , I dont see equipment to be important, unless Im wrong. You could prove me wrong. Money? Either spend it on equipment or store it in your new fortress! but I see no use for money. It is solely your decision to even have currency in your young Kingdom. You dont need it.:twocents:
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 06:33 AM	I would create 600 adventurers and rule the world. Humans win because they are crazy, breed like rabits, know how to create shiny steel blades and always know how to lie with a smile on their faces. so that means you will constantly train your men?! Sounds like a vigorous regime. Sounds like a very real war like state of ancient History. They recently made a movie of it. My head is in the gutter. sorry. Does that mean you even need a fortress? Will your men be wandering on adventures? And any further humans will follow you in your conquest to destroy all in your path? What if your people dont want to follow you in battle all the time? will you whip them into submission?
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 06:44 AM	Using magic and the Epic Level Handbook (I consider it core)... Core rule books are PHB/DMG/MM I could allow all the books, but thats allot of homework. What is the spell level limit? how much money to start with? If there is no limit I would use the wizard spell Genesis to create a series of linked demiplanes, customized to my needs. Since the wizard version isn't nerfed, they can be made of esoteric materials and can be enlarged twice per year. The entrance to the Prime would be a gate on the flying castle surrounded by magic missile turrets (wand of magic missile) and disjunction cannons (staff of mordenkainen's disjunction). Put a mythal in the center warding away any hostile creatures. Any time the population gets crowded, grow the residential area or make a new one. If the mineral resources are scarce, make a demiplane of the type you need. If the food is scarce, make some nice farmland to import crops into, or better yet, make some everful larders and everful basins. Want some parks? Make a hilly fertile ground and hire a druid consultant to import and maintain a temperate forest ecosystem. Make a marketplace at a good trade site. Place a mythal in the center of town warding against creatures with hostile intent. Thats a beautiful masterpiece. Changing the face of D&D as we know it. Thats what Im talking about. I dont even know what some of the stuff you said is!! I'll have to look it up, see if I can find a way to penetrate it. Magic level limit ? Yeah. you start with 600 villagers (commoners) You will need to train wizards and clerics until they are high enough to cast those spells. Perhaps I will re-Edit my first post to answer the level limit questions.
Khadmus 08-01-07, 06:48 AM	Well, AFAIK, rice is grown in water. As I said, I use the sides of the mountain to grow rice, so it's terraced. The water can easily come from the top of the mountain if there's a lake or if it's a snow-capped mountain. And from the rain of course. Since my "farmlands" are filled with water, I don't think ankhegs will came to dig winding holes in it. It's not a "farmland" in the way they like. As for the natural hazards of rock slides... I have 2 things to help preventing this : 1, trees. With careful exploitation of the mountain trees, their roots will keep the rocks where they are. 2, I have terraced rice plantations. As for the giants that can throw me rock... it depends on the type of giant. If they are cloud giants, then it can be a nice neighbooring. They love music, wear jewels... anything we can make. It could even become a cultural trade. There will be no lawful evil fire giant, since they prefer volcanoes or other hot places. Frost giants? artic places. I'll not see them either. Hill giants however can be a concern if there is only some individuals, since they take what they want and don't trade. But since it's individuals, a bunch of armed guys can kill it. Maybe with losses, surely with wounds... but hey that's the life. Tribes of Hill Giants are more open to trades, for food and trinkets. So let's trade with them. Stone Giants are neutral, playful and sometimes artistic barbarians. No problem with that. They'll love our sake :cool: . In addition, they are herders. Nice food to trade, again. Storm giants are gentle, neutral good guys. They too love jewels and good crafts. Edit : and I suppose you have heard of "half-giants" ;) Make love, not war! hehe. Rice is why the Chinese developed gunpowder and other such marvels. But to actually progress the fortress, we can have a 6-10 level king? This changes quite a bit...after all, you don't need to be too powerful to make pun-pun...
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 06:56 AM	Alrighty then, I'll give this a shot. My town, dug into a sheer cliff face which overlooks a navigable and calm bay. Farming is done on top (primarily livestock, since we've only got 4-12 inches of soil before hitting bedrock), and trade is done by sea below. Access to the cliff city is done via lifts and drawbridges, made of local wood. In case these should fall there is a secret staircase that leads down most of the mountain, and a rope ladder can be lowered from there to the ground. Public places and Expensive homes are carved into the rock, and the rock that is carved out is made into stone, used as an export and as building material for clifftop barns and shelters. Ankhegs are thwarted. They can't burrow up from below us, and with them having to come above ground at us, we simply pick them off with longbows. Should they close, we move into the shelters and onto the cliff. After a year or two of this, they should be smart enough to avoid us. This is not the typical castle we imagine. But you didnt use magic! Your Fortress succeeds the first year. you gain %25 population increase, minus the few who fell off the cliff. :) This may be an oppertunity for your people to develop insurance policies. You cant clear down all the wooded areas without making druids, treants and elves mad. Their are no other human towns to trade with. Just to point that out.
Varia 08-01-07, 07:15 AM	Ankhegs are easy- treat them like any other insect vermin and just poison them. Theyre hungry and stupid, its simplicity itself. Local humanoids- diplomacy, as usual, to the point of allying with one or more against the others if necessary. And when youre actually strong enough (that whole breeding like rabbits thing) then you can get obnoxious. Standard practice for assorted colonial powers, history is full of real-life examples, the colonisation of the americas being the most obvious example. The monsters respawn? No, they dont. Its easy to say they do, but thats not true. Life, even fantasy life, doesnt work like that. There's no point in running the exercise if youre not going to do it properly. Yes, some new ones wander in from outside but nothing like as many, and not so often, but the whole point of clearing monsters is to clear them out so they never come back. And humans are good and ruthless at it. You poison off the roaming ankhegs and then hunt down and destroy the breeding areas, by poison, or fire or water, as needed. Thats why the wandering monster tables are different for settled lands vs unsettled, and why every campaign needs large wilderness areas to support its source of monsters for players to whack, and a history that explains why those areas still exist.
Khadmus 08-01-07, 07:18 AM	We should find out what monsters are in the mountains. Are there any undead? Are there any constructs? Will the tarrasque suddenly show up to railroad us into an early grave? Will the local Silver Dragons defend us? If we remove the undead/constructs from the picture (after all, who created them?) the biggest problem we have is the giants, and Label has adequately dealt with them. The problems remaining are Yrthaks and Gargoyles, which might be a bit difficult to fend off. However, if we can diplomance a silver dragon into defending us, that problem is history.
vegetalss4 08-01-07, 07:54 AM	i think there is only one big fault to this. that monsters respawn. but if that i how the univerese works i start by declaring that humans are monsters. now nothing can kill us for good because we just respawn. proplem solved
BaltotheJunkie 08-01-07, 08:11 AM	A is for Ankheg. Ankhegs are eating your farmers! My friend cannot build a suitable defence to stop them permanently. Ankhegs are Large Beasts CR 3. 10 feet long, they travel underground, burrowing tunnels 5 feet wide, 40feet under the ground. They eat fresh meat. Str. of 21 and Int of 1. Acid spit. They have tremorsense. Positive points. Ankhegs are good for farms. How do you solve the Ankheg pest problem? Poisoned meat? Large traps?
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 08:46 AM	You don't need magic. These obstacles are silly easy to overcome without it. Oh, please, the ankhegs are easy. Dig a trench around the town, line them with stone, leaving one way for the ankheg to get in. Then get 4-5 sharpened logs (big ones - f*ck the elves), setting them up like a portcullis over the unblocked area and a tripwire. An ankheg burrows through the unblocked area the logs drive down and kill it. End of Ankheg. Or - kill a few deer and set up traps, waiting for the Ankheg to surface. Have you seen Apocalypto? The only bad thing would be cleaning up the bug juice. Or - lure a purple worm into a trap. Milk the poison from its stinger and smear it around at key points in the village. Any Ankheg that smells that poison will think there's a purple worm nearby (purple worm: mmm-fresh ankheg) and will move somewhere else. If it surfaces, kill it with a ballista. ---------------- Elves and Dwarves. Send emmisaries, wishing to trade goods for the use of their resources. The elves and dwarves don't own everything; the humans can import wood or stone from other areas or find places that aren't inhabited by elves and dwarves. And if they continue to make trouble, ally with the orcs and goblins to kick their hiney. We'll build armor and weapons for the orcs to go do it. I'm sure they'll be pleased to do it for us. Let me reverse this for you. Humans own all the countryside. They are everywhere - how are your elves going to live when they're fighting orcs and goblins and the humans are cutting into your woods everywhere you turn around? <Edit> The Diplomatic Return to the Elves "Dear Peaceful Elves: We are sorry if we have upset you with our logging. We were not aware of your ownership of the forest beyond our township. We respectfully request a meeting with our lumberers so that we open barter of dead wood for whatever our community can produce to your liking (I understand that many of your elves have eyed our vineyards; several of our vinters have several generations of experience). If we may not log from your woods, we ask assistant from your druidic elders to help us find alternative means to house our kindred - your advice and experience in this matter would be greatly appreciated. P.S.: Our long-range scouts have espied an orcish and goblin horde some 100 km from our own community. We would like to arrange a conference with your leadership to forge an alliance should this horde swing in our directions, as we fear that should they attack us, your kind will not be far behind in witnessing a similar slaughter." The Diplomatic Return to the Dwarves "Dear Brothers in Stone; We are regretful for having trespassed into your sacred mines for materials for our community. For the time being, our masons have been ordered to dredge stone from the nearby mountain streams for our building supplies. We would like to meet with your craftsmen to discuss terms of trade. Our craftsmen are greatly skilled in working raw metals, and in return for stone freely given from your mines, we would be happy to work whatever your metalurgy needs might be for no cost. We also invite your brethren to our mead halls, your songs and stories shall make fine accompanyment to the brews our brewmasters have devised for your pleasure. Our long-range scouts have espied an orcish and goblin horde some 100 km from our own community. We would like to arrange a conference with your leadership to forge an alliance should this horde swing in our directions, as we fear that should they attack us, your kind will not be far behind in witnessing a similar slaughter. Though we know you dwarves put faith into your halls of stone, we understand that the goblinoids are capable miners, and their numbers are great enough to lay siege to your halls and we fear to overcome any defenses you might muster. Give us this chance to display your wares of war and to help keep these hordes from ever even darkening your doorstep" And if Diplomacy doesn't Work To the elves. Our lumberers will set fire to the elvin woods. If we're first level, they are too! If they've got high level magic to counter our wildfire, I'm sure we will too. Lets see how well they stop a deliberately set forest fire. To the dwarves. Lay seige to the dwarve's fortress. Cram the entryways to their underground halls with logs left over after burning out the elves. Seal every exit from the hall with wood, and light it. Let it burn for days, until the stone shatters from the heat (it's how mining used to be done before TNT), sealing the dwarves in. Those who don't die from asphixiation will suffocate when the entrances collapse and no new air comes to replinish the smoke-filled halls. Don't f*ck with the humans! Your adviser reports "Sire, I had the villagers dig the trench as you asked, and we stole some wood from the elves and built the portcullis. With some trouble shooting we got the trap to work! But majority of the Ankhegs seemed too lazy to burrow around the trench, instead they just surfaced and crossed the trench and burrowed into the ground again. We've just discovered that the Ankhegs are using their acid spit to burrow through our rocks! Then we used deer carcass as bait. That worked! Our men are getting good at using the balista. When our farmers are on the field we always make sure someone is manning the ballista. It took us some time, but we found a purple worm. We lost too many men trying to kill it. None of us are trained in being Soldiers. So we snuck in and stole some of its poison excrements. I hope it doesnt follow us back here. This should keep the Ankhegs away." According to core MM. I see no suggestion that Ankhegs fear the smell of Purple Worm. Its true that in the animal Kingdom animals mark their territory to ward of others. But animals have Int of 2. Ankhegs and Purple worms are Int. 1. And are considered beasts. I assume 'beast' would work the same as animal. I like your idea, but will it work? I would think so mostly, I have some thoughts. You bring up some very important ideas. Ankhegs and Purple Worms are in direct competition, but would they be enemies? Ankhegs are Large and Purple Worms can swallow large. However, I would guess that the Ankhegs chitinous armour is acid proof. I would also think that if the smell warded them off, would they still risk getting food if they dont see or tremorsense the Worm? Also I just realized that Ankhegs can use acid to break through rock. am I right? Your ballista idea works. Changing the face of farms in the D&D world. Your messenger arrives. Beaten, dirty, worn and scraped. "Sire!" " I have returned with a message from the elves!" He opens his pouch and a glittering fairy flutters out and speaks. "Dear King; We welcome your peaceful efforts. We Elves live free and long. Our wine ages even longer. We are masterful crafters and open to trade. We trade our elven wine to those rigid Dwarves whom cant get enough of it, in return for their durable weapons. We would like to see the human kingdom succeed. What else can you offer us for trade? We like to trade. We will spare you a small partial area for harvesting wood, this should meet your lumber needs, until you grow bigger, after that you must grow your own wood. We are very enthusiastic that you want a druid, we will be happy to train one of your men to be a druid. And he can train your men further. This way you can create many ways to survive in harmony with Nature. We have been fighting against the Orcs and goblinoids for generations. We know getting involved can be costly to us. But we do not fear the Orcs" The fairy vanishes in mid air leaving behind her giggle. Your worn messenger pulls out a gem and holds it next to a candle. The light reflects through the gem casting an image on the wall. "Human King We get wine from the Elves, but its not enough. We want more. Lots. We make good armor and swords. You may mine a small portion of our mountain, for now. [the message continues with babbling. You messenger has to flip the gem] We are well prepared for Orc scum. Those fools wont dare set a foot in ANY of our trapped halls. Only Fools. Protecting your Kingdom may be too costly for us. What will you do in return? We Dwarves are a proud race of miners and war... [ the message continues with more babbling. The messenger twists the gem to a different angle] With proud thanks The Dwarf King Defender of Moradin" Im going to say your Kingdom graduates to the second year.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 08:53 AM	Poisoned meat? Large traps? Actually he built wind mills that would thump the ground causing vibration to attract the Ankhegs. And then placed poisoned meat as bait. I wasnt sure if this idea would work. He was even more clever. He built a series of these Windmills in a line leading to the Hobgoblin Kingdom. Hoping to lure the Ankhegs to the enemy instead. This might work, but I dont think the Hobgoblins farm crops too much. Leaving the Human Kingdom a bigger easier target. what are your thoughts?
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 10:11 AM	New Comer to this Thread Hmmm...building forts and overcoming things. I like this idea. How in-depth do you want the fortress design? How long do we have to build the fortress? Will i be able to add extensions to it later? Is it assumed we have the right materials to begin with, or do we have a starting pile of materials? I have more questions, but i am going to assume this Fortress can be built over years and we have the material to do it. Thanks for Participating. You can make it as indepth as you like. The Fortress is a magic blueprint, instantly appears. Yes, you may add extensions later. You will have to. The extensions you must build yourself and get the materials yourself. My Fortress (by Lady Sophia) Location: On a Hill Height of the Hill: ~140-160ft South Side - Steep/Rocky slope. Impassable. Incline: 81 Degrees (0 degrees being flat. 90 degrees being vertical) Description: There is a river that runs below the slope. On the other side, grassland for approx 400 metres (1/4 Mile). Then dense woodland. Along the river (eastward towards the sea) there is a raised bridge on two raised banks. These banks have been protected by stone, the bridge also made of stone. On raised banks, there is a small town either side of the bridge, with Palisade (wooden-wall) defences. The road passing through the small town, comes out of the wood (destination unknown) and makes it's way to the town. The road then branches off into two; one road leads towards the sea on a raised bank, protected by stone. The other, leads towards the north, again, on a raised bank protected by stone. North Side - Gentle/Grass slope. Passable by creatures and War Machines (for the record). Incline: 26 Degrees Description: Open grassland for miles. Patches of trees patch the grass, but rather featureless. A road can be seen in the east on a raised mound of earth. It is strengthen with stone. West Side - Gentle/Rocky slope. Passable by creatures. Not by War Machines. Incline: 36 Degrees Description: The River from the south side opens up into a lake, approx 200 metres (1/8 Mile) from the Fortress. The lake is large and holds fish. There is a dense forest on the south side of the lake. Mountains are on the far shore (the West bank) with the North bank branching into another river heading into the grassland. Woodland and the Mountains dominate the far bank of this river. East Side - Steep/Rocky slope. Impassable. Incline: 82 Degrees Description: The River from the south side continues along the wood. Scouts report the stream heads to the coast, 4 miles away. There is grassland with the head of the river, being a suitable place for a harbour. You can clearly view the sea and any boats that may make there way up the river. very clever. I see you are planning ahead for a large population. River: The River is approximately 150 meters wide at its widest point, 150 metres at its thinnest point. Reasons for picking this location: - The hill allows protection from two sides; the south side, further protected by the river and the dense woodland and the east side, which allows a view to the sea and watchful presence over the river below. - The hill also allows a vantage point against attackers, even though the West and North sides, are pretty slight slopes, there is a clear sight for miles around. - The river is fresh water, coming off the mountains. Though it floods once a year (flooding a fair portion of the grassland) it provides fresh fish and fresh water to the growing settlement. There is a sizable area of land that is untouched by the flood waters, resting on the hill, so for the most part, the basic settlement should not be harmed, though farm land will be destroyed once a year by flood waters. It should be noted that, with most floodwaters, these waters also provide minerals and fertile soils off the mountains for good harvest in the following year. A sacrifice, i am willing to make. - There is wild game in the grasslands and woodland for food. - The grassland can be farmed even though it floods once a year (it could also flood unexpectedly. Unseasonable rains, more rain than usual, etc...might be something to consider DM). I am full aware of natural disasters. Nothing humans cant survive. In D&D it is known to have deadly disasters, I will keep deadly disasters to rare bare reasonable minimum. - There is ample space for a fortress and settlement. If more space is needed, raised earth can be used and protected with rock from the annual floods. - There is a small settlement along the river that is appears friendly (Scout reported a mixed race community who welcomed him and his companions). Potential traders. Downside: May need to protect them from dangers - make allowances inside the Fortress. - The sea is not too far from the settlement, and the river can support a small trading post for small vessels (the bridge is not high enough to allow larger vessels through, so expanded trade would need a coastal harbour). Potential Threats / Drawbacks: - The dense wood to the south, offers little visibility. Enemies could sneak up through the woods. However, the wood ends, 400 metres (1/4 miles) short of the river. Thus, there is a bit of time to see an approaching enemy. Siege Weapons cannot pass through the wood (unless the wood was cleared first). - Enemies sneaking up or down the river. Could use the steep slopes as cover for smuggling goods or kidnappings (potential for Orc trouble?). To overcome that, there may need to be sentry towers deployed up and down the river with signal fires). - The flood maybe stronger than usual, and damage the settlement. Though, that would be a rare occurrence, it could happen. - Floods could be bring bugs and disease - Little access to Stone. Mountains are a fair distance away, with no suitable roads to or from them to the Fort. Possible trade with Dwarves? Upon Diplomatic approach (if you chose) the Dwarves wont mind a small portion of the mountain being mined. But you have to transport your material yourself. however you chose. - Wood is plentiful, though transport maybe hindered by the road and the only access being through the village. Potential taxation or local issues? After getting permission from the Elves, you may chop down wood as needed. Only a small portion of the forest is allowed, Enough to fill your needs. Your adviser hints. "Sir, wood floats! We can transport it down the river!" - Anymore the DM can think up? (or anyone else for that matter). Assume the hill and roads are strong enough to support the flood damage. Continuing On Settlement Layout... that is the most Fantastic explanation yet. Im looking for details of how you manage your villagers. Do you train them for millitary? how many of them are farmers? How many are miners? How many are woodcutters? How many Blacksmiths? Do you have Education? Do you have Currency?
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 10:29 AM	Settlement Layout: The Fortress will be at the top of the hill, as to ensure it has maximum visibility. Outward from the Fortress, you have the local Blacksmith and Armoury as well as the barracks for the local militia. These buildings circle a large courtyard, which is walled off from the main settlement. These walls can be locked and patrolled by archers. Out of the gate, and you see a long wide road. Either side of this road are homes and shops, with wooden stalls set up against the walls. Streets peel off the main road that eventually circle the entire settlement. The settlement is walled with stone, with a moat created from the river around the hill. A Palisade wall stands in front of the stone wall, with raised pikes to prevent climbing. The stone wall can be patrolled by archers. Stone towers are positioned at the entrances and at the “corners” of the settlement along the walls (though the walls are actually rounded to help prevent siege weapons breaking the edges). There are also five wooden outpost sentry towers that signal the watchtowers in the settlement of approaching danger. These towers are, Tower A – West, along the River Tower B – East, along the River, near the Town Tower C – North, beside the Road Tower D – Southeast, beside the River on the East Side Tower E – Southwest, beside the River on the West Side These Sentry Towers warn of approaching danger or important events (travellers on the Northern road for example, rebellion in the town, forest fires etc). Of course, if I am supposed to “build-up-to” this point, then this is what I am trying to achieve J. If that is the case then, I’ll start out with a simple settlement; raised on a mound of dug earth, small moat encircling the hill, palisade wall surrounding the fledgling settlement. The wood is coming from the few trees in the grassland (the wood to the south is difficult to get to…the river and the transporting it through the town). These are used to create the wall, with simple wooden housing for the population. Population: 300 10 Healers and Child Carers (who look after the elderly and younger children) 20 Hunters (5 teams of 4 / 10 teams of 2) – Hunt Game 6 Patrols (in teams of between 4 and 8) will patrol the local area. Women and Children can forage berries from the grasslands. They can also milk the cows and make cloth and clothes from the few sheep and livestock. The rest of the able men will help with construction work This is FANTASTIC! :clap: 300 population?! Are they Spartans?! I started everyone with 600 villagers... so.. you dont have farms? This could avoid Ankhegs. However any garbage your villagers throw out will attract the Ankhegs. Ankhegs= D&D racoons :P
Stormonu 08-01-07, 11:00 AM	But majority of the Ankhegs seemed too lazy to burrow around the trench, instead they just surfaced and crossed the trench and burrowed into the ground again. That's when they're supposed to be shot with the ballista... It took us some time, but we found a purple worm. We lost too many men trying to kill it. None of us are trained in being Soldiers. So we snuck in and stole some of its poison excrements. I hope it doesnt follow us back here. This should keep the Ankhegs away." Puts head in hands. "Guys, next time take the rangers (or our new druid) with you. They can calm the thing down. Besides, you were supposed to take the elephants with you (on a rocky outcrop, remember?) and use the chain lassos to grapple and pin them for milking, rattlesnake style." According to core MM. I see no suggestion that Ankhegs fear the smell of Purple Worm. I seem to remember this from a monster ecology article in Dragon ("100% official" :D ) However, I would guess that the Ankhegs chitinous armour is acid proof. There is no proof to this. They would have Resist/Immune acid if it were acid proof. Apparently, you can harm them with Melf's Acid Arrow, a flask of acid or ankhegs can attack and harm each other with their own acid. Also I just realized that Ankhegs can use acid to break through rock. am I right? A foot of stone has a hardness of 8 (and 180 hp for reinforced stone), so their regular acid wouldn't get through. On average, their spit is going to do 10 points (2 hp damage to the wall, average). They would have to sit at the stone wall and attack it for about 90 times to get a 1 foot diameter hole in the wall. They'd have to destroy at least 25 square feet (5 ft. X 5 ft) to squeeze through, minimum. At 6 hours between spits, an ankheg would have to spend around 13,500 hours to get through the wall (or 562 days - about 2 years). I think they'd rather climb over, and then end up getting shot by my ballistas. <Edit> Actually, the hole would have to be 50 square feet (5 ft. X 10 ft.) to squeeze through, and 100 square to pass through normally (4 years for the 50 ft., 8 years for the 100 ft.)
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 11:13 AM	What's my population size? ~Fortress; Location = piedmont region built at a rivers fall line ( from coast go upriver until you hit waterfall/rapids ). I would use the river as on of my security points and have a secure bridge/fort across the river. Surrounding hills will have traditional motte/bailey smaller forts to protect the people at night and provide mutual support. Army; since it's hills/plains = Cavalry,lances and mounted archers. ~Ankhegs; several options ( if they really are an annual problem or not ) 1: Lures with live animal as bait and let the arrows fly. 2: Smoke/Stink Pots, Burning Wood/Hay into their holes to drive them out...in extreme cases depending on terrain we could also flood the fields. Have archers ready as needed. 3: Annoy them away.( my favorite ) Set up small stone huts that go into the ground, around your perimeter at odd intervals. Set a big drum into each onto the stone and have round the clock drummers. The continous sound vibrations will play havoc with the ankeg's tremorsense, think stampede coming through the ground, and they will likely go to more pleasant areas. Expand drum system as needed. Good job. Your men have researched the best methods of annoying the Ankhegs, and improve on the methods everyday. The noise causing the Ankhegs to stay far away, and your villagers sleep easy at night and farm peacefully during the day. You have changed the face of farms in D&D. ~Elves Diplomacy: Accept that there has been a misunderstanding; we scouted those woods and saw no signs of elvish habitation, which they wouldn't unless the elves wanted them to probably. As humans will need cut wood for construction and daily life, ask for thier advise on the best way to farm downed trees, and see if they can assist ( quick growing seeds ) in setting up a seperate tree farming zone away from thier forest. The Elves like you. And they like your idea. They dont have quick growing seeds to offer, but they suggest thats a great idea to research. you are given permision to harvest a small portion of trees for wood, and growing the rest. If you are going to use magic to grow trees fast, you have changed the face of D&D as we know it. However who could tell by looking at it? ~Dwarves Diplomacy and trade for mutual benefit. Pseudo-historically this has always been slightly easier with dwarves, as the can obtain food and textiles through trade, thus leaving more time to mine for the good stuff. ~Humanoids; traditionally there can be no peace. 100km is about 64 miles, 3 days solid travel, so that gives us some comfort room; with any luck the dwarvish mountain range will be between them and us or at least in proximity and dwarves will agree to an alliance in case of an attack. Until we are strong enough, any war will be the Humanoids coming into our territory; in the open lets see how they like our cavalry/mounted archer units. Sounds good to me. But for the sake of the game, you humans have to fight the Hobgoblinoids on your own. Besides, in war you can trust no one. And you barely know the Elves or Dwarves. Its too high a cost for the Dwarves or Elves to help a new neighbour they just met. Your Kingdom passed the first year. Your villagers are happy. The word gets out that your fortress is run by a good King. Humans start to flock to your Kingdom and have babies producing a larger population. Your population grows to 700.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 11:21 AM	I seem to remember this from a monster ecology article in Dragon ("100% official" :D ) We have to stick to the Core Rule Books. But this little bit of info is helpful. A foot of stone has a hardness of 8 (and 180 hp for reinforced stone), so their regular acid wouldn't get through. On average, their spit is going to do 10 points (2 hp damage to the wall, average). They would have to sit at the stone wall and attack it for about 90 times to get a 1 foot diameter hole in the wall. They'd have to destroy at least 25 square feet (5 ft. X 5 ft) to squeeze through, minimum. At 6 hours between spits, an ankheg would have to spend around 13,500 hours to get through the wall (or 562 days - about 2 years). I think they'd rather climb over, and then end up getting shot by my ballistas. <Edit> Actually, the hole would have to be 50 square feet (5 ft. X 10 ft.) to squeeze through, and 100 square to pass through normally (4 years for the 50 ft., 8 years for the 100 ft.) Thank you for that homework. so then I goofed. Your underground wall worked. Congrats. You achieve the second year. Your people praise you for having confidence in your ability to get the job done and protect your people! Word spreads across land, and the humans start to flock to your kingdom for protection, and have babies. Your population grows to 700. Question: Do you think I should post the solutions in the first post for everyone to see?
demoniciron 08-01-07, 11:26 AM	heres my attempt at this the fortress will be located on a hill for a view of the surrounding areas, the elven forest will be on the east, and the dwarven mountain to the west with a river coming down around the south end of the village providing protection from southern enemies and allow easy trade from the dwarves. the elven forest and river prevent siege weapons. As for the ankheds, why not domesticate them and use them to wage war on the goblins and orcs. If you fight them the elves and dwarves will have a common enemy with you and have more reasons to ally with you. I suggest befriending the giants, if you can then you have some powerful allies. If the giants do not want to be your friends exterminate them with the ankhed mounted warriors. Okay lv break down is as follows: 1 4th lv adept, 2 2nd lv adept, 4 1st lv adept 1 1st lv aristrocat 1 2nd lv barbarian, 2 1st lv barbarian 1 4th lv bard, 2 2nd lv bard, 4 1st lv bard 1 5th lv cleric, 2 3rd lv cleric, 4 2nd lv cleric, 8 1st lv cleric 1 12th lv commoner, 2 6th lv commoner, 4 3rd lv commoner, 8 2nd lv commoner, 467 1st lv commoner 1 1st lv druid 1 10th lv expert, 2 5th lv expert, 4 3rd lv expert, 8 2nd lv expert, 15 1st lv expert 1 7th lv fighter, 2 4rd lv fighter, 4 2nd lv fighter, 8 1st lv fighter 1 1st lv monk no paladins 1 2nd lv ranger, 2 1st lv ranger 1 6th lv rogue, 2 3rd lv rogue, 4 2nd lv rogue, 8 1st lv rogue 1 3rd lv sorcerer, 2 2nd lv sorcerer, 4 1st lv sorcerer 1 6th lv warrior, 2 3rd lv warrior, 4 2nd lv warrior, 24 1st lv warrior 1 3rd lv wizard, 2 2nd lv wizard, 4 1st lv wizard
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 11:36 AM	Ah, yes, the Elves, Dwarves, Orcs/Humans and the issue of those Ankhegs... Dwarves: Trade liquor with them, in exchange for stone and metals. Liquor - : Ale - can be made from growing Barley and Wheat, spiced up with crushed herbs (all grown on farmland) : Rum - can be made from growing sugar-cane : Wine - can be made from growing grapes Alternatively, long-term relations could include the deeds to a mine or personal supply from a Dwarven Family (though that would be long-term. Maybe need to do something for them first? Help them rid the lands of Orcs?) Sounds good. Elves: Trade and Diplomacy. Set up trade routes with them, and acquire Wood and Elven Bows (even if they are second-hand / cheap ones). Alternatively, agree to help rid them of Orcs / Goblins or other evil creatures which may plague the lands. Overall, make firm relations with the native people and aim for long-term relations rather than short-term fixes. Fantastic. They both hate Orcs. Ankhegs: Learn when they like to attack, what seasons, what times of day etc, and farm accordingly to minimise casulties. In the event of an attack, use alchemical fire to burn them out or torch the grassland to drive them out. This has two benefits. 1) Burn't land encourages new growth and shoots to flourish. This in turn encourages animals to the area (so we can hunt them) 2) Burning the Ankhegs out will allow us to take there charred bodies and use whatever materials we can take from them, for our own benefit. For example: - Acid: Used on the ends of arrows, allows our archers to increase there effectiveness against intruders to our settlement. It can also be traded with alchemists for resources. - Body: The outer shell/skin can be used for armour and clothing or storage skins (drinking bottles, bags, etc...think "Buffalo / Indians"). The shell (is there a shell?) can be used for Armour and building material. Possible Trade Goods. A chitinous shell. I believe it is Acid resistant. - Meat: Is the meat edible? We can find out. - Other: Is anything else of the creature edible or useful? Are there any glands or organs that can provide good meals for the people? The animal is beneficial to farming, so it could be used as a fertiliser to improve farming if nothing else. Keeping these buggers around can result in dangerous farming conditions, but with your research the danger is minimal. And your farms flourish! Chitinous Acid proof armour, Acid, Meat, irrigated farms, fertilized... I dont know if they would provide any more benefits. The MM gives limited explanation. If you find anything else we would all like to hear it (read it). Did i miss anything? Nope. Did I ? Thanks
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 12:13 PM	Okay, lets do this for real. For the purposes of this post, I am going to assume that these 600 people function just like a village, as per the DMG. This means that we have quite a few low level classed people to work with. I am also going to assume that under normal circumstances, roughly 10% of a town's assets are liquid currency. This gives us roughly 60.000 gold pieces total to work with, we can't spend it on any magical stuff though, no characters capable of crafting things, yet. The DMG rules assume that Human Kingdoms are common. In this expirement your Fortress is the first fortress. Which means you have no need for currency. But if you want gold pieces thats fine. None of them have a human king on it. The breakdown of talented people would be as follows: One 3rd level Adept. One first level Aristocrat, we will assume that this is the mayor. A fourth level Barbarian. Two second level Barbarians and 4 1st level Barbarians. A 2nd level Bard. The local rock star. He has two wannabe followers. A third level Cleric, the minister and his two helpers.(1st level Clerics) A ninth level Commoner. Two 7th level, 4 5th level, 8 3rd level. A second level Druid. Two first level Druids. A seventh level Expert. The Siege Engineer. This means that there are also 2 5th level experts and 4 3rd level experts. We won't lack for weapons. A third level fighter.(The Sheriff) Two first level fighters. A first level Monk. No Paladins. A fourth level Rogue. Two second level Rogues and four first level. (Local thieves guild?) Rouges dont have to be theives. A second level Sorcerer. Two first level sorcerers. A third level Wizard with two apprentices. A fifth level Warrior. (Two third level Warriors) A second level Ranger with two first level friends. A second level Wilder, yes, I am going to include Psionically gifted people. I do love me some Psionics after all. Two first level. A third level Psion. Two first level. A second level Soulknife. Two first level. (The local emo kids. Knives prepackaged) A third level Psychic Warrior with two first level friends. I would like to include some Magewrights, but they aren't open content are they? Psionics?! I feared this would come up. Psionics changes allot of stuff. The Psionics handbook is not part of the 3 core rule books. But it is frequently mentioned. Use it if you must! The rest of the population is spread out as follows: 481 first level commoners. 27 1st level Warriors. 16 first level experts. Five first level Adepts. Thank you for that. I'd double check your stats, but Im just too lazy and busy. Maybe soon. probaly. Anyone else? I think I need an assistan here. My work is over loaded! :D Moving on to the Fortress part: The fortress would be located on relatively small hill, maybe 100 meters high but relatively steep. It would be less then a day's march away from a small forest, and within three days of a large forest. There would be a river nearby and a lake. Most likely within a few days travel of the ocean as well. The fortress itself would be a relatively simple design. The standard four walled tower monster we are all so familiar with. It would however be surrounded by a series of moats, each one deeper then the last. The moats would be lined with stone. Inside, you have the "core" of the population so to speak. Armories, the temple, the school, the food stores, at least three wells, stables, the Barracks and other assorted services. And of course a keep. (Takes a few minutes and sketches this out). There would be some farming going on inside the walls, the usual stuff. Assuming that you can support five people per acre, and are using most of the land inside the walls for farming, you could only support 45 people with that. That's not good enough, which means that we will have to go outside the walls to get some food. More on that later. On the towers on the corners of the city walls, there are stationed four first level Warriors with a Ballista and Longbows. They should be able to kill most things within range, ones that would bother with walls anyway. Now, the issue of food. Most of our food would come from farming, let's say that a total of 400 people are kept solely on farming. This means that we need farmland totaling at least 80 acres, but we will be using some 200. Two people per acre, that should be doable. Then we have livestock, another 100 people should be able to survive on that. Fishing in the rivers and large boats in the ocean should provide quite a bit and there is always hunting.(Might not be the best idea in a D&D world though) Farming could likely be accomplished by maybe a hundred people or so? That would mean one person for every two acres. They would likely travel in groups though, rotating where they work daily. The groups would consist of maybe 17 first level commoners(with their Morningstars), a 3-5th level commoner(the others would be using the Aid another on this dude, out of game concept wise), three first level Warriors, armed with Longswords and Longbows and wearing Studded Leather with Bucklers, and an Adept(in case someone gets hurt). Dealing with Ankhegs: Seeing as how they are usually solitary creatures, they would die if they assaulted a group like the one above. So they wouldn't, not really. If they did however, we would dispatch a competent team of adventurers that would track them down and kill them all. The team would include most of the people with PC levels and as such would have no problem with Ankhegs, solitary beings that they are. This is only a temperary solution. The Ankhegs will return next year. You can keep hunting and killing them, but you will have more monsters to deal with. Soon you will have a full plate. Dealing with the other Humanoids: We would send the local rockstar to plead our case and establish friendly contact. A second level bard can have a +21 Diplomacy modifier. (+6 synergy, +5 ranks, +3 Skill Focus, +2 Negotiator feat, +4 Charisma, +1 from a bribe or something) With the other two bards aiding him, he would be able to turn foe to friend simply by taking 10. Good idea with the Bard. Your fellow races are easy to get allong with. Its just the D&D way. Your impressive organization skills bring your Kingdom to a solid reputation of sure safety. Your Kingdom Grows to 700 people, one year passes. Check my 2nd post for a new challenge, I'll be adding them there. The Captain
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 12:24 PM	Ankhegs are easy- treat them like any other insect vermin and just poison them. Theyre hungry and stupid, its simplicity itself. Like any other insect, they return. But these guys are harmful. Local humanoids- diplomacy, as usual, to the point of allying with one or more against the others if necessary. And when youre actually strong enough (that whole breeding like rabbits thing) then you can get obnoxious. Standard practice for assorted colonial powers, history is full of real-life examples, the colonisation of the americas being the most obvious example. Diplomacy is easy with friendly races. The monsters respawn? No, they dont. Its easy to say they do, but thats not true. Life, even fantasy life, doesnt work like that. There's no point in running the exercise if youre not going to do it properly. Yes, some new ones wander in from outside but nothing like as many, and not so often, but the whole point of clearing monsters is to clear them out so they never come back. And humans are good and ruthless at it. You poison off the roaming ankhegs and then hunt down and destroy the breeding areas, by poison, or fire or water, as needed. Thats why the wandering monster tables are different for settled lands vs unsettled, and why every campaign needs large wilderness areas to support its source of monsters for players to whack, and a history that explains why those areas still exist. Where is this chart of settled lands and unsettled lands? Yes humans are good and ruthless at exterminating monsters. I could change this rule. I knew it would be argued. But I made that statement for one good reason. If exterminating all the monsters is the only way for the humans to survive, their will be no D&D world left. After all the monsters are dead, then they will kill all the Orcs and Goblinoids. And after that, they will kill all the Elves and Dwarves too. Eventually. Their would be nothing left. With that many humans, no monster to slay for a PC, and surely no dungeon full of treasure would be left. Im open for disputes on this topic/rule.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 12:35 PM	We should find out what monsters are in the mountains. Are there any undead? Undead!!? :devil: You bet! Wait till they get infested by Zombies! Warewolves! Vampires! I feel an evil laugh coming on. Are there any constructs? yes. why not?Will the tarrasque suddenly show up to railroad us into an early grave? Yes. just kidding. Yes. Kidding again. Should there be a Tarrasque? Will the local Silver Dragons defend us? Why should it? And if it did, then will the Green Dragon get mad for the Sivler Dragon taking sides? If we remove the undead/constructs from the picture (after all, who created them?) Thats a good question. Where do you think they came from? the biggest problem we have is the giants, and Label has adequately dealt with them. Label is Amazing, He is very challenging indeed. The problems remaining are Yrthaks and Gargoyles, which might be a bit difficult to fend off. However, if we can diplomance a silver dragon into defending us, that problem is history. Gargoyles are going to be the biggest problem? I never thought that. I guess we will find out. Do you think I should post the solutions in my original post? Perhaps post the solutions in a different thread? This is turning to be allot of work manning this thread. But I am having TONS of fun. The Captain.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 12:39 PM	Rice is why the Chinese developed gunpowder and other such marvels. But to actually progress the fortress, we can have a 6-10 level king? This changes quite a bit...after all, you don't need to be too powerful to make pun-pun... Guns eh? Gun Powder is a DMs call. I dont want to push anyone around. I think its best to keep it simple. Most campaigns keep guns out. Guns change everything. They should. They did in reality. Makes armor useless. So I think its best to not allow gun powder technology until the Kingdom gets really really big. What number makes sense to you? 10,000? 100,000?1,000,000?
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 12:48 PM	i think there is only one big fault to this. that monsters respawn. but if that i how the univerese works i start by declaring that humans are monsters. now nothing can kill us for good because we just respawn. proplem solved I have replied to this arguement already. In defense to the respawn rule or monsters show up again. If humans exterminate all the monsters their will be nothing left. Their would be no more D&D world. I do not believe Humans will allow monster survive in the wilderness. They will be hunted and exterminated. make sense? You could say respawning humans too. And without a Fortress and a King to organize them, they would be eaten just as fast. Their's something my friends were talking about, and thats how a level 10 human can kill 10,000 rats in a single battle. And the human never gets tired, because the rules have no fatigue points.... I dont know if thats relevant to anything. I really dont think the respawning monsters is a big deal. I can call it something else. But Im open for debate on this. Im trying to suit the D&D world. For best optimal logic. EDIT: Im really sorry. Im tired and Im not making sense anymore.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 12:57 PM	heres my attempt at this the fortress will be located on a hill for a view of the surrounding areas, the elven forest will be on the east, and the dwarven mountain to the west with a river coming down around the south end of the village providing protection from southern enemies and allow easy trade from the dwarves. the elven forest and river prevent siege weapons. As for the ankheds, why not domesticate them and use them to wage war on the goblins and orcs. If you fight them the elves and dwarves will have a common enemy with you and have more reasons to ally with you. I suggest befriending the giants, if you can then you have some powerful allies. If the giants do not want to be your friends exterminate them with the ankhed mounted warriors. Okay lv break down is as follows: 1 4th lv adept, 2 2nd lv adept, 4 1st lv adept 1 1st lv aristrocat 1 2nd lv barbarian, 2 1st lv barbarian 1 4th lv bard, 2 2nd lv bard, 4 1st lv bard 1 5th lv cleric, 2 3rd lv cleric, 4 2nd lv cleric, 8 1st lv cleric 1 12th lv commoner, 2 6th lv commoner, 4 3rd lv commoner, 8 2nd lv commoner, 467 1st lv commoner 1 1st lv druid 1 10th lv expert, 2 5th lv expert, 4 3rd lv expert, 8 2nd lv expert, 15 1st lv expert 1 7th lv fighter, 2 4rd lv fighter, 4 2nd lv fighter, 8 1st lv fighter 1 1st lv monk no paladins 1 2nd lv ranger, 2 1st lv ranger 1 6th lv rogue, 2 3rd lv rogue, 4 2nd lv rogue, 8 1st lv rogue 1 3rd lv sorcerer, 2 2nd lv sorcerer, 4 1st lv sorcerer 1 6th lv warrior, 2 3rd lv warrior, 4 2nd lv warrior, 24 1st lv warrior 1 3rd lv wizard, 2 2nd lv wizard, 4 1st lv wizard Thanks for joining. My friend chose to domesticate the Ankhegs as well! Lets dig up some facts and logic. Can Ankhegs be domesticated? Int 1. Isnt domesticated mean that you have to breed them until they are less agressive? Thats how we domesticated the dog right? we breeded friendly wolfs? I like this idea of domestication. Ankhegs are beast (according to the book) but look and act more like insects. (who designs this stuff?) Im leaving it to you to make a logical, rational, reasonable explanation as to how and why you can domesticate Ankhegs. You could farm them later, and milk them for acid! Once you tell me how they can be domesticated, you can achieve to the next King level, or next year and grow more population.
Einvaldurinn_mikli 08-01-07, 12:58 PM	The DMG rules assume that Human Kingdoms are common. In this experiment your Fortress is the first fortress. Which means you have no need for currency. But if you want gold pieces thats fine. None of them have a human king on it. I was using it to determine the amount of resources I have available, not GPs per say, just their equivalent in, well, stuff. Ballistas, weapons and stuff. Rouges don't have to be thieves. I know. It was a joke.:D Psionics?! I feared this would come up. Psionics changes allot of stuff. The Psionics handbook is not part of the 3 core rule books. But it is frequently mentioned. Use it if you must! I consider it core. But if you don't want me to use them, that's okay. I just like them . This is only a temporary solution. The Ankhegs will return next year. You can keep hunting and killing them, but you will have more monsters to deal with. Soon you will have a full plate. I don't want to exterminate them. They are good for the crops. I just want them to learn not to mess with my farmers. I teach them through natural selection. The ones dumb enough to attack large groups, die. The others? They don't. Good idea with the Bard. Your fellow races are easy to get along with. Its just the D&D way. Your impressive organization skills bring your Kingdom to a solid reputation of sure safety. Your Kingdom Grows to 700 people, one year passes. Okay, another hundred people. That's 91 commoners, 5 more Warriors, another three Experts and two new Aristocrats. Ambush A wandering tribe of 60 Orcs wearing painfully unpleasant vivid colors, have spotted your fortress. They sneak up and ambush your farms at night. Stealing and taking whatever they can. Your scouts have reported that these Orcs will stick around as long as food is available. They believe this land is theirs. They were here first. If your farms are inside fortress walls, the Orcs hide outside waiting for any easy targets. If you haven't solved the Ankheg problem, you find an Orc or two dead outside your fortress from Ankheg attacks. Your Adviser suggests not to make them mad or they will team up with the Hobgoblinoid Kingdom. After the first Orc attack, I organize a trap for them. I set it up so that it looks like we are transporting something to the ocean, something important. A caravan of sorts. It will look like there are maybe fifteen people on it and it looks loaded with supplies. A bite too good to miss out on right? In reality however, the caravan is loaded with most of our combat able people,all of the Adepts, two of our Clerics and the Rockstar. The Orcs should be exterminated. That has the nice side effect of them not teaming up with Goblinoids. Now, in the year that passed we weren't idle. We started constructing small, defensible keeps inside our area of influence. Maybe ten in total? They are used by our patrolling soldiers and serve to slow down/kill dangerous wild animals. When manned, the towers have four first level warriors, all armed of course, and a ballista. That should take care of most roaming threats. For particularly dangerous creatures the Warriors are allowed to break out Scrolls of True Strike.(They all take cross class ranks in UMD) That should guarantee hits. We also improve our farms with irrigation, fertilizers(cow poo) and other miscellaneous things. That should allow us to keep up with the increased population figure.
CaptainSpartan 08-01-07, 01:49 PM	I consider it core. But if you don't want me to use them, that's okay. I just like them . Psionics. I love psionics. Way cool stuff. I want psionics to be used. It would only prove my point. Please use them. I think they are fundamental. Just hope I dont get too much homework for it. Its really interesting to see a kingdom with psionics and one without. they are very different. I don't want to exterminate them. They are good for the crops. I just want them to learn not to mess with my farmers. I teach them through natural selection. The ones dumb enough to attack large groups, die. The others? They don't. Check their stats. Intelligence of 1. The brains of an insect. They are as dumb as you get. Any dumber and the brain activity will equal to a dead weasel or a D&D forum reader. Okay, another hundred people. That's 91 commoners, 5 more Warriors, another three Experts and two new Aristocrats. After the first Orc attack, I organize a trap for them. I set it up so that it looks like we are transporting something to the ocean, something important. A caravan of sorts. It will look like there are maybe fifteen people on it and it looks loaded with supplies. A bite too good to miss out on right? In reality however, the caravan is loaded with most of our combat able people,all of the Adepts, two of our Clerics and the Rockstar. The Orcs should be exterminated. That has the nice side effect of them not teaming up with Goblinoids. Not so easy. Maybe I should post how these guys operate. They roam, setting up campsite to camp site. Like Native Indians. 60 orcs means 20 women and 10 children. (I should look up how they are divided in the book) Only 40 Orcs(yes 10 are women. They are Orcs) will attack you and only at NIGHT. But I will assume you hunt the camp down slaughter the rest and use your rangers and pets to track and slaughter the fleeing ones. Now, in the year that passed we weren't idle. We started constructing small, defensible keeps inside our area of influence. Maybe ten in total? They are used by our patrolling soldiers and serve to slow down/kill dangerous wild animals. When manned, the towers have four first level warriors, all armed of course, and a ballista. That should take care of most roaming threats. For particularly dangerous creatures the Warriors are allowed to break out Scrolls of True Strike.(They all take cross class ranks in UMD) changing the face of D&D again. good job. good idea. That should guarantee hits. We also improve our farms with irrigation, fertilizers(cow poo) and other miscellaneous things. That should allow us to keep up with the increased population figure. Naturally. I guess the Orc idea was easy, I gave away the hint. oh well. Your men come home celebrating with orc heads hanging from their wagon. You wont have to worry about retaliation! The sound of slaughter seems to be hobby for your men. Ready for more, in the passing days your scouts have spotted goblinoid scouts scouting your scouts :) and your kingdom. Chances are the Hobgoblins know you are here. And they are the masters of war. Will you establish diplomacy with them? Will you spy on them? Solving the Orc problem you pass another year. 800 people for you. Your people need a place to live!
Lady_Sophia 08-01-07, 01:51 PM	Woot, 300 more people i was not aware of. Hmmm... Alchemists: 8 Armourers: 12 Boat Builders: 12 Cart Builders: 8 Clothes Makers: 36 Farmers: 68 Fishers: 12 Miners: 58 Sheep Grazers: 12 Woodcutters: 26 Patrol / Guards: 40 - Equiped with anti-acid armour and armed with alchemical fire* and crossbows * - the ground dug for our fortifications was packed with peat and taces of oil. Our alchemists have made fire!! Reasons: - Alchemists: I need people to make the Alchemical fire from the peat / oil in the ground. There is not much oil, but since the lands are fertile, it is only logical to assume that there is a trace of oil and peat. Alchemists are also needed to harvest the Acid from dead Ankhegs - Armourers: Need to make weapons and armour - Boat Builders: Need to be able to transport things down the river. This includes the stone from the Dwarves which is on the other side of the Lake/River - Cart Builders: These are needed to repair our damaged vehicles, including, but not limited to, Carts, Wagons, Plows and other such devices - Clothes Makers: This is a general term used to describe someone who creates clothing, bags, containers from cloth and leather (as well as other materials) - Farmers: People who tend Farms - Fishers: People who catch Fish - Miners: People who mine stone and metals. The number also includes the people who carry the stone as well. So, don't think they are all mining at the same time. Some can be carrying stone to the settlement, as well as doing other jobs at the mine - Sheep Grazers: People who look after Sheep and ensure they stay together and away from harm - Woodcutters: People who chop down trees. The number also includes the people who help transport the trees from the woods to the settlement I'm stealing the idea of going to the Elves for a Druid. Do Elves also train Rangers? (assuming so). If so, i'd want to train Rangers for patroling the lands (since there better trackers and survival experts than most). Diplomacy ======================================== ======= Diplomacy with the Elves. (Continuing) To Our Woodland Neighbours, We appreciate the woodland you have given to us, as it is very benefital for our efforts. We have taken light as to what you have said about growing our own wood, and must ask assistance in this. How do you grow your trees so well? Would you be willing to train us in these ways? We wish to co-exist peacefully with you and the Dwarves that inhabit the mountains over the lake. Is there anything we could offer you in exchange for the knowledge of the woodland (Druid / Ranger Classes)? We are willing to help you against the Orcs and Goblins that our scouts have reported are nearby, if they decide to attack. We offer to make a formal treaty, a Defensive Non-Aggression pact against the Orcs and Goblins. We agree to assist in the defense of this land against these invaders in cooperation with your people, the Wood Elves of this land. This defensive pact extends to the point of defending this land (the woodland, and grassland extending from the coast to the mountains) however, we have not the strength to engage in any offensive movements at this time. We cannot take the fight to the enemy. If the situation changes, we can extend the Def NAP to a Full NAP. However, as it stands now, we are fledgeling and cannot support war effort in far off lands, though we can fight to defend this land when the time comes. Diplomacy with the Dwarves: (Continuing) To Our Mountain Neighbours, We request permission to mines your stone and your iron. In return, we will trade Ale, Wine and Rum with you. We would also like to engage in a defensive pact with you, against the Orcs and Goblinoids that are present in this region. As you are probably aware, we are making a defensive position for our people to live and stay protected from the harsh world around us. As such, we need to make our stone structures the best they can be. We have heard stories of Dwarven Masons and your prowess with stone-work, creating impreginable fortresses of stone and impressive masonary. We were curious to know what it would take to have one of your skilled masons overlook our shoddy handywork and maybe make our walls better than they currently are. If you would like something in return for a mason, we are willing to hear from you. We have also have keen interest in your weaponary, which is fabled throughout the lands as being without equal. We are willing to trade our newly found alchemical fire and acids with you, in exchange for arms and armour which will be used to arm our patrols against the Orcs and Goblins that roam these lands. We are confident our Alchemical fire would be beneficial to you, in helping your mining efforts as well as against any invaders, foolish enough to wander through your tunnels. We have found the acid we have, is particulary effective at cutting through rock. We believe this maybe useful to you and we are willing to trade it for your steel. Diplomacy with the Town (Mixed Race). To our local neighbours, We are setting up camp on the hill to the west of you, up the river. We are extending our hand in peace, and wish to set up trade with your settlement. We are willing to trade liquor and metals for any extra building material or workers who would be willing to help with construction of our settlement, would be more than welcome instead. ======================================== ======= Settlement Additions: Decided to build a Cart Maker and a Ship Wright (place where ships are built). This will help us with trading with our neighbours as well as repairing our carts and wagons to be used in the fields to tend to the crops. The farms have been made, and the fields have been well waters from the river. Our people have killed a few of the Ankhegs now, and we have been using the beasts shells as protection for our guards who patrol the farms for these beasts. The ground we have been digging in, is full of peat and has trace amounts of oil in it. Nothing to make us wealthy, but our alchemists have found ways to turn it into thrown projectiles, which, when lit, can be used effectively against the Ankhegs. The acid is good at cutting through rock we have found (some got split on our supplies, and cut through it easily). We have decided to share this with the Dwarves who may find uses for it. Our fishers have been able to supply us with food, in addition to the meat we have been getting from our hunters, we now have a very varied diet. I have decided to build a mill, drawing on the power of the wind in order to grind our grain, which was sewn in recently as well as a bakers oven. These will help with the harvest next year, giving us a more efficent way to grind the wheat, as well as warm bread to go with the meat. Additionally, the farms now work on rotation. We have found that rotating the fields maximises the productivity of the food grown. As such, we now have vegatables and grain growing in seperate fields, which will be rotated back and forth each year. Perhaps the Druid we may obtain from the Elves, will shed some light on this mystery. But, for now, anything that increases food production is good in my books. ======================================== ======= Summary: -- Proposed Trade -- Trade Imports: Wood - Elves Stone - Dwarves Metal - Dwarves Workers - Settlement (TBD) Trade Export: (TBD) - Elves Liquor - Dwarves Food - Settlement (TBD) Clothing - Settlement (TBD) (TBD) - To Be Decided Relations: Elves - Proposed Defensive NAP (against Orcs / Goblinoids) Dwarves - Proposed Defensive NAP (against Orcs / Goblinoids) Settlement - Proposed Defensive NAP Training: Elves - Druid, Ranger Dwarves - Stone Masons / Builders Fortress Settlement: Fortress 1x Blacksmith 1x Armourer 1x Barracks 1x Stables 2x Store Rooms (holds food) Settlement 1x Blacksmith 1x Armourer 1x Town Watch Barracks 1x Town Watch Stables 1x Local Stables 2x Store Houses (one for Wood. one for Stone) 2x Granaries (storing food) Food Production: Red Meat - Hunters White Meat - Farmers / Livestock Milk / Eggs - Farmers / Livestock Fish - Fisherman Berries - Woman and Children Vegatables - Farmers Wheat / Grain - Farmers (Ale, and soon Floor / Bread) Sugercane - Farmers (for Rum) Grapes - Farmers (for seasoning and Wine) Floodseason Farming - Rice Goods Production: Thread / Wool / Cloth / Clothes - Clothes Makers (Sheep) Leather Hide - Clothes Makers (Dead Livestock) Sacks / Waterskins - Clothes Makers (Dead Livestock) Alchemical Fire - Alchemists Acid Flasks - Alchemists Weapons / Armour - Armourers Tools / Metal Work - Blacksmith Probably more to list, so i'll be back.
Einvaldurinn_mikli 08-01-07, 03:14 PM	Psionics. I love psionics. Way cool stuff. I want psionics to be used. It would only prove my point. Please use them. I think they are fundamental. Just hope I dont get too much homework for it. Its really interesting to see a kingdom with psionics and one without. they are very different. Great. Will do then. Check their stats. Intelligence of 1. The brains of an insect. They are as dumb as you get. Any dumber and the brain activity will equal to a dead weasel or a D&D forum reader. Actually, insects have INT "-". Meaning that it is a non-attribute for them. The Ankheg has 1 though, same as crocodiles, snakes and other assorted reptiles. It can learn, it just takes time. I speed up the process with natural selection, simple no? Not so easy. Maybe I should post how these guys operate. They roam, setting up campsite to camp site. Like Native Indians. 60 orcs means 20 women and 10 children. (I should look up how they are divided in the book) Only 40 Orcs(yes 10 are women. They are Orcs) will attack you and only at NIGHT. But I will assume you hunt the camp down slaughter the rest and use your rangers and pets to track and slaughter the fleeing ones. That should be fine yes. changing the face of D&D again. good job. good idea. :) Naturally. I guess the Orc idea was easy, I gave away the hint. oh well. Your men come home celebrating with orc heads hanging from their wagon. You wont have to worry about retaliation! The sound of slaughter seems to be hobby for your men. Ready for more, in the passing days your scouts have spotted goblinoid scouts scouting your scouts :) and your kingdom. Chances are the Hobgoblins know you are here. And they are the masters of war. Will you establish diplomacy with them? Will you spy on them? Solving the Orc problem you pass another year. 800 people for you. Your people need a place to live! Okay, more people and a new threat you say? Sounds good, sounds good. First of all, we start another small settlement within running distance of the walls of the fortress. It's close to the river and is made up mostly of fishermen, this would neccesitate the construction of a shipyard and assorted businesses around that industry. Fortunately, in the last two years, six new Experts and numerous laborers have flocked to my bastion of safety. The town is mostly made up of small huts, the dock area and one rather large tower where the people hole up in the case of an attack, waiting for backup from the fortress. Now, for the Hobgoblins. When we receive news of the Hobgoblins, I start the Wizard on crafting a magic item with the aid of the resident Master Smith. The two of them create a real work of art, a masterfully done spear that can be called upon once a day to greatly increase the strength of the wielder.(Bull's Strength). Then I prepare an envoy to the Hobgoblin army/nation/tribe. The envoy would include at least one of the Bards, a Sorcerer, a Psion(Telepath) and an Aristocrat. They would come bearing a great gift(the spear) and request to speak with the Hobgoblin leader. Once they are face to face with him the Aristocrat would commence negotiations and if neccesary the Psion would manifest Psionics Charm. Seeing as how it's a power, with no components, he shouldn't suspect a thing. If he fails, he can try again, this time with the Bard and the Sorcerer. He has no chance of making all those saves. After that, it should be a relatively simple matter to convince him to abandon his assault on us. Heck, if things went well, he might even regard us highly!
Label 08-01-07, 03:14 PM	Label is Amazing, He is very challenging indeed. Thanks :D I put that in my sig :rolleyes: So, for the Ankhegs, do they come disturbing my farms or not? As for the Elves now. I'll again use trade and diplomacy. I'll send a peace ambassador to: -introduce our people -propose peace or confirm the existing default peace -propose trade of goods -propose a cultural trade (aknowledging that their longevity has made them more wise and able to think in a long-term way. Those 2 qualities can be important for us to learn) -propose to share diplomatic embassies (to facilitate communication between our people, and to start the process of "knowing our neighboorhood".) Oh and I'll also propose this to the dwarves. (Maybe we can hope that the dwarven and elven ambassadors will know more about each other's people and make a good peace) And if the giants are a tribe, I'll propose that to them too. Making an "embassy district". That's 3 allies. Three strong and nice allies. Since in your original post you said that you didn't beleive in low magic worlds and that humans will only survive with the use of magic... I'll not use it to prove you wrong. Well, not at first. But, I'll open a small school to, first of all, teach my people how to read and write. They are only 600 so the literacy ratio will be quickly high. This will be a good step in the diplomatic process with the elves, since we are no more "illiterate barbarians". With the goodwill of the elves, we can then begin the translation of some of their books about nature, geography, science, and their history. Now our farmers and fishers have all the knowledge to help them grow of fish better. I'll also apply standards to the farming to insure quality and good harvest, and fishing quotas to the fishers to alternate between what kind of fish we can take, following their reproductional seasons. That will ensure that we always have enough fish in the river. As for the minerals that we get from the dwarves, I'll make sure our smelting and workshops will be equipped with filters to prevent the bad smoke (since we are a medieval world, we still think that diseases are transmitted by air, and I want my people to live in a smoke-free smog-free environment :P).
RedArmyInfantry 08-01-07, 03:17 PM	I have some good ideas. Hope they work too. :D My Fortress: The North: To the North lays a vast forest roughly 1 mile away, the Northern wall is also where the main gate is. The West: There is a large lake only 1/2 mile away from my Fortress The East: Nothing but a vast expanse of plains The South: Many rolling hills several miles to the South. A smaller gate is also on the Southern Wall, big enough for trading carts. 100 fisherman/hydroponic farmers - We use the lake as our main source of food, fishing and also growing some foods using hydroponics. 100 warriors are distributed amongst the fishermen/farmers as they gather crops. 300 Warriors - 100 men are always posted as guards around the walls of the fortress. 150 soldiers are equipped with a heavy crossbow, short sword, and studded leather armor, the other 150 soldiers are equipped with a longsword, light crossbow, and chainmail. 100 Miners - The miners mine from the hills to the South. The miners are escorted with 100 warriors as guards. 30 Blacksmiths - They just sit around and make weapons and armor for the warriors. 70 Lumberjacks - The lumberjacks are on their own out in the woods for now. All fishing and hydroponic crop harvesting is done from 50 small wooden boats, large enough to hold 2 farmers and 2 warriors along with whatever they catch/harvest. To the issue with the dwarfs: I send a messenger with this letter. "To: Dwarven Clan It has come to my understanding that my miners have been mining without permission in your ancestral halls. It is with great humility that I say that I am truly sorry. Although I do propose an idea. Allow my miners to mine for the ore that our settlement requires and in return we shall give all precious gems that are found while mining immediately to your clan. We shall also pay tribute with our finest ales and wines. From: The Humans" To the issue with the elves: I send a messenger with this letter. "To: The Elves I am sorry to hear that my lumberjack's have been cutting down your trees without permission. Although this wood is an absolute necessity to my people's survival. We would gladly grow our own grove of tree's if you would show us how. I am afraid that if we are not allowed to continue harvesting lumber from your woods or shown how to grow our own grove, you are damning my people to a slow death. From: The Humans"
Lady_Sophia 08-01-07, 04:02 PM	The Forces: Defense Forces: 32 Patrols Soldiers Armed with simple leather armour, longbows (with 10 arrows each) and a long sword each (no shield) 40 Soldiers Armed with Acid Flasks, Alchemical Fire, Short Spears (originally used to defend against Ankheg) and longbows (10 arrows each) 3 Teams - 1st Team: 4 Riders. Armed with Alchemical Fire, Longbows (10 arrows) and Spears. They wear simple Leather Armour. 2nd Team: The Patrol - 32 Soldiers. Armed with Longbows (10 arrows), Longswords and Alchemical Fire. They wear simple Leather Armour 3rd Team: 40 Soldiers. Armed with Longbows (10 arrows), Longswords, Acid Flasks. They were Acid-Proof Armour Invading Orcs: 60 Unknown Makeup After finding two of my watchtowers vandalised, with Orchish graffitti all over them, i would have the farmers dig pits around the farm land that day. I would make these pits between 20-30 ft deep with sharpened spikes at the bottom. These pits will be enough to take one or two of them down the next night. There will be 12 of these pits around the farms. I estimate, that half of these pits will end up taking Orcs out, so ~8-10 Orcs will be killed by these pits. My defense force, will be split into three teams. The first team, who are mounted on the limited horses we have who are able to ride/fight (4 horses), will support the second team, consisting of the lightly armed patrol. These will lay in wait for the Orc Party the next night in the grasslands, the horses will be kept out of sight in the settlement until the fighting starts. Orcs have Darkvision, so the patrol units will need to hide in the long grass until the Orcs pass by them. The third team, will be the "decoy" team. They will be with the farmers out "tending to the fields" in the evening / nighttime looking lightly armed. The vast majority of them will be lying in wait in the long grass. Those who are visible, will only number 8 or so, a tempting target for an Band of Orcs. When the Orcs approach, they will first pass the 1st and 2nd teams (who will wait until the Orcs have passed them) before stumbling into the pits. Once this happens, the 3rd team ("tending the fields") will open fire with Arrows and Acid Flasks from range. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd teams will let loose there arrows and alchemical fire from behind in an ambush manoeuvre. The Orcs will be caught inbetween a hail of arrows coming from in front and behind them. The riders, (1st group) will ride in, to block the Orcs escape route and shoot down any who will try to escape the encicled melee. They will also harress the flanks of the Orc Group, and throw Alchemical Fire into the Orc Band, BEFORE they have a chance to get into melee combat with my troops (to avoid friendly fire) The second group (lightly armed patrol) will be firing arrows from behind the Orcs and will shoot down any who try to flee. They will also be throwing in alchemical fire into the Orc Band to twiddle there numbers somewhat. The third group (armed with Ankheg Armour and Acid Flasks) will bombard the Orc Band with Acid. When the Orcs have engaged in close combat, they will stop throwing Acid Flasks, to avoid friendly fire. The downside of this tactic, is there will be many Orcs on fire and if they do manage to survive and get into close combat, they may do more damage (since there on fire). However, if they did flee, they may end up fleeing into the pits again (acid will make them blind if it goes in there eyes, and flaming Orcs will have there vision obscured by flames so they may fall into pits as well). Combat Casualties (for both sides): Orcs: 13 from Pits (8 before the battle, 5 who tried to retreat and fell in) 17 from burns (both acid and fire) 22 from arrows 6 from engaging in melee with my forces 2 who tried to flee, but got run through by my riders My Forces: 5 from Friendly Fire (Arrows) 1 from Friendly Fire (Acid / Alchemical) 2 from Melee Combat Wounded: 7 from Friendly Fire (Arrows) 2 from Friendly Fire (Acid / Alchemical) 3 from Melee Combat 4 from Misc (trips, falls, mild burns) After the battle, i would loot there bodies, taking whatever weapons and armour they had. I would also burn the corpses to avoid disease or vermin from the rotting bodies, on the beach. That way, the tide will wash away there remains, and since the river is flowing into the sea, i am confident they won't be found drifting upstream towards the settlement or our fortress. Loot includes: Simple Weapons - Clubs, Hammers, Maces, Spears, Rusted Swords, Chains, Large Bones Simple Armour - Rusted Shields and Armour Some gold and jewels from previous looting, but nothing of real value. The farm land would need cleaning, and the blood would probably kill the crop in some places (i would imagine anyhow). I would keep the pits. They may come in handy if any more Orcs decide to come this way. I think the Elves and Dwarves should here about this!! :D
Hsien 08-01-07, 07:57 PM	Year 2: Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 700 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains between coast and mountains…similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral ~ Continue development of Diplomatic ties w/ Elves/Dwarves, attempt to improve trade relations to acquire weapons and other valuable/tradable goods. As elves and dwarves don't often get along, act as an intermediary merchant to allow for trade of their goods to flow. Offer to set up initial small trading posts to allow for commerce. For elves this will likely be little more then tents, as they probably don't want permanent structures near their woods. Note hostile orcs ended hopefully ( see below ) to show like cause, and that we will try to be civilized first but like them, will not allow the humanoids to run rampant in our territory. ~ Continue tree farming development, and expand to "fruit/nut" trees. ~ Establish series of motte/bailey way-points to the coast to allow for secure travel/trade to benefit from ocean resources. ~ Fortress; continue construction. ( edit, no time for in depth specifics to fortress/population description ) With increased poulation, perhaps stone cuting tips from Dwarves, start work on stone fortress/walls. Fortify additional areas with wooden motte/bailey fortifications. ( border and river way-ponts are prioritized as we are looking to have a established town on the coast or trade with an existing one. ) Establish signaling system with flags and secondary drum/smoke system for faster communication. ~ Other Construction: Church, Military Barracks and other Specialized Training Schools/Schools ( developing, clerics, fighters and Spec:mounted army, ranger/scouts and possibly even arcane casters and of course the Drum Corps Bard Camp...and this one time at Bard camp) Flood control measures for river, raised embankments and flood gates. Flood gate system may also lead to irrigation system, for use in dry seasons. ~ Saw & grain mills established on riverbank to utilize the rivers power. This allow for more precise building timbers and benefit grain production. ~ Establish Youth Skill Development. ( Envoy from a nearby kingdom city of Crydee provided info regarding it ) All youths "intern" for one year each at various crafts until age 16, their majority. These include the major skills of the area that are needed, such as farming, carpentry, soldiering etc... They then are selected as an apprentices for a specific craft to specialize in if they wish. Many likely simply return to their family farms but several will expand out to new skills depending on interest and ability. This also provides a well rounded population in case of harsh times, such as war/militia or fire/semi-skilled labor to assist in rebuilding. Plus as they learn differnt skils they will also be picking up some reading/writing/arithmatic skills, until a "formal" school for that can be established ~ Humanoids; if there have been no signs of them in our area, continue to develop; if elves or dwarves are near their area, request any information of major movements towards our Kingdom. If they are scouting our area, send an envoy to establish truce/territory they claim. ~ Orcs: After first attack have a group of Rangers/Scouts track them to their camp; send in a message/arrow ( orcish and common ) to cease hostilities, and provide a colored flag to wave if they wish to talk. Have as many mounted archers form long line on hill for intimidation factor. If they do so, then discuss details to end hostilities, if they do not comply then utilize Mounted Archers attack and harry them. Footsoldiers, will set a perimeter and rangers/scouts will be used to track any that escape.
Magetastic 08-01-07, 09:01 PM	Oh, please, the ankhegs are easy. Dig a trench around the town, line them with stone, leaving one way for the ankheg to get in. Then get 4-5 sharpened logs (big ones - f*ck the elves), setting them up like a portcullis over the unblocked area and a tripwire. An ankheg burrows through the unblocked area the logs drive down and kill it. End of Ankheg. Just a thought. Couldn't said ankhegs burrow under and past the trenches? If it surfaces, kill it with a ballista. Not gonna happen, look at the stats for a ballsita (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/wilderness.htm#siegeEngines) notice how a medium creature take a -4 penalty when using one? Since an ankheg has an AC of 18, a -4 penalty to hit means there is no way in hell that a commoner, or even a low level fighter will EVER hit one save for critical hits. And even if you do manage to hit and deal the maximum 18 damage it will only bring it down to 10 HP and **** it off. Did i mention they take two full round actions to reload, cost 500 gold and thus would take several weeks of work to make? Puts head in hands. "Guys, next time take the rangers (or our new druid) with you. They can calm the thing down. Besides, you were supposed to take the elephants with you (on a rocky outcrop, remember?) and use the chain lassos to grapple and pin them for milking, rattlesnake style." Why druids and rangers? You're not talking about their wild empathy are you? Cause that only works on animals not magical beats like a purple worm. And chains are you kidding? They have a hardness of 10 and 5 hit points, a purple worm can snap those with its' bite and sting like paper. That's considering you can even get near enough to it with its +18 listen, 60ft tremor sense, and 15 foot reach. Even entering its reach would kill 2 men with the attack of opportunity and its cleave feat. A foot of stone has a hardness of 8 (and 180 hp for reinforced stone), so their regular acid wouldn't get through. On average, their spit is going to do 10 points (2 hp damage to the wall, average). They would have to sit at the stone wall and attack it for about 90 times to get a 1 foot diameter hole in the wall. They'd have to destroy at least 25 square feet (5 ft. X 5 ft) to squeeze through, minimum. At 6 hours between spits, an ankheg would have to spend around 13,500 hours to get through the wall (or 562 days - about 2 years). I think they'd rather climb over, and then end up getting shot by my ballistas. Yes their spit acid won't work very well on stone but look at their normal attack 2d6+7+1d4 they can CHEW through rock much faster dealing more damage once a round instead of once per 6 hours.
Kevin Andrew Murphy 08-02-07, 01:19 AM	Ankhegs are not terribly dangerous for farmers so long as they have enough farm animals. Wonder if a particular field has an ankheg infestation? Send a bunch of goats out to browse and nibble and watch if anything pops up. They don't fly so clearing a region of them isn't overly problematic. Of course, as mentioned earlier, any creature that builds usable tunnels and can effectively plow an entire field is highly valuable for farming so you want to domesticate it if at all possible. The best analogy would be boar. Wild boar are highly dangerous, but tasty, but domesticated give you pigs, which can also be dangerous but are more manageable. And with enough breeding, you can get little potbellied pigs for pets and familiars, so there's no reason you couldn't get miniature potbellied ankhegs just the right size to help you with the kitchen garden or to have for extremely entertaining familiars, sort of like giant crickets. Ankhegs may have a low INT, but they have a reasonable WIS, and it's WIS that would tell them not to eat the strange creature that feeds them goats after they dig a few straight lines in a field. Trained, an ankheg would also make a very good watchdog. If you don't have any ankheg trainers yet, hire a few people who are trained as spider eater trainers. They should have some insights into insectoid magical beast psychology and should help to make the critters into useful parts of a farmstead.
Khadmus 08-02-07, 09:02 PM	I'll observe the thread and look up climate/geography monster lists. I think this would be a lot more interesting if each race had an avatar of its diety...after all, Moradin wouldn't want to leave his dwarves undefended...why should Zarus do differently for his humans? To eliminate problems during war the avatars could just fight each other.
cacheek 08-02-07, 10:49 PM	Just as a side not, humans have a demographic advantage. Hang with me here. Humans breed faster than just about anything out there, that plus the reasoning and problem-solving skills make good survivors. How else could humans in our world have survived after Bubonic Plague, the Bloody Flux, and Ebola not to mention hundreds if not thousands of other diseases which at various times people couldn't fight?
mattman709 08-03-07, 12:35 AM	could you just put your castle in a cube of walls of force? maybe a small, HEAVILY guarded entrance? right inside that entrance put an electrified moat w/drawbridge? or make the entrance closeable by another sliding wall of force?
CaptainSpartan 08-03-07, 10:13 AM	I made some updates on the original posts regarding the rules. Those of you whom started with 600 villagers, thats fine. All new players will start with only 20 villagers. This thread sure is keeping me busy :dancin:
vegetalss4 08-03-07, 11:20 AM	I have replied to this arguement already. In defense to the respawn rule or monsters show up again. If humans exterminate all the monsters their will be nothing left. Their would be no more D&D world. I do not believe Humans will allow monster survive in the wilderness. They will be hunted and exterminated. make sense? You could say respawning humans too. And without a Fortress and a King to organize them, they would be eaten just as fast. Their's something my friends were talking about, and thats how a level 10 human can kill 10,000 rats in a single battle. And the human never gets tired, because the rules have no fatigue points.... I dont know if thats relevant to anything. I really dont think the respawning monsters is a big deal. I can call it something else. But Im open for debate on this. Im trying to suit the D&D world. For best optimal logic. EDIT: Im really sorry. Im tired and Im not making sense anymore. the world is really big. there wander new monsters in. you say there is only one fortress of humans. what i say is that we can not kill all ankhegs just all here. thats how it works. besides in reality we havent exterminated evyone else so why should we in this fantasy??
CaptainSpartan 08-03-07, 11:25 AM	Thats some nifty stuff you got here. Woot, 300 more people i was not aware of. Hmmm... Alchemists: 8 Armourers: 12 Boat Builders: 12 Cart Builders: 8 Clothes Makers: 36 Farmers: 68 Fishers: 12 Miners: 58 Sheep Grazers: 12 Woodcutters: 26 Patrol / Guards: 40 - Equiped with anti-acid armour and armed with alchemical fire* and crossbows * - the ground dug for our fortifications was packed with peat and taces of oil. Our alchemists have made fire!! Reasons: - Alchemists: I need people to make the Alchemical fire from the peat / oil in the ground. There is not much oil, but since the lands are fertile, it is only logical to assume that there is a trace of oil and peat. Alchemists are also needed to harvest the Acid from dead Ankhegs - Armourers: Need to make weapons and armour - Boat Builders: Need to be able to transport things down the river. This includes the stone from the Dwarves which is on the other side of the Lake/River - Cart Builders: These are needed to repair our damaged vehicles, including, but not limited to, Carts, Wagons, Plows and other such devices - Clothes Makers: This is a general term used to describe someone who creates clothing, bags, containers from cloth and leather (as well as other materials) - Farmers: People who tend Farms - Fishers: People who catch Fish - Miners: People who mine stone and metals. The number also includes the people who carry the stone as well. So, don't think they are all mining at the same time. Some can be carrying stone to the settlement, as well as doing other jobs at the mine - Sheep Grazers: People who look after Sheep and ensure they stay together and away from harm - Woodcutters: People who chop down trees. The number also includes the people who help transport the trees from the woods to the settlement I'm stealing the idea of going to the Elves for a Druid. Do Elves also train Rangers? (assuming so). If so, i'd want to train Rangers for patroling the lands (since there better trackers and survival experts than most). Rangers are a smart idea. I decided to apply a gp limit rule. According to the size of your settlement following the DMG rules. This also has a level limit as well. I havent figured out how to post this on the rules section in my first post. Have a look for the changes. Diplomacy ======================================== ======= Diplomacy with the Elves. (Continuing) To Our Woodland Neighbours, We appreciate the woodland you have given to us, as it is very benefital for our efforts. We have taken light as to what you have said about growing our own wood, and must ask assistance in this. How do you grow your trees so well? Would you be willing to train us in these ways? We wish to co-exist peacefully with you and the Dwarves that inhabit the mountains over the lake. Is there anything we could offer you in exchange for the knowledge of the woodland (Druid / Ranger Classes)? We are willing to help you against the Orcs and Goblins that our scouts have reported are nearby, if they decide to attack. We offer to make a formal treaty, a Defensive Non-Aggression pact against the Orcs and Goblins. We agree to assist in the defense of this land against these invaders in cooperation with your people, the Wood Elves of this land. This defensive pact extends to the point of defending this land (the woodland, and grassland extending from the coast to the mountains) however, we have not the strength to engage in any offensive movements at this time. We cannot take the fight to the enemy. If the situation changes, we can extend the Def NAP to a Full NAP. However, as it stands now, we are fledgeling and cannot support war effort in far off lands, though we can fight to defend this land when the time comes. Since everyone is requesting war help from Elves and Dwarves I edited the reply in my 3rd post "Neighbouring races" Have a look. To make this short. A decorated moth flies into your room and lands on your desk ontop of a blank white peice of papper. It flutters its wings and dust sprinkles all over your papper. The moth dust seems to form letters as if stuck by glue. "Dear Neighbour We thank you for your long letter. It is always easier to defend than to attack, the Dwarves know best. We suggest to not allow any Goblinoid race discover your home, this has been our finest defence. And it is best to do what ever you can to not provoke a war putting your peoples lives in jeopardy. If your fortress is to come undersiege we will save your surviving people and help them find a new home. We have found many ways to survive in this world, secrets our ancestors have passed down. We do not share our secrets easily for fear they will end up in the wrong hands. We wish you luck in any further endeavours in developing new magical means to survive. The Elves." Diplomacy with the Dwarves: (Continuing) To Our Mountain Neighbours, We request permission to mines your stone and your iron. In return, we will trade Ale, Wine and Rum with you. We would also like to engage in a defensive pact with you, against the Orcs and Goblinoids that are present in this region. As you are probably aware, we are making a defensive position for our people to live and stay protected from the harsh world around us. As such, we need to make our stone structures the best they can be. We have heard stories of Dwarven Masons and your prowess with stone-work, creating impreginable fortresses of stone and impressive masonary. We were curious to know what it would take to have one of your skilled masons overlook our shoddy handywork and maybe make our walls better than they currently are. If you would like something in return for a mason, we are willing to hear from you. We have also have keen interest in your weaponary, which is fabled throughout the lands as being without equal. We are willing to trade our newly found alchemical fire and acids with you, in exchange for arms and armour which will be used to arm our patrols against the Orcs and Goblins that roam these lands. We are confident our Alchemical fire would be beneficial to you, in helping your mining efforts as well as against any invaders, foolish enough to wander through your tunnels. We have found the acid we have, is particulary effective at cutting through rock. We believe this maybe useful to you and we are willing to trade it for your steel. A lone Dwarf pushes a single metal mine cart to the front of your fortress doors. The cart is filled with gifts. Some armour, weapons, coal, and a bit of metal ore. Enough to supply 10 people with resources. The Dwarf hands you some pappers "Sign here" his thwatchy voice commands. Upon signing he hands you a note, and leaves the cart behind and walks home. "Human King We Dwarves are expensive. You may mine a small portion of our mountains. Dont get too greedy. We want allot of your rum and ale. We cannot protect strangers we do not know. We can make you weapons. We would like to see you burry our common enemy with them. This is how we can help in war. We can lend some common war tactics. Get some spies and spie on them. See what they are up to. Dont get caught. Dont let them spie on you. Capture their scouts before the scouts report back. You are in plain sight and easy to see. To be honest its an eye sore, we can fix that up for you to look nice and pretty for our expensive labour costs. We wish you luck. We recomend you live in the ground, its a good place to live and hide that hideous pile of rubble of yours. We can help pave your roads with brick. We can make your buildings look beautifull. We want allot of your rum and ale. Keep it coming. We will take your acid. Do you have anything else to offer? We will take Alchemical fire. Do you have anything else to offer? The Dwarves PS: This letter will self explode" The letter does not explode. Diplomacy with the Town (Mixed Race). To our local neighbours, We are setting up camp on the hill to the west of you, up the river. We are extending our hand in peace, and wish to set up trade with your settlement. We are willing to trade liquor and metals for any extra building material or workers who would be willing to help with construction of our settlement, would be more than welcome instead. You gave yourself a mixed race settlement near by. Thats fine, as long as it doesnt change the game much. You are the only one who has one. Makes perfect sense. I will have to rule that this settlement is new, and they do not have the defences to survive an attack. I havent done research on gnomes and halflings yet. On my things to do list. On talking with these people (you wrote the race % somewhere) they desperately need protection. Thats the only thing I can think of right now. Sorry Im tired. In order to trade, you must export allot of goods for cheap prices. This is how trade works. You must compete with the Elves for the alchohol. Sell more ale for cheaper. Im sure you know. You are doing very well. Things I cannot point out. If I didnt have so many people to view I would make your kingdom grow faster. ======================================== ======= Settlement Additions: Decided to build a Cart Maker and a Ship Wright (place where ships are built). This will help us with trading with our neighbours as well as repairing our carts and wagons to be used in the fields to tend to the crops. Fantastic The farms have been made, and the fields have been well waters from the river. Our people have killed a few of the Ankhegs now, and we have been using the beasts shells as protection for our guards who patrol the farms for these beasts. The ground we have been digging in, is full of peat and has trace amounts of oil in it. Nothing to make us wealthy, but our alchemists have found ways to turn it into thrown projectiles, which, when lit, can be used effectively against the Ankhegs. The acid is good at cutting through rock we have found (some got split on our supplies, and cut through it easily). We have decided to share this with the Dwarves who may find uses for it. Our fishers have been able to supply us with food, in addition to the meat we have been getting from our hunters, we now have a very varied diet. Good job. This is what I was looking for I have decided to build a mill, drawing on the power of the wind in order to grind our grain, which was sewn in recently as well as a bakers oven. These will help with the harvest next year, giving us a more efficent way to grind the wheat, as well as warm bread to go with the meat. Additionally, the farms now work on rotation. We have found that rotating the fields maximises the productivity of the food grown. As such, we now have vegatables and grain growing in seperate fields, which will be rotated back and forth each year. Perhaps the Druid we may obtain from the Elves, will shed some light on this mystery. But, for now, anything that increases food production is good in my books. lol thats an early discovery! Just kidding. I allow this knowledge of farming. According to the DMG you get a druid and it doesnt have to come from the Elves. But for flavour we'll say the Elves taught you. ======================================== ======= Summary: -- Proposed Trade -- Trade Imports: Wood - Elves Stone - Dwarves Metal - Dwarves Workers - Settlement (TBD) Trade Export: (TBD) - Elves Liquor - Dwarves Food - Settlement (TBD) Clothing - Settlement (TBD) You have to come up with the ideas of what you think the other races need for trade. I've decided its best to not sugest the ideas. (TBD) - To Be Decided Relations: Elves - Proposed Defensive NAP (against Orcs / Goblinoids) Dwarves - Proposed Defensive NAP (against Orcs / Goblinoids) Settlement - Proposed Defensive NAP Im not too keen on the players receiving help from other races. Afterall this is about the humans surviving! What if you had no neighbours?! However having elves and Dwarves move into battle to help the humans is definetly a D&D thing indeed. Once you are proven trustworthy of their blood shed, we will deal with this, painting a vivid D&D scenario. Im open to disputes Training: Elves - Druid, Ranger Dwarves - Stone Masons / Builders Sounds good. Dwarves and Elves wont reveal their best secrets, this is what keeps them in the competition of trade. Fortress Settlement: Fortress 1x Blacksmith 1x Armourer 1x Barracks 1x Stables 2x Store Rooms (holds food) Settlement 1x Blacksmith 1x Armourer 1x Town Watch Barracks 1x Town Watch Stables 1x Local Stables 2x Store Houses (one for Wood. one for Stone) 2x Granaries (storing food) Is this inside walls? Food Production: Red Meat - Hunters White Meat - Farmers / Livestock Milk / Eggs - Farmers / Livestock Fish - Fisherman Berries - Woman and Children Vegatables - Farmers Wheat / Grain - Farmers (Ale, and soon Floor / Bread) Sugercane - Farmers (for Rum) Grapes - Farmers (for seasoning and Wine) Fantastic Floodseason Farming - Rice above the line Fantastic again. Goods Production: Thread / Wool / Cloth / Clothes - Clothes Makers (Sheep) Leather Hide - Clothes Makers (Dead Livestock) Sacks / Waterskins - Clothes Makers (Dead Livestock) Alchemical Fire - Alchemists Acid Flasks - Alchemists Weapons / Armour - Armourers Tools / Metal Work - Blacksmith Probably more to list, so i'll be back. Phew. Finaly done!
CaptainSpartan 08-03-07, 11:57 AM	Great. Will do then. Actually, insects have INT "-". Meaning that it is a non-attribute for them. The Ankheg has 1 though, same as crocodiles, snakes and other assorted reptiles. It can learn, it just takes time. I speed up the process with natural selection, simple no? Domestication. Well it seems to make sense, no one has made any arguements for or against this. I would like to see some made. Personally I think Insects are smarter than a rock or a construct. Maybe a Int 0.5 .But hey its the D&D rules. Okay, more people and a new threat you say? Sounds good, sounds good. First of all, we start another small settlement within running distance of the walls of the fortress. It's close to the river and is made up mostly of fishermen, this would neccesitate the construction of a shipyard and assorted businesses around that industry. Fortunately, in the last two years, six new Experts and numerous laborers have flocked to my bastion of safety. The town is mostly made up of small huts, the dock area and one rather large tower where the people hole up in the case of an attack, waiting for backup from the fortress. A fisher village. All fishing villages will smell really bad. Really really bad. This will attract your Ankhegs problem as well, since they are attracted to decomposing organic matter. Fishing villages will have problems in the near future. Im just waiting for more people to get them first before I start creating fishing challenges. Second thought I better do that soon. Now, for the Hobgoblins. When we receive news of the Hobgoblins, I start the Wizard on crafting a magic item with the aid of the resident Master Smith. The two of them create a real work of art, a masterfully done spear that can be called upon once a day to greatly increase the strength of the wielder.(Bull's Strength). Whats the cost of this Spear? Sounds cool. Where do you get the material components for it? What are they? How long does it take you to build? months, years? Be sure your caster is high enough level to build it. Their is level limits too. I implied a gp limit. I believe in the begining I told you can have as much gp as you needed. But due to rule junkies I have to back track that call. I goofed. Then I prepare an envoy to the Hobgoblin army/nation/tribe. Without the spear? Id have to approve it and be sure it fits in all the rules. But for the sake, you take 'something' with you. The envoy would include at least one of the Bards, a Sorcerer, a Psion(Telepath) and an Aristocrat. They would come bearing a great gift(the spear) and request to speak with the Hobgoblin leader. Once they are face to face with him the Aristocrat would commence negotiations From a distance your men are ambushed by a troup of Goblins. They saw you coming, this is their welcoming commitee. They surround your 4 people , and bruise them up for interogation. Tie them as prisoners before they escort them back to the lair. Your 4 people witness the sourounding area fortified with traps and pits and barb wire. Smelling of rotting flesh, your 4 men see a pen of human slaves, who dont even know how to walk on their hind legs. You could guess they cannot speak either. Passing, they enter the fortress, Its obvious this fortress continues deep underground. The men are split up and kept in separate rooms. One meets with the Overlord, A giant hobgoblin with hands the size of the humans torso and nose so red it makes it purple spots imposible to miss. This monster is covered in the shiniest armour, with all kinds of blades and spikes popping out. Speaking in goblin he gives his soldiers commands, and they respond in extremely fast flawless manner. All their armour clanking in unisen. He is surrounded by heavily armoured hobgoblins. And a few blue goblins too. His bright angry yellow eyes stare at your messengers. Your Aristocrat begins negotiations. and if neccesary the Psion would manifest Psionics Charm. Seeing as how it's a power, with no components, he shouldn't suspect a thing. If he fails, he can try again, this time with the Bard and the Sorcerer. He has no chance of making all those saves. To be honest, up to this point your men would've returned alive. After that, it should be a relatively simple matter to convince him to abandon his assault on us. Heck, if things went well, he might even regard us highly! You made one mistake. If you get to use Psionics so do I. :devil If you have the Psionics book look up a Goblinoid race that has psionics. Psionics are necessary in war, of course a Hobgoblin will use them. Infact I shouldn't of even given you the description of what they saw or what happened. But now you know. Erase the 4 men from your list. And prepare to erase allot more.:evillaugh Outside of your Fortress early in the silent morning you have a gift waiting. Outside your doors you have a wagon sitting on your steps with a built-in contraption. Your Aristocrat is running in a giant hamster wheel, his ankles are tied with just enough rope to allow tiny fast steps. Your Aristocrat is tied by the neck holding him in place, his arms have been cut off, his eyes pried out, his tongue cut off. He is a bloody mess gurgling in moans. With a man sized grid of large spikes hanging on either side, if that wheel stops spinning those spikes will fall and impale him. Their is more. Just for laughs, the Goblins hooked up the wheel by a series of gears and levers to four spears, causing them to gyrate up and down thrusting up wards as the Aristocrat runs. The Bards headless body is stuck to these spears, and the gyration is thrusting the body in the most dishonorable ways. 3 gaurds run to help the aristocrat out of the wheel. The whole cart blows up in flames. It was trapped, taking the lives of 3 more people. If only the Goblins could see your faces. Or can they? Erase 3 more men
Lady_Sophia 08-03-07, 02:06 PM	Building - Fortress / Settlement Armourer - 1 / 1 Blacksmith - 1 / 1 Barracks - 1 / 1 Stables - 1 / 2 Store Rooms + Granaries (Food) - 2 / 2 Store House (Materials) - 0 / 2 Food Farms - 0 / 4 Sugarcane Farms - 0 / 2 Grape Vines (Farms) - 0 / 2 New Year - Max Population now 700 (+100) Population Breakdown : 700 (200gp Goods Limit) Alchemists - 8 Armourers - 12 Bakers - 10 Boat Builders - 12 Builders - 110 Cart Builders - 8 Clothes Makers - 36 Farmers - 64 (8 people work on one farm - 8 Farms) Fishers - 12 Guards (Farms)* - 40 (10 teams of 4) Healers and Carers - 10 Hunters - 20 (5 teams of 4. Hunt in pairs) Millers - 10 Miners - 58 Patrols - 48 (6 Patrols: Squads of 8, and Teams of 4) Sheep Grazers - 12 Woodcutters - 30 Women / Children** - ~100 * Patrol / Guards Patrol – Equipped with light leather armour and armed with a longsword and longbow Guards – Equipped with anti-acid armour and armed with a spear and longbow as well as alchemical fire and acid-flasks ** These are women and children who are not tending the fields. Eg, those with younger children or children who are “not of age”) Goods (Max: 200gp) Food Sold (per year) Wheat / Grain - Sold : 50 pounds of Wheat - 1 cp (50 cp) Sugarcane - Sold : 100 pounds of Rum - 5 sp (500 sp) (assume tabacco and alcohol are the same price) Grapes - Sold : 75 points of Wine - 3 sp (225 sp) (assume Wine is less value than Rum) Goods Sold (per year) Thread / Wool / Cloth / Clothes - Sold : 5 pounds (20 gp) Leather Hide - Sold : 8gp / piece (16 gp) Sacks / Waterskins - Sold : 1sp / piece (3 sp) Alchemical Fire - Sold : 15gp / piece (60 gp) Acid Flasks - Sold : 8gp / piece (24 gp) Tools / Metal Work - Sold : Misc (16 sp) Total Exports - 195gp / 4sp -4 Acid Armours (2 went to the Elves, 2 went to the Dwarves as gestures of good will) Goods Bought (per year) 7 Studded Leather (Cost: 175gp) Misc (Cost: 13gp / 63sp) Total Income: 6gp / 77sp ------------------------------------------------------------ With the new stone and wood i have gotten through trade, i have decided to build a wall, 20 ft high, by 10ft wide. It is wood on the inside, compact dirt and stone in the middle, with wood and smooth stone on the outside. It is not a city-style wall, more of a Palisade kinda wall. There are 4 towers *inside* the wall, each 10ft higher than the wall itself so that the towers can see the bottom of the wall. There is enough room around the top of the wall, for armed guards to patrol it at night. The 4 towers are set at the corners of the settlement; 2 overlooking the river, and 2 at the front of the settlement. The watch towers that were vandalised, have been rebuilt, with additional supports around the base. There are now also pits surrounding the outside watchtowers that attackers have to overcome before they can reach the tower itself. These pits contain everything, from sharpened logs, to sharp rocks, to pools of thick sticky mud and oil. With these defenses, we are continuing to expand our influence with our neighbours; The Elves have come to us asking for Alchemical Acid so there alchemists may study it. As a gesture of good will, we have also given them sample suits of our Anti-Acid Armour, so that there Alchemists can work in safety. The Dwarves continue to take our Liquor, which has upset some of the local soldiers, but they soon smile again when they see there new equipment the Dwarves have brought them. We also trade Alchemical Fire and Acid with the Dwarves as well. This has reduced our stocks of Acid, so we may need to search else where if we are to continue to trade like this. Again, as with the Elves, we have given the Dwarves sample suits of our Alchemical Armour, even though i sensed they looked down apon the craftsmanship. Oh well, they will make it better somehow, i have no doubt. I am sure they will appreciate it when they start using the acid, but only time will tell. I now have a Ranger and a Druid, both of whom have come from the Elves. While they will help our soldiers and healers out with tactics and salves, i can't help but feel ashamed we have to relie on others in order for us to survive. I am grateful for there help, but i believe if we are to stay here, we should train our own Rangers and Druids. That may even help towards relations with the Elves if we help them look after the woods. The settlement we have come to know as "Taol" was first created as a stopping point for people crossing through the Elven territories. It was set up by Halfers, who travelled around these parts. Now it is a way point for all walks of life...including the shadowy type. Even in such an isolated place like this, the Rogue proposers. Hopefully the Rogues will stay there for a while. We certainly don't have the trade to warrant any Rogues about...at least for now. Still, everything is okay. We have fresh water, we have food, we are making friends, all seems well. I only hope we have seen the last of the Orcs. I don't want to think about if they came back. But, i shall think on it more, as the time approaches. ------------------------------------------------------------
Stormonu 08-03-07, 02:38 PM	Just a thought. Couldn't said ankhegs burrow under and past the trenches? CaptainSpartan had said they would only dig down 40 ft., so I took it at that. A burrow speed only allows moving through soft earth, so he might be assuming 40 ft. down is bedrock. His rules, not mine. Not gonna happen, look at the stats for a ballsita (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/wilderness.htm#siegeEngines) notice how a medium creature take a -4 penalty when using one? Since an ankheg has an AC of 18, a -4 penalty to hit means there is no way in hell that a commoner, or even a low level fighter will EVER hit one save for critical hits. And even if you do manage to hit and deal the maximum 18 damage it will only bring it down to 10 HP and **** it off. Did i mention they take two full round actions to reload, cost 500 gold and thus would take several weeks of work to make? Missed that on a ballista - I'm used to previous editions where it was essentially a ranged touch attack. I mean, is a suit of plate really going to stop a ballista? Okay, so I'll use light catapults instead, and hit each ankheg with 3-4 stones apiece from multiple weapons. Oh, and since I'm making them myself, I can get them for half the price. I didn't see any GP limit in designing the fortress stuff either. Why druids and rangers? You're not talking about their wild empathy are you? Cause that only works on animals not magical beats like a purple worm. Druids and Rangers CAN wild empathy beasts. Check the SRD. They take a -4 penalty, but if can do if the creature has a 1-2 Int. And chains are you kidding? They have a hardness of 10 and 5 hit points, a purple worm can snap those with its' bite and sting like paper. That's considering you can even get near enough to it with its +18 listen, 60ft tremor sense, and 15 foot reach. Even entering its reach would kill 2 men with the attack of opportunity and its cleave feat. 1) Throw the chains, like a lasso 2) The chains go around the neck, where it can't bite or sting 3) This was all in jest. Why go after a purple worm at all if my ranger/druids could animal empathy the Ankhegs easier, or if I'm killing them with weapons or traps? Yes their spit acid won't work very well on stone but look at their normal attack 2d6+7+1d4 they can CHEW through rock much faster dealing more damage once a round instead of once per 6 hours. Yep, the claw/attack could do the work much quicker, but with 16 average damage (only 6 would get through), that's still 1,334 rounds or 133 minutes (2 hours) to bore a hole big enough to squeeze through. The idea is to deter, not prevent. The ankhegs would likely get frustrated long before they bored through and take the easy route and surface, where they'd get stomped. All in all, I find this thread more amusing than serious, and I'm not taking it all that seriously.
Stormonu 08-03-07, 02:52 PM	Yes humans are good and ruthless at exterminating monsters. I could change this rule. I knew it would be argued. But I made that statement for one good reason. If exterminating all the monsters is the only way for the humans to survive, their will be no D&D world left. After all the monsters are dead, then they will kill all the Orcs and Goblinoids. And after that, they will kill all the Elves and Dwarves too. Eventually. Their would be nothing left. With that many humans, no monster to slay for a PC, and surely no dungeon full of treasure would be left. Im open for disputes on this topic/rule. Yeah, that's one thing that's kind of bothered me about this. Once we've overcome the challenge, there's no real good reason to have it come back, we'll just beat it the same way again. Besides, there are plenty of official worlds where this race or another has been completely wiped out by war or other actions of other races. Dark Sun is perhaps one of the most prominent - gnomes suffered genocide, as did several other races. And for the record, exterminating all the monsters doesn't stop making it a D&D world; it just makes it all the more safer for the survivors - or more like our world.
Lady_Sophia 08-03-07, 05:41 PM	My arguement on the whole "Monsters Respawn" thing is exactly, that. Monsters Respawn and multiply. Furthermore, your supposed to the last suriviving Humans in the area. As such, exterminating anything will be too much for you to handle given the numbers. Plus, enemies can come from other regions. As Ankhegs die in one region, more will take there place from other, more, crowded regions. As such, in the local area, monsters respawn. I think that is what the DM was getting at. You can't just go to the cave, kill all the Orcs there, and then proclaim "No more Orcs to face" because Orcs roam and wander, as do monsters. So more could come into the area from outside areas (as can Monsters). As such, it is impossible to exterminate something, given your numbers. They'll always seemingly keep coming back. The only thing you could *possibly* kill and not need worry about, are Dragons. Since *most* are solitary creatures. Kill one, you don't need to worry about others for a very very long time. As for the point you made about overcoming the problem once. Fair enough. We overcame 60 Orcs. What about 60,000 Orcs? Do you think we could overcome them in the same way? Probably not. Also, if you use the same tactics over and over, wouldn't the enemy come to expect those tactics, and thus think around them. Even lesser creatures can change tactics over the years to overcome traps and/or enemies. Anyhow, that is my view on the whole "Respawn / Extermination" discussion. You can kill something in an area, but others will come to take there place. And remember, these are events occur on a yearly basis (or some such) so in that time, things change and monsters move around. Anyway, there just my thoughts on it all. Feel free to discuss.
CaptainSpartan 08-03-07, 08:27 PM	Thanks :D I put that in my sig :rolleyes: :rofl: So, for the Ankhegs, do they come disturbing my farms or not? Sorry for the late reply. I had to think about yours extra carefully. Ankhegs only burrow tunnels of 150 feet in length. That means that they are very able to travel on land. So yes they do travel that distance to your farms. Your farmers are terrified and paranoid about farming. However they can see the Ankhegs coming, so they all run at first sight. The Ankhegs attack the farms closest to them. Which means thefarms on the outer most edge of your settlement are the main targets. The farmers of this land are angry that they have to put up with this! The few who are suffering call for meetings and try to get neighboring farms to stick up for their rights. These farmers threaten to leave. And if they leave that means the next farmer in line will be the target. Ofcourse they have nowhere to go, but whats the risk of death? Some of the people are trying to protest. Depending on your Settlements Alignment or Government, this could be a small angry voiced opinion to a no work strike or an angry mob. As for the Elves now. I'll again use trade and diplomacy. I'll send a peace ambassador to: -introduce our people -propose peace or confirm the existing default peace -propose trade of goods -propose a cultural trade (aknowledging that their longevity has made them more wise and able to think in a long-term way. Those 2 qualities can be important for us to learn) -propose to share diplomatic embassies (to facilitate communication between our people, and to start the process of "knowing our neighboorhood".) Oh and I'll also propose this to the dwarves. (Maybe we can hope that the dwarven and elven ambassadors will know more about each other's people and make a good peace) Your peace bond is acknowledged. And if the giants are a tribe, I'll propose that to them too. Making an "embassy district". Whoa, back up for a second. I havent brought any giants into the game yet. When I do, everyone will have to deal with Giants. Those close to Giants homes will have bigger problems. I guess I have allot of work to do here, I'll try and speed up to the Giants scenary very soon. But you havent encountered them yet. I was only foreshadowing your future. That's 3 allies. Three strong and nice allies. Since in your original post you said that you didn't beleive in low magic worlds and that humans will only survive with the use of magic... I'll not use it to prove you wrong. Well, not at first. Cant wait But, I'll open a small school to, first of all, teach my people how to read and write. They are only 600 so the literacy ratio will be quickly high. This will be a good step in the diplomatic process with the elves, since we are no more "illiterate barbarians". With the goodwill of the elves, we can then begin the translation of some of their books about nature, geography, science, and their history. Now our farmers and fishers have all the knowledge to help them grow of fish better. Fantastic idea I'll also apply standards to the farming to insure quality and good harvest, and fishing quotas to the fishers to alternate between what kind of fish we can take, following their reproductional seasons. That will ensure that we always have enough fish in the river. This should keep the aquatic races happy when they arrive. As for the minerals that we get from the dwarves, I'll make sure our smelting and workshops will be equipped with filters to prevent the bad smoke (since we are a medieval world, we still think that diseases are transmitted by air, and I want my people to live in a smoke-free smog-free environment :P). Thats very kind of you. This is trivial, I read that in medieval times air pollution was horrific for people. With all the wood burning and smoke inhalation, it was every where, in their homes and the buildings in a town were all black! Very bad. The Elf Druids happily award you with a prize.
Khadmus 08-03-07, 08:42 PM	Oh, I only have 20? This makes it interesting... Thorp (Pop. 20) in Temperate Mountains. Commoner 5 Expert 5- Bard 3- Diplomancer. See below. Rogue 2 Barbarian 1 Bard 1 Bard 1 Monk 1 Rogue 1 Rogue 1 Adept 1 Warrior 1 Commoner 1 (x8) Bard has +26 diplomacy modifier (+6 ranks, +6 synergy, +2 ability, +5 feats, +2 Share Talents (PH2), +5 Friendly Face (RoD)). The Bard also has the Dragon Friend feat (Dcn), granting a +4 to Diplomacy against dragons. If dealing with, say, a Silver Dragon (only type of dragon native to Temperate Mountains), the total Diplomacy modifier is +30. If the Dragon is friendly, indifferent, or even unfriendly, the bard can simply take 10 to make it helpful. If we convince a Great Wyrm to be our champion, it could do quite a lot. A: Avert some natural disasters with Control Weather. B: Avert enemies with its l337 c0mb47 5k1ll5. C: Do other miscelleaneous things with its 0-9th level sorceror spells. Looking at a less grandiose scenario, we could encounter a hostile Adult Silver Dragon. With the +30 Diplomacy modifier, we could make it friendly by taking 10. A friendly LG creature could easily cast a single spell per day (Create Food & Water, CL 7=food/water for 21 men. We have 20 men, and the excess could be used to make us all a little happier.) for the "help" the PHB specifies.
CaptainSpartan 08-03-07, 08:43 PM	I have some good ideas. Hope they work too. :D My Fortress: The North: To the North lays a vast forest roughly 1 mile away, the Northern wall is also where the main gate is. The West: There is a large lake only 1/2 mile away from my Fortress The East: Nothing but a vast expanse of plains The South: Many rolling hills several miles to the South. A smaller gate is also on the Southern Wall, big enough for trading carts. 100 fisherman/hydroponic farmers - We use the lake as our main source of food, fishing and also growing some foods using hydroponics. 100 warriors are distributed amongst the fishermen/farmers as they gather crops. 300 Warriors - 100 men are always posted as guards around the walls of the fortress. 150 soldiers are equipped with a heavy crossbow, short sword, and studded leather armor, the other 150 soldiers are equipped with a longsword, light crossbow, and chainmail. This man is prepared for war. 300 warriors? are they Spartans? 100 Miners - The miners mine from the hills to the South. The miners are escorted with 100 warriors as guards. 30 Blacksmiths - They just sit around and make weapons and armor for the warriors. 70 Lumberjacks - The lumberjacks are on their own out in the woods for now. All fishing and hydroponic crop harvesting is done from 50 small wooden boats, large enough to hold 2 farmers and 2 warriors along with whatever they catch/harvest. no farmers? you eat fish all day? To the issue with the dwarfs: I send a messenger with this letter. "To: Dwarven Clan It has come to my understanding that my miners have been mining without permission in your ancestral halls. It is with great humility that I say that I am truly sorry. Although I do propose an idea. Allow my miners to mine for the ore that our settlement requires and in return we shall give all precious gems that are found while mining immediately to your clan. We shall also pay tribute with our finest ales and wines. From: The Humans" Dwarve Messenger "How can we be sure we can trust you that you will give all gems and gold to us?" If you can prove being honest this trade is a solid deal. For now. But no more than 100 miners. To the issue with the elves: I send a messenger with this letter. "To: The Elves I am sorry to hear that my lumberjack's have been cutting down your trees without permission. Although this wood is an absolute necessity to my people's survival. We would gladly grow our own grove of tree's if you would show us how. I am afraid that if we are not allowed to continue harvesting lumber from your woods or shown how to grow our own grove, you are damning my people to a slow death. From: The Humans" "Dear King of the Humans Please do not insult us, by placing false blame on us causing your death, when it is you who does not care for the lively hood of other living creatures. You are destroying OUR home, and it is you who is killing many many lives. You may not have a respect for the living creatures, but you would never be here if they did not exist. Please do not force our hand. You can survive without wood. The Dwarves do well, and so do we. Your lies have insulted us. We will not share our ancestrial secrets, in fear of getting into the wrong hands. I hope your next approach will be less offensive, and without appology. We do not accept appologies, only misunderstandings and this was not a misunderstanding, this was an attempt of poorly planned manipulation, something the humans are known for. The Elves" Good luck sir. The Captain
Khadmus 08-03-07, 08:55 PM	"Something the humans are known for?" How much ****ing b******t is that? We are the first humans, we don't have any reputation yet. I feel inclined to argue that the elves shouldn't be such *******s, but I'm too tired now. Besides, I should wait until I've calmed down before engaging in discussion.
CaptainSpartan 08-03-07, 09:48 PM	The Forces: Defense Forces: 32 Patrols Soldiers Armed with simple leather armour, longbows (with 10 arrows each) and a long sword each (no shield) 40 Soldiers Armed with Acid Flasks, Alchemical Fire, Short Spears (originally used to defend against Ankheg) and longbows (10 arrows each) how much acid do you think one Ankheg prodices? I'd like to hear your reasonable thoughts, hopefully unbiost. 3 Teams - 1st Team: 4 Riders. Armed with Alchemical Fire, Longbows (10 arrows) and Spears. They wear simple Leather Armour. 2nd Team: The Patrol - 32 Soldiers. Armed with Longbows (10 arrows), Longswords and Alchemical Fire. They wear simple Leather Armour 3rd Team: 40 Soldiers. Armed with Longbows (10 arrows), Longswords, Acid Flasks. They were Acid-Proof Armour Invading Orcs: 60 Unknown Makeup Sorry for not being clear yet. I havent come across/remember the rules of how many in a tribe. you will have 40 Orcs attacking. The rest are children and weaker women. After finding two of my watchtowers vandalised, with Orchish graffitti all over them, i would have the farmers dig pits around the farm land that day. I would make these pits between 20-30 ft deep with sharpened spikes at the bottom. These pits will be enough to take one or two of them down the next night. There will be 12 of these pits around the farms. I estimate, that half of these pits will end up taking Orcs out, so ~8-10 Orcs will be killed by these pits. If the pits are open and in plain sight, I dont think the Orcs would just walk into them. Orcs attack at night because they have better vission at night, and penalties to attack during day. Your pits remain empty, and your farms further destroyed. If you feel to challenge my judgement on this call, please do. [/quote] My defense force, will be split into three teams. The first team, who are mounted on the limited horses we have who are able to ride/fight (4 horses), will support the second team, consisting of the lightly armed patrol. These will lay in wait for the Orc Party the next night in the grasslands, the horses will be kept out of sight in the settlement until the fighting starts. Orcs have Darkvision, so the patrol units will need to hide in the long grass until the Orcs pass by them. The third team, will be the "decoy" team. They will be with the farmers out "tending to the fields" in the evening / nighttime looking lightly armed. The vast majority of them will be lying in wait in the long grass. Those who are visible, will only number 8 or so, a tempting target for an Band of Orcs. When the Orcs approach, they will first pass the 1st and 2nd teams (who will wait until the Orcs have passed them) before stumbling into the pits. Once this happens, the 3rd team ("tending the fields") will open fire with Arrows and Acid Flasks from range. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd teams will let loose there arrows and alchemical fire from behind in an ambush manoeuvre. The Orcs will be caught inbetween a hail of arrows coming from in front and behind them.[/quote] Looks as if we gotta do some dice rolling. Hide in Shadows, Move Silently, Sneak attacks, and I see some flanking bonuses happening. Good tactics. You're men are caught off gaurd because the pits didnt work, and a full battle happens. You lose some men, (an average number) but kill the 40 Orcs. Do you chase down the remainder of 20 women in children in the camp? The riders, (1st group) will ride in, to block the Orcs escape route and shoot down any who will try to escape the encicled melee. They will also harress the flanks of the Orc Group, and throw Alchemical Fire into the Orc Band, BEFORE they have a chance to get into melee combat with my troops (to avoid friendly fire) The second group (lightly armed patrol) will be firing arrows from behind the Orcs and will shoot down any who try to flee. They will also be throwing in alchemical fire into the Orc Band to twiddle there numbers somewhat. The third group (armed with Ankheg Armour and Acid Flasks) will bombard the Orc Band with Acid. When the Orcs have engaged in close combat, they will stop throwing Acid Flasks, to avoid friendly fire. The downside of this tactic, is there will be many Orcs on fire and if they do manage to survive and get into close combat, they may do more damage (since there on fire). However, if they did flee, they may end up fleeing into the pits again (acid will make them blind if it goes in there eyes, and flaming Orcs will have there vision obscured by flames so they may fall into pits as well). Oh theirs more to read! Good points. 2 Orcs fall into the pits. Combat Casualties (for both sides): Orcs: 13 from Pits (8 before the battle, 5 who tried to retreat and fell in) Okay, we have a different view. What is your reasoning for so many Orcs to fall victim to the easy to see open pits? 17 from burns (both acid and fire) 22 from arrows 6 from engaging in melee with my forces 2 who tried to flee, but got run through by my riders Okay, so you only had to fight 40 Orcs and if you chose to slaughter 20 women and children. My Forces: 5 from Friendly Fire (Arrows) 1 from Friendly Fire (Acid / Alchemical) 2 from Melee Combat Wounded: 7 from Friendly Fire (Arrows) 2 from Friendly Fire (Acid / Alchemical) 3 from Melee Combat 4 from Misc (trips, falls, mild burns) Okay. Im gonna pick on your numbers here. Your tactics were very helpful, if the Orcs didnt spot your men. But your casualties are more from your own men than from the Orcs. lol Give the Orcs some credit. They are strong and good in mellee combat. 72 soldiers + 4 riders vs. 40 Orcs anyone got a calculator? :) I dont want to get into massive disputes about this, So I will let it go. I recall you allow Ankhegs to fertilize your farm. Am I mistaken? Perhaps 1 more casualty or wounded from Ankheg attacks. Their is allot of commotion to be sensed. Actually now that I think about it, I wonder if the Ankhegs would scare off Orc pillaging after a few attacks. Those who chose to keep Ankhegs in the farms. Any ideas here? After the battle, i would loot there bodies, taking whatever weapons and armour they had. Take from them everything... leave them nothing. (The movie is out in stores today) I would also burn the corpses to avoid disease or vermin from the rotting bodies, on the beach. That way, the tide will wash away there remains, and since the river is flowing into the sea, i am confident they won't be found drifting upstream towards the settlement or our fortress. Your men suggest, "sire, would it be possible the Ankhegs will eat the Orcs corpses too? Im not trying to undermine your authority sire" Loot includes: Simple Weapons - Clubs, Hammers, Maces, Spears, Rusted Swords, Chains, Large Bones Simple Armour - Rusted Shields and Armour Some gold and jewels from previous looting, but nothing of real value. The farm land would need cleaning, and the blood would probably kill the crop in some places (i would imagine anyhow). I would keep the pits. They may come in handy if any more Orcs decide to come this way. I think the Elves and Dwarves should here about this!! :D Good stuff. Excellent work. Great use of tactics. You have successfully passed your next year. +100 people. And if you chose the class of King you get a +1 level too.
RedArmyInfantry 08-04-07, 03:32 AM	This man is prepared for war. 300 warriors? are they Spartans? no farmers? you eat fish all day? I did say that we planted crops hydroponic style, but that probably is a bit advanced for early human civilization. So instead how about my people plant rice approximately 40 feet from the shore of the lake (From the shore I mean they are planting rice in the water like big rice fields in some Asian countries. This way my crops are difficult to reach for random creatures/monsters to come and steal for themselves. Dwarven Messenger "How can we be sure we can trust you that you will give all gems and gold to us?" If you can prove being honest this trade is a solid deal. For now. But no more than 100 miners. My reply to the dwarves: "Dear Dwarven Comrades, I believe this simple trust issue could be settled by having a few of your men stand guard at the entrance to the mine to check my miners whenever they come and go. I would gladly feed these guards and give them personal bodyguards to ensure that no wandering beasts may slay one of your men. (Not that your dwarves need protection, your men are renowned warriors.) If this is not sufficient enough for you, I'm sure we can work something else out. From, Human King" "Dear King of the Humans Please do not insult us, by placing false blame on us causing your death, when it is you who does not care for the lively hood of other living creatures. You are destroying OUR home, and it is you who is killing many many lives. You may not have a respect for the living creatures, but you would never be here if they did not exist. Please do not force our hand. You can survive without wood. The Dwarves do well, and so do we. Your lies have insulted us. We will not share our ancestral secrets, in fear of getting into the wrong hands. I hope your next approach will be less offensive, and without apology. We do not accept apologies, only misunderstandings and this was not a misunderstanding, this was an attempt of poorly planned manipulation, something the humans are known for. The Elves" My reply to the Elves: "To the Elves, Although it is true that I knew that your people lived within the forest I was not however aware that all of the forest belonged to you. We had only been harvesting the trees along the edge of the forest. I have called my lumberjacks to cease all wood harvesting until our dispute can be settled. Our people do in fact need some wood to survive. My people currently rely solely on our fisherman to feed them. Whenever one of our fishing boats are damaged or destroyed they must be replaced. It may have been foolish for me to make the decision to get all food from a single source, but I feared that having farms upon the land would lead to creatures and beasts stealing our food supply and slaying my farmers. We humans have no home, no place safe. My people have nothing that we can offer you in return for your secrets, nothing in the way of wealth or wondrous items. All I can offer you is my military power. In return for your ancestral secrets, my people shall stand guard to the forest and your people. My people can act as a sort of buffer between you and your enemies. Whenever a twisted creature or foul war band threatens your city or your forest we shall answer in kind. From, the Human King"
CaptainSpartan 08-04-07, 06:54 AM	Year 2: Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 700 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains between coast and mountains…similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral ~ Continue development of Diplomatic ties w/ Elves/Dwarves, attempt to improve trade relations to acquire weapons and other valuable/tradable goods. As elves and dwarves don't often get along, act as an intermediary merchant to allow for trade of their goods to flow. Offer to set up initial small trading posts to allow for commerce. Taking advantage of trade. good for you. If the trading posts are on the Dwarven lands, the Dwarves will ask for a taxation. The Elves like to keep their homes hidden, (their exact location has not been revealed to nobody yet, not even the humans) So they would prefer that these tents are outside the forest skirts. They dont want to invite heavy traffic into forest lands, and also fear that wandering merchants may easily get harmed in the dangerous forest. For elves this will likely be little more then tents, as they probably don't want permanent structures near their woods. Note hostile orcs ended hopefully ( see below ) to show like cause, and that we will try to be civilized first but like them, will not allow the humanoids to run rampant in our territory. I would really like to hear your attempts at peaceful negotiations with this small tribe. ~ Continue tree farming development, and expand to "fruit/nut" trees. ~ Establish series of motte/bailey way-points to the coast to allow for secure travel/trade to benefit from ocean resources. ~ Fortress; continue construction. ( edit, no time for in depth specifics to fortress/population description ) With increased poulation, perhaps stone cuting tips from Dwarves, start work on stone fortress/walls. you know you get 12 cubic acres of solid stone from your magic blueprint that instantly appears when you draw on the blueprint Fortify additional areas with wooden motte/bailey fortifications. ( border and river way-ponts are prioritized as we are looking to have a established town on the coast or trade with an existing one. ) Establish signaling system with flags and secondary drum/smoke system for faster communication. ~ Other Construction: Church, Military Barracks and other Specialized Training any particular diety in your church?Schools/Schools ( developing, clerics, fighters and Spec:mounted army, ranger/scouts and possibly even arcane casters and of course the Drum Corps Bard Camp...and this one time at Bard camp) funny things happen at Bard Camp, and the stories that come from their make this event extremely popular with your people. Due to the nature of Bards telling good stories, bluffing and making them sound better, when you have a group of Bards working together spells overwhelming results. Everyone wants to be accepted into the Bard camp. (the culture in your settlement has been defined) Flood control measures for river, raised embankments and flood gates. Flood gate system may also lead to irrigation system, for use in dry seasons. ~ Saw & grain mills established on riverbank to utilize the rivers power. This allow for more precise building timbers and benefit grain production. ~ Establish Youth Skill Development. ( Envoy from a nearby kingdom city of Crydee provided info regarding it ) Im a bit confused. Crydee is from a different campaign? In this game their are no other human settlements. You are the first, others will follow in your example if you succeed All youths "intern" for one year each at various crafts until age 16, their majority. These include the major skills of the area that are needed, such as farming, carpentry, soldiering etc... They then are selected as an apprentices for a specific craft to specialize in if they wish. Many likely simply return to their family farms but several will expand out to new skills depending on interest and ability. This also provides a well rounded population in case of harsh times, such as war/militia or fire/semi-skilled labor to assist in rebuilding. Plus as they learn differnt skils they will also be picking up some reading/writing/arithmatic skills, until a "formal" school for that can be established I like this type of thinking. Be sure to use some of your population as teachers. ~ Humanoids; if there have been no signs of them in our area, continue to develop; if elves or dwarves are near their area, request any information of major movements towards our Kingdom. If they are scouting our area, send an envoy to establish truce/territory they claim. What will you offer to establish peace? ~ Orcs: After first attack have a group of Rangers/Scouts track them to their camp; send in a message/arrow ( orcish and common ) to cease hostilities, and provide a colored flag to wave if they wish to talk. Have as many mounted archers form long line on hill for intimidation factor. If they do so, then discuss details to end hostilities, if they do not comply then utilize Mounted Archers attack and harry them. Footsoldiers, will set a perimeter and rangers/scouts will be used to track any that escape. Good intimidation. What do you offer the Orcs for peace? You are on their land! If you cannot offer them anything, they will flee without battle. I'll need to hear your peace offers before graduation to your next year/level/population increase
GnomishSorcerer 08-04-07, 08:18 AM	Okay, I'm game to play the evil half of this. As a clarification before I begin, is it 600 goblins or hobgoblins? The first part of your post says hobgoblins while the bit about the starting population specifies goblins.... Also, is there a different rule set or series of events playing the other side?
Lady_Sophia 08-04-07, 10:45 AM	@CaptainSpartan I only have two criticisms with that evaluation. 1) My Casualties. It was assumed the Orcs would be between two rows of my men, at a distance of ~80-100 meters, which is the maximum effective range of a Longbow (thus not in melee distance, since, Orcs are, good at melee). Furthermore, throwing weapons have a range of 10. It was assumed, that the thrown acid flasks and alchemical fire, would be as the remaining Orcs went to charge my men. My casualties being low, since the remaining Orcs that actually get into melee combat, would be minimal. Baring in mind, my forces are behind and in front of the Orcs. The Orcs would therefore be fighting on two fronts. If you assume in the confusion, half the Orcs charge one half of my men, while the others turn around and attack my men at there rear, you end up only facing 30 Orcs (-any who died in the initial hail of arrows). It would then take, 2-3 rounds +1 charge, for them to get into melee distance of my men. That will give my men 10-15 shots with arrows. Thus, not many Orcs to face in Melee, hence the low casualty rate. Anyhow, you ruled my ambush failed, but I still killed them all (which is good, though next time I was going to have the Orcs see my ambush…I don’t like to win all the time). Why let the women and children flee? The children will grow into adult Orcs and the women will produce more Orcs. So I am a little evil, so are they. I consider it balanced. As for my casualties, well, Acid Flasks / Alchemical Fire are area of effect weapons, and so some splash damage would probably occur on my men. As for the ranged damage, if you assume the odd stray arrow travelling 150-200 meters hitting one of my men, or, more realistically, one of my men shooting an arrow at an "Orc" when it is actually one of my men, who charged forward to engage in melee. Anyhow, i am not complaining. But that was my assumption. Guess it is my fault in not explaining / detailing my plan more clearly. Don't worry, i can fix that one (it only means more reading for the rest of you, hahahahaha!!) 2) Pits I forgot to mention they were covered with sticks and leafs to make them blend in with the surrounding area. Again, my fault on not making things clear. "Soldier!! While i appreciate you speaking your mind on the issue of the Ankhegs, let me ask you this. Do you really want to draw Ankhegs here, with the smell of rotten flesh? Do you really want to give them a reason to come here? Furthermore, if we were to do that often, do you think the Ankhegs would think "Hmmm, if we hang around this place, we get fed". Didn't your mother ever teach you not to feed wild animals? Pfft. Nope, it is better to burn them and avoid all the aggravation and plagues associated with dead bodies. Or are you trying to skive out of doing some hard labour, soldier?" *cocks an eyebrow* Acid / Ankhegs: Funny you should mention this actually, since I was thinking the same thing recently (I wrote up an inventory of what I could produce / year). I came to the assumption of this, 1 Ankheg - 1 Acid Proof Armour - 2 Flasks of Acid Assuming I get attacked by 10 Ankhegs a year (not at the same time, but over the year) that is 20 flasks and 10 Acid Proof Armours. I have been living for 1 year (to date, prior to the battle, I have lived 1 year, or was it 2 years?) Anyhow, that is my assumptions. If you want me to be attacked by more Ankhegs each year, that will be great. However, I think I’d limit the amount I can make anyhow, since I my pop is small. But that is my assumption. However, I’ll check later to make sure. I maybe wrong (I’m not on my other computer you see, otherwise I’d just give you the summary I made yesterday). Feel free to criticise. It is difficult making accurate assumptions based on what your populace can/can’t do, so criticise is good (helps me make better use of things and get a real sense of reality on what I can / can’t do) P.S. How do you want to do battle scenes in the future? Should I make up the results, or would you rather draw it out a little. I post, you post, I post, etc? Anyhow, was fun J I like this thread…
PhilipR 08-04-07, 04:40 PM	Just a few thoughts. What is the larger, strategic scale, esp. as regards logistics? What is the reproductive rate of goblins? What is the goblin infant mortality rate? How prone is the goblin population to diseases? Where do goblins get their food from? How do they keep their supply lines free from raiders? If they forage on campaign, how do they keep enough unit cohesion in order not to be cut down in detail by human riders? If they have mounts, how much food do they have to provide them per day to keep them battle-capable. Remember, it takes a lot more land and resources to keep a carnivore fed than an herbivore, especially a large carnivore. How unified are goblins, both tribally and from tribe to tribe?Are they prone to internecine conflicts (I would offer, yes). Finally, if the goblins destroy all the humans in an area, do they then settle down and take up an agricultural lifestyle in order to provide for themselves? Or do they wander heedlessly into the next territory, already populated with a human militia on war footing, a rival goblin tribe, or hill giants who are unwilling to share their territory with a bunch of half-starved runts. A wise human ruler would set up a mandatory militia on the English or Swiss model, with every male citizen drilling with pike or longbow, as well as handling their domestic duties. The history of both these countries suggests that an effective citizen army can be created in this way. As a human I would try to exploit the weaknesses of an underground race. A daylight attack on their fortress, if subterranean, could simply entail smoking their burrows with bonfires of green wood, taking note of where the smoke emerges as possible escape routes, and spear them with pikes as they come out for air. Or if not, they can all suffocate. I surely would not attempt to delve into their fortress or do any other sort of heroics of that nature. Gunpowder, if it exists, could do a nice job in this arena, as well.
Stormonu 08-04-07, 05:01 PM	If there is only 20 humans, how many dwarves, elves and goblinoids is there? If you're starting us out with 20 and them with hundreds, you are unfairly setting up the humans to fail.
PhilipR 08-04-07, 05:17 PM	That's a good point. One would have to be sponsored by a great lord who could sent hundreds of reinforcements in a crisis, or somehow start a "land boom" by offering free plots to whoever shows up, which would flood your foundling country with settlers from overpopulated lands. Does anyone know how many settlers the Roanoke and Jamestown settlements started with? I know it was more than twenty, and they only had to deal with enemies with neolithic technology, and no Ankhegs!
PhilipR 08-04-07, 05:25 PM	Someone asked what you would offer the invading band of orcs as a peace offering. May I humbly suggest a few hogsheads of still-refined grain alcohol, and a couple well-used "campfollowers" (ahem). Then, when Orcish nature has exhausted itself on the aforesaid amusements, the militia springs out and casually cuts their throats. Oh, aye, and the wee orclings, too.
ryuspearhead 08-04-07, 09:55 PM	i weant thourough a low magic (only magical items) campaign all 4 of us humanand defeated a demi god , it's so possible
Holy_Beholder 08-04-07, 10:51 PM	Alright, 20 humans. My base is near some mountains, the coast, and a forest. It is also near a river. It is a temporary logging base. The main one is going to be built out of wood, as a bunch of rafts and is going to float. I make my lumberjacks cut wood and vines, make rafts, and send them out. The rafts are then attached. My other workers fish, gather sea-weed, and also grow some other things on rafts full of dirt. The ankheg problem is avoided, because they can't swim well, if they can my slingers deal with them, and at that point I have the rafts set up. I then plant the seeds of the trees in the temporary fortress, which I will log in sections, allowing it to be renewable. For stone, I trade with the dwarves. They get ale(made from various crops, including the gathered sea weed) and a small part of lumber. To deal with the elves, point out that I am growing a small forest in my former base, and will soon be able to cut indefinitely. I also say I will only cut a small amount and move from place to place. 20 Humans 7 Farmers 2 Soldiers 5 Loggers 2 Shipwrights 1 Bard 1 Healer(commoner with heal skill) 1 Mason 1 Scout To the dwarves, I tell them that the stone will no longer be needed. I will trade any gems I find(sapphires show up in water often) for future stone. I also mention that I have seen several orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins, that I will keep an eye on. I also get some barrels made, and try to store as much water as possible, all while reinforcing the giant raft. When the orcs attack, I move further down the coast. Continued later, unfinished.
GnomishSorcerer 08-04-07, 11:13 PM	This post is starting to get a bit extensive and includes a good amount of villages. It would almost be easier to set up a forum for this 'game' with a thread for each village. Still looking for clarification on playing as the hobgoblins.
PhilipR 08-05-07, 12:44 AM	Okay, this is a great topic for a thread, I can't stop thinking about it. So, hat's off to you, Captain Spartan. Set up: Given the constellation of hostile humanoid creatures, an area will be chosen for defensive qualities. I will choose a broad glacier-carved valley set within a mountain chain. The passes to and from the valley are narrow and hence easily defended, and anyone entering would be easy to spot. The fortification/village and its additions will be set at the bend of a relatively swift river that runs northeast-southwest through the valley, providing a natural moat on three sides and a source of fish. Across the river is a large tract of forest, comprised of oak, walnut, yew, ash, linden, then as the elevation increases, primarily conifers until we reach the treeline. On the fortress side of the river will be primarily a broad alpine meadow, interrupted by copses of trees and the odd glacially deposited boulder. Population: Okay, late medieval technology, 20 humans. The only way to survive long term, of course, is to reproduce. That means 10 adult males and 10 adult females. That's not alot to work with when it comes to defense, let alone heavy duty tasks like quarrying stone and plowing fields. So we can either waive the risks of those duties to carrying a pregnancy to term and make everyone equal, or assume a mostly male populace. The latter will likely result in internal strife, so I will have my women share all the normal male roles, because that's the only way such a small population could survive. Besides, in D&D, there are no restrictions on a woman's strength or fighting ability. We will need everyone to participate in production, and everyone to participate in defense. So that means a militia, no professional soldiers. Production: A Ranger, preferably a high level one. He would be responsible both for scouting the outlying regions and for procuring extra protein from the forest. A Pseudo-Europe would have various species of deer, ibex, elk, aurochs (wild cattle), forest bison and bears to help keep our citizens fed during periods of crop failure. A ranger would also (hopefully) know enough about elvish customs to keep relations from going completely south. Farmers In reality, every household regardless of occupation would have a plot and participate in some agricultural activities, but these are the full-timers. They will be responsible for: Growing crops, primarily barley, rye, and other grains that can be traded to non-agricultural peoples, esp. Dwarves and (If they don't produce grains and grain-derived products) forest dwelling Elves and related creatures. As some others suggested, ale would be a prized trade item for dealing with Dwarves and others. Keeping Animals- a cow for every household, at least, and plenty of grazing in the meadows. Sheep will be extremely needed, as well, since they are cheaper to raise than cows and produce wool as well as meat and milk (yuk). Cheese can be a valuable trade item, to the non-cheesemaking races. Horse will be need for scouting and warfare. Bees can be kept, again honey and mead would be useful trade items. Smith (and at least one Apprentice We need someone turning out farming implements, tools, and most importanly, arrowheads, helmets and munitions-grade armor. If we can't mine iron ourselves, we will have to get it in trade from the Dwarves. A water-powered mill will be able to pound out flat sheets of iron more efficiently than a couple of men using muscle-power alone. Small plates riveted or laced to the inside of a leather or canvas coat will make a crude but effective coat-of-plates or jack-of plates. If that is too much for our beleagured smithy, then horn (from the rams, cattles and goats) discs can be sewn to the insides of canvas jackets by folks at night, sitting by the fire, making servicable brigandine substitutes. General Carpenter/Mason We need someone who can not only build with whatever materials are at hand, but direct the community in building whatever the exigencies of the moment requires. A Priest/Herbalist/Healer For all the obvious reasons. Defense- Positioning: All houses, barns, and storage buildings will be built either inside the fortress or within an extended ditch and earthwork wall perimeter that, as time permits, will be reinforced with stonework (from fieldstones) pointy sticks, palisades, etc. All buildings will be roofed with slate, or if un-available, sod, to prevent the easy firing of the village. Fieldstones are the preferred building material, but half-timbered construction is faster, so all exposed wood must be plastered to avoid, again, being set fire. Doors will be narrow, windows high and shuttered, and all houses will be equipped with arrow-slits. Everyone not scheduled for patrols that night will be inside the perimeter walls by nightfall. Watchtowers will be erected to keep an eye on things approaching through the fields or daring to cross the swift river. Dogs, if possible dogs trained to key in on monsters and ignore small fluffy things, will be used both around the village "walls" and in long-range patrols. Horses, which have good night vision and hearing, would be helpful if paid attention to, as well. Everyone on patrol duties will carry a whistle or horn (whichever experiment proves better) to alert the populace if danger is afoot. As stated, everyone will have to be in the militia. Everyone will have to drill like Swiss Mercs. Mock combats will take place. It will be exhausting with the additional duties of producing food and tools, but totally necessary given the precarious position we're in. The cheapest and most effective weapons will be pikes and bows. [edit- oh, aye, and following the English and Swiss medium-length polearms, your forest bills and halberds etc.- they'd fall in the third rank of the pikes] The pikes can be cut from stands of ash in the valley (wouldn't even need to go into the elves' forests) and the bows could be cut from the limbs of elms or yew without felling an entire tree. Bowstring comes from sinew, either from our own animals or cheaply obtained from other humans downriver. Ideally the Yew staves should cure for a year before being made into bows, but we need them now, so I'll take the less-than ideal and get a better bunch of bows next year. Everybody trains in pike, everybody trains in bow, but in actual combat we'll have to have the best-armored guys hold the pikes (in front) while the bowmen fire from the flanks, ready to withdraw into the phalanx if threatened. Armor- Linen gambesons are obviously the cheapest, but augmenting them with horn or iron plates will up the defensive value considerably. The Northwest Amerindians fought in complete wooden slat armor which was said to have rebuffed musketballs, and vikings used wood limb splints as well, so splint limb defenses, even if not iron (which is preferable) are doable for our front-line fighters. The better protected they are, the better, since losing even one man in this scenario can have disastrous consequences. Basic battle strategy. Preferably, our long-range patrols (esp. the Ranger) will know of anyone approaching a long way off and we will intercept them in the narrow mountain passes, block them with pikes and rain arrows down on them, then go home for beers. Murphy's being what it is, such a rosey scenario is unlikely. We will adopt in all confrontations a defensive, badger-like strategy, fighting only in spaces narrow enough to negate the numerical advantages of the enemy. If that means retreating inside the village walls with all hoofed and portable goods until the enemy goes away, that's what we'll have to do. The only time we will go on the offense in the open is when the enemy is caught with the trousers completely down [as detailed in my "distilled alcohol and camp followers" post], and for such reasons horses will be valuable. [edit to add- surprise raids and ambushes, when absolutely, positively done with overwhelming force, like 100 men against twelve goblins in the middle of the day, will be utilized when tacticall feasible] Marauders will have no food to eat, unless they come at harvest time, and are willing to harvest their own grain and bake their own bread while enduring the odd arrow shot from a sneaky skirmisher. Or they can attempt to take the village, which will be a hard target if my defense planning goes according to theory! ;) Ankheg problems- It's late but I'll get back to you on that-;)
PhilipR 08-05-07, 01:12 AM	The Ankheg. If we only have one, or a couple, I would simply monitor the area and leave that field "fallow". We could encourage it to stay in the "designated area" by occaisional offerings of fresh "by products" of butchered animals. Then, when the Ankheg has finished fertilizing that field, we rotate him to the next field we want him to minister to with fresh bait. Now, should he become unmanagable or overpopulated I'd stuff a freshly killed hog with arsenic (derived from the copper smelting process, thus presumably obtainable from dwarves or human coppersmiths) and let him "chow down". Alternatively, we wait for the first frost and dig the torpid frozen cold blooded bug up and saw him into pieces. I think we'll avoid confronting 3d10 hd monsters in direct combat til my militia is "blooded" with a few more orcs.:) I'm thinking the ankheg could be useful in digging earthworks and mines (for countermining besiegers) if herded properly, but at this stage I don't have enough men and women to waste in experimenting with the concept. Oh yes, the other requested details: Align- LN Political type-Primitive Republic, with Warmaking and other Powers granted to the "King" Monetary system- primarily trade, at this early stage, but coinage valued as it trickles in. Was there anything else?
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 09:37 AM	Just a thought. Couldn't said ankhegs burrow under and past the trenches? Not gonna happen, look at the stats for a ballsita (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/wilderness.htm#siegeEngines) notice how a medium creature take a -4 penalty when using one? Since an ankheg has an AC of 18, a -4 penalty to hit means there is no way in hell that a commoner, or even a low level fighter will EVER hit one save for critical hits. And even if you do manage to hit and deal the maximum 18 damage it will only bring it down to 10 HP and **** it off. Did i mention they take two full round actions to reload, cost 500 gold and thus would take several weeks of work to make? Why druids and rangers? You're not talking about their wild empathy are you? Cause that only works on animals not magical beats like a purple worm. And chains are you kidding? They have a hardness of 10 and 5 hit points, a purple worm can snap those with its' bite and sting like paper. That's considering you can even get near enough to it with its +18 listen, 60ft tremor sense, and 15 foot reach. Even entering its reach would kill 2 men with the attack of opportunity and its cleave feat. Yes their spit acid won't work very well on stone but look at their normal attack 2d6+7+1d4 they can CHEW through rock much faster dealing more damage once a round instead of once per 6 hours. Magetasticabsoltotalawsomemazingrific. Thanks for posting. Hope to see you around more often. I concur with many of your points of view.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 09:43 AM	Ankhegs are not terribly dangerous for farmers so long as they have enough farm animals. Wonder if a particular field has an ankheg infestation? Send a bunch of goats out to browse and nibble and watch if anything pops up. They don't fly so clearing a region of them isn't overly problematic. Goats are an expensive resource to spend on matters like this. Thats my initial thought. Of course, as mentioned earlier, any creature that builds usable tunnels and can effectively plow an entire field is highly valuable for farming so you want to domesticate it if at all possible. The best analogy would be boar. Wild boar are highly dangerous, but tasty, but domesticated give you pigs, which can also be dangerous but are more manageable. And with enough breeding, you can get little potbellied pigs for pets and familiars, so there's no reason you couldn't get miniature potbellied ankhegs just the right size to help you with the kitchen garden or to have for extremely entertaining familiars, sort of like giant crickets. I thought the domestication process of boars to pigs and wolfs to dogs took hundreds of thousands of years. Ankhegs may have a low INT, but they have a reasonable WIS, and it's WIS that would tell them not to eat the strange creature that feeds them goats after they dig a few straight lines in a field. Trained, an ankheg would also make a very good watchdog. Thats a good point. Never thought of the wisdom. Im open of thoughts of HOW to domesticate them and train them. Will you create pet houses for them? If you don't have any ankheg trainers yet, hire a few people who are trained as spider eater trainers. They should have some insights into insectoid magical beast psychology and should help to make the critters into useful parts of a farmstead. And what would a Spider Eater Trainer say? :) I have no idea. I thought Goblins trained Spider Eaters or is it Drow? Thanks for reading.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 09:53 AM	Just as a side not, humans have a demographic advantage. Hang with me here. Humans breed faster than just about anything out there, that plus the reasoning and problem-solving skills make good survivors. How else could humans in our world have survived after Bubonic Plague, the Bloody Flux, and Ebola not to mention hundreds if not thousands of other diseases which at various times people couldn't fight? Well, I've seen these same arguements come up in different subjects. Evolution, Genetics, Ambition, Motives, Breeding. I believe the Humans breed much like the Elves. We only breed if we need to. Example: World War I & II , we lost a generation of men (who are still suffering). To compensate that we had the baby boom. Women can have a child every 9 months. But who does that?! 2.5 kids is the norm. Too much work. And now people in North America are single longer and live happily without having children. Its not needed that we breed now, and life is good that way. On the other hand, if you look up Humans in D&D and then look up Goblins in the MM. Goblins breed like rabits. Other reasons the humans survived mass plauge, was from mutated genes. Example; The Black Death plauge and a mutation gene evolved saving the people. This gene still exist and is stopping other famous diseases today. Okay enough about that. Lets just see how this unfolds.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 09:56 AM	could you just put your castle in a cube of walls of force? maybe a small, HEAVILY guarded entrance? right inside that entrance put an electrified moat w/drawbridge? or make the entrance closeable by another sliding wall of force? This is possible. First you need the resources and wizards to cast this spell.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:03 AM	the world is really big. there wander new monsters in. you say there is only one fortress of humans. what i say is that we can not kill all ankhegs just all here. thats how it works. besides in reality we havent exterminated evyone else so why should we in this fantasy?? Actually Humans in reality have killed allot. Many species are gone forever. It is thought that the Homoerectus(todays humans) has killed our ancestor cousins the Neanderthal (cavemen). It is also thought Humans killed the wooly mamoth. For my rule of monster respawn, yes you can kill the current Ankhegs. Problem solved. Until next year! If the players keep chosing to kill the Ankhegs every year, the monster list will pile up. People will no longer flock to a fortress that is constantly under attack. BTW, I dont think anyone has solved the Ankheg problem %100 yet. Do you have any alternate ideas for monsters re appearing? EDIT: I like your ERM thing. Thats a great idea. An idea I want to use.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:17 AM	Building - Fortress / Settlement Armourer - 1 / 1 Blacksmith - 1 / 1 Barracks - 1 / 1 Stables - 1 / 2 Store Rooms + Granaries (Food) - 2 / 2 Store House (Materials) - 0 / 2 Food Farms - 0 / 4 Sugarcane Farms - 0 / 2 Grape Vines (Farms) - 0 / 2 New Year - Max Population now 700 (+100) Population Breakdown : 700 (200gp Goods Limit) Alchemists - 8 Armourers - 12 Bakers - 10 Boat Builders - 12 Builders - 110 Cart Builders - 8 Clothes Makers - 36 Farmers - 64 (8 people work on one farm - 8 Farms) Fishers - 12 Guards (Farms)* - 40 (10 teams of 4) Healers and Carers - 10 Hunters - 20 (5 teams of 4. Hunt in pairs) Millers - 10 Miners - 58 Patrols - 48 (6 Patrols: Squads of 8, and Teams of 4) Sheep Grazers - 12 Woodcutters - 30 Women / Children** - ~100 * Patrol / Guards Patrol – Equipped with light leather armour and armed with a longsword and longbow Guards – Equipped with anti-acid armour and armed with a spear and longbow as well as alchemical fire and acid-flasks ** These are women and children who are not tending the fields. Eg, those with younger children or children who are “not of age”) Goods (Max: 200gp) Food Sold (per year) Wheat / Grain - Sold : 50 pounds of Wheat - 1 cp (50 cp) Sugarcane - Sold : 100 pounds of Rum - 5 sp (500 sp) (assume tabacco and alcohol are the same price) Grapes - Sold : 75 points of Wine - 3 sp (225 sp) (assume Wine is less value than Rum) Goods Sold (per year) Thread / Wool / Cloth / Clothes - Sold : 5 pounds (20 gp) Leather Hide - Sold : 8gp / piece (16 gp) Sacks / Waterskins - Sold : 1sp / piece (3 sp) Alchemical Fire - Sold : 15gp / piece (60 gp) Acid Flasks - Sold : 8gp / piece (24 gp) Tools / Metal Work - Sold : Misc (16 sp) Total Exports - 195gp / 4sp -4 Acid Armours (2 went to the Elves, 2 went to the Dwarves as gestures of good will) Goods Bought (per year) 7 Studded Leather (Cost: 175gp) Misc (Cost: 13gp / 63sp) Total Income: 6gp / 77sp ------------------------------------------------------------ With the new stone and wood i have gotten through trade, i have decided to build a wall, 20 ft high, by 10ft wide. It is wood on the inside, compact dirt and stone in the middle, with wood and smooth stone on the outside. It is not a city-style wall, more of a Palisade kinda wall. There are 4 towers *inside* the wall, each 10ft higher than the wall itself so that the towers can see the bottom of the wall. There is enough room around the top of the wall, for armed guards to patrol it at night. The 4 towers are set at the corners of the settlement; 2 overlooking the river, and 2 at the front of the settlement. The watch towers that were vandalised, have been rebuilt, with additional supports around the base. There are now also pits surrounding the outside watchtowers that attackers have to overcome before they can reach the tower itself. These pits contain everything, from sharpened logs, to sharp rocks, to pools of thick sticky mud and oil. With these defenses, we are continuing to expand our influence with our neighbours; The Elves have come to us asking for Alchemical Acid so there alchemists may study it. As a gesture of good will, we have also given them sample suits of our Anti-Acid Armour, so that there Alchemists can work in safety. The Dwarves continue to take our Liquor, which has upset some of the local soldiers, but they soon smile again when they see there new equipment the Dwarves have brought them. We also trade Alchemical Fire and Acid with the Dwarves as well. This has reduced our stocks of Acid, so we may need to search else where if we are to continue to trade like this. Again, as with the Elves, we have given the Dwarves sample suits of our Alchemical Armour, even though i sensed they looked down apon the craftsmanship. Oh well, they will make it better somehow, i have no doubt. I am sure they will appreciate it when they start using the acid, but only time will tell. They like your idea, and the Dwarves use the armour for mining purposes. They would like more of this acid proof armour. And more liquor. MORE LIQUOR!! I now have a Ranger and a Druid, both of whom have come from the Elves. While they will help our soldiers and healers out with tactics and salves, i can't help but feel ashamed we have to relie on others in order for us to survive. I am grateful for there help, but i believe if we are to stay here, we should train our own Rangers and Druids. That may even help towards relations with the Elves if we help them look after the woods. The settlement we have come to know as "Taol" was first created as a stopping point for people crossing through the Elven territories. It was set up by Halfers, who travelled around these parts. Now it is a way point for all walks of life...including the shadowy type. Even in such an isolated place like this, the Rogue proposers. Hopefully the Rogues will stay there for a while. We certainly don't have the trade to warrant any Rogues about...at least for now. Still, everything is okay. We have fresh water, we have food, we are making friends, all seems well. I only hope we have seen the last of the Orcs. I don't want to think about if they came back. But, i shall think on it more, as the time approaches. ------------------------------------------------------------ I think of the Orcs like this; They travel the lands, moving as they please, with the belief that they own it all. They make tents or lodges from whatever they can from what that current surrounding area offers. Pillaging is faster and preffered. You will see more Orcs. I assume your wall is to keep out the Orcs. And I would think that wall was built within a year. Your people worked very hard.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:28 AM	CaptainSpartan had said they would only dig down 40 ft., so I took it at that. A burrow speed only allows moving through soft earth, so he might be assuming 40 ft. down is bedrock. His rules, not mine. Im trying to go by the books as much as possible. Ankhegs according to the MM borruw up to 40' deep. Its in the rules. Missed that on a ballista - I'm used to previous editions where it was essentially a ranged touch attack. I mean, is a suit of plate really going to stop a ballista? Okay, so I'll use light catapults instead, and hit each ankheg with 3-4 stones apiece from multiple weapons. phew. Now I gotta read the Catapult rules. Hey did you know that catapults are thought to be first used in Alexander the Greats army? Pult is a greek work that means pelt or skin. And cata means go through. Catapult. Go though Skin. Its what they called a ballista then. 3-4 stones. That covers a surface area, and this is when the Ankhegs surface to walk over your underground wall right? Oh, and since I'm making them myself, I can get them for half the price. I didn't see any GP limit in designing the fortress stuff either. My hand was forced to add a gp limit according to the DMG rules size of your town. Druids and Rangers CAN wild empathy beasts. Check the SRD. They take a -4 penalty, but if can do if the creature has a 1-2 Int. 1) Throw the chains, like a lasso 2) The chains go around the neck, where it can't bite or sting 3) This was all in jest. Why go after a purple worm at all if my ranger/druids could animal empathy the Ankhegs easier, or if I'm killing them with weapons or traps? Yep, the claw/attack could do the work much quicker, but with 16 average damage (only 6 would get through), that's still 1,334 rounds or 133 minutes (2 hours) to bore a hole big enough to squeeze through. The idea is to deter, not prevent. The ankhegs would likely get frustrated long before they bored through and take the easy route and surface, where they'd get stomped. I agree with this statement. However arguements are being made that Ankhegs have a high enough wisdom that they can learn from their mistakes. So they may stop attacking your farms. Untill more food is easily available. Or until your farms and town spread beyond your underground wall. All in all, I find this thread more amusing than serious, and I'm not taking it all that seriously. Im taking it serious, but it is very fun. Already this Ankheg has shapped what D&D should look like IMO. No idea is a bad idea. You never know what crazy idea seems odd or useless untill it branches off to brilliance. Remember imagination is where brilliance comes from.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:35 AM	Yeah, that's one thing that's kind of bothered me about this. Once we've overcome the challenge, there's no real good reason to have it come back, we'll just beat it the same way again. Besides, there are plenty of official worlds where this race or another has been completely wiped out by war or other actions of other races. Dark Sun is perhaps one of the most prominent - gnomes suffered genocide, as did several other races. And for the record, exterminating all the monsters doesn't stop making it a D&D world; it just makes it all the more safer for the survivors - or more like our world. ... no monsters = nothing for PC's to kill. Also human greed would have searched every possible hole with treasure, leaving nothing left. More like our world. No more Dungeons No more Dragons. Whats left?! Thats not a D&D world. Thats a _&_ world.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:48 AM	Oh, I only have 20? This makes it interesting... Yes indeed. Thorp (Pop. 20) in Temperate Mountains. Commoner 5 Expert 5- Bard 3- Diplomancer. See below. Rogue 2 Barbarian 1 Bard 1 Bard 1 Monk 1 Rogue 1 Rogue 1 Adept 1 Warrior 1 Commoner 1 (x8) Bard has +26 diplomacy modifier (+6 ranks, +6 synergy, +2 ability, +5 feats, +2 Share Talents (PH2), +5 Friendly Face (RoD)). The Bard also has the Dragon Friend feat (Dcn), granting a +4 to Diplomacy against dragons. If dealing with, say, a Silver Dragon (only type of dragon native to Temperate Mountains), the total Diplomacy modifier is +30. If the Dragon is friendly, indifferent, or even unfriendly, the bard can simply take 10 to make it helpful. If we convince a Great Wyrm to be our champion, it could do quite a lot. I hate DMs that dont allow anything. :raincloud Now I hate myself. Originally stated to only use the 3 core rule books. This avoids lots of confusion. If I allow one book gotta allow them all. I dont own a PH2 book. I do own a Dcn. But I will have to call a haste on those feats, esp the Dragon Friend feat, until the time has come when that nasty dragon shows up. :hides: A: Avert some natural disasters with Control Weather. Are you high enough to cast that? B: Avert enemies with its l337 c0mb47 5k1ll5. :thinks: what? :shocked: C: Do other miscelleaneous things with its 0-9th level sorceror spells. good idea. Looking at a less grandiose scenario, we could encounter a hostile Adult Silver Dragon. With the +30 Diplomacy modifier, we could make it friendly by taking 10. A friendly LG creature could easily cast a single spell per day (Create Food & Water, CL 7=food/water for 21 men. We have 20 men, and the excess could be used to make us all a little happier.) for the "help" the PHB specifies. When that creature comes allong. What will you do in the mean time?
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:56 AM	"Something the humans are known for?" How much ****ing b******t is that? We are the first humans, we don't have any reputation yet. I feel inclined to argue that the elves shouldn't be such *******s, but I'm too tired now. Besides, I should wait until I've calmed down before engaging in discussion. lol... are you calm yet? I've never seen any reason to get mad at D&D its just a game all made up. You are right. Let me clear it up. You are the first Fortress to start a city. Humans have been roaming for awhile now, in small groups, at best 6 at a time. Because all other attempts to build a city has failed. The race existed, mostly used as slaves. Slaver is probably their safest survival method. I wasnt the first person on this thread to make comments of the humans ruthless ambition to achieve supremacy using diplomatics and lies. Hope that helps.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:07 AM	I did say that we planted crops hydroponic style, but that probably is a bit advanced for early human civilization. So instead how about my people plant rice approximately 40 feet from the shore of the lake (From the shore I mean they are planting rice in the water like big rice fields in some Asian countries. This way my crops are difficult to reach for random creatures/monsters to come and steal for themselves. Okay I remember the hydroponic stuff now. Not sure what that is %100. Im confused here, how does planting rice 40' from shore stop intruders? My reply to the dwarves: "Dear Dwarven Comrades, I believe this simple trust issue could be settled by having a few of your men stand guard at the entrance to the mine to check my miners whenever they come and go. I would gladly feed these guards and give them personal bodyguards to ensure that no wandering beasts may slay one of your men. (Not that your dwarves need protection, your men are renowned warriors.) If this is not sufficient enough for you, I'm sure we can work something else out. From, Human King" "Throw in a jug of ale with each meal and you got yourself a deal, good friend" My reply to the Elves: "To the Elves, Although it is true that I knew that your people lived within the forest I was not however aware that all of the forest belonged to you. We had only been harvesting the trees along the edge of the forest. I have called my lumberjacks to cease all wood harvesting until our dispute can be settled. Our people do in fact need some wood to survive. My people currently rely solely on our fisherman to feed them. Whenever one of our fishing boats are damaged or destroyed they must be replaced. It may have been foolish for me to make the decision to get all food from a single source, but I feared that having farms upon the land would lead to creatures and beasts stealing our food supply and slaying my farmers. We humans have no home, no place safe. My people have nothing that we can offer you in return for your secrets, nothing in the way of wealth or wondrous items. All I can offer you is my military power. In return for your ancestral secrets, my people shall stand guard to the forest and your people. My people can act as a sort of buffer between you and your enemies. Whenever a twisted creature or foul war band threatens your city or your forest we shall answer in kind. From, the Human King" "Dear King Our Hearts go out to you. We do not own the forest, but it is our home and home to many other living creatures. Some trees even have inteligence anc can speak for themselves. We watch other races survive differently and each has its own secret. We can understand your needs of survival. We can easily arrange for a portion of appointed land of trees to be harvested untill you find a way to grow your own. This way no creatures will be harmed and you are not accidentally detroying precious homes. Much luck to your race ~Elves"
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:17 AM	Okay, I'm game to play the evil half of this. As a clarification before I begin, is it 600 goblins or hobgoblins? The first part of your post says hobgoblins while the bit about the starting population specifies goblins.... Also, is there a different rule set or series of events playing the other side? hahaha Oh yes different rules. Send me a private message too. We can talk about espionage behind the scenes. :D I have to work out some details. You are a HobGoblin Kingdom. With mixed races. Mostly goblins, Orcs, a few Ogres, Bugbears, Gnolls and if you get really big ....Trolls. Anything allong those lines. You will ride worgs and other large beastly creatures. Your Kingdom works differently. You cant just grow. Goblins and orcs are way too chaotic, unless you find a way to control them. Thats your challenge. But you do have allot of wandering Tribes of these races available to you for rallying in times of war! One thing you will be collecting is slaves. Human slaves they will be the way you get work done. Unless you got other ideas. Keep your slaves in caged pens 4 feet high. So they have to walk on all fours. And make your Gaurds able to walk on the roofs of these pens so they can jab their spears down to unbehaving humans. Unless you have better ideas. You will be a war tactics player. Strickly millitary. This is the way of the HobGoblins. however if you chose to play differently thats your choice, you must provide reasonable explanations.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:38 AM	@CaptainSpartan I only have two criticisms with that evaluation. Thanks for replying 1) My Casualties. It was assumed the Orcs would be between two rows of my men, at a distance of ~80-100 meters, which is the maximum effective range of a Longbow (thus not in melee distance, since, Orcs are, good at melee). Furthermore, throwing weapons have a range of 10. It was assumed, that the thrown acid flasks and alchemical fire, would be as the remaining Orcs went to charge my men. My casualties being low, since the remaining Orcs that actually get into melee combat, would be minimal. Baring in mind, my forces are behind and in front of the Orcs. The Orcs would therefore be fighting on two fronts. If you assume in the confusion, half the Orcs charge one half of my men, while the others turn around and attack my men at there rear, you end up only facing 30 Orcs (-any who died in the initial hail of arrows). Confusion of battle. Splitting up the Orcs in confusion. Orcs being a war minded race, my call would be that they are well battle prepared to always attack the same target. Thats my personal call. But I want to stay away from making any calls. Strickly books. It would then take, 2-3 rounds +1 charge, for them to get into melee distance of my men. That will give my men 10-15 shots with arrows. Thus, not many Orcs to face in Melee, hence the low casualty rate. good reasons Anyhow, you ruled my ambush failed, did I? I was thinking about this battle while doing my daily chores. 40 of your men hiding in grass silently. Concealment rules come into play here. But it only takes 1 orc to spot 1 hidden soldier. On a natural 20 your men are revealed. To me the odds seem like the Orcs have a good chance to see it. But its a DM call. either way you got the job done. I shouldnt have picked on your numbers. but I still killed them all (which is good, though next time I was going to have the Orcs see my ambush…I don’t like to win all the time). Why let the women and children flee? The children will grow into adult Orcs and the women will produce more Orcs. So I am a little evil, so are they. I consider it balanced. As for my casualties, well, Acid Flasks / Alchemical Fire are area of effect weapons, and so some splash damage would probably occur on my men. As for the ranged damage, if you assume the odd stray arrow travelling 150-200 meters hitting one of my men, or, more realistically, one of my men shooting an arrow at an "Orc" when it is actually one of my men, who charged forward to engage in melee. Anyhow, i am not complaining. But that was my assumption. Im rather happy here too. Guess it is my fault in not explaining / detailing my plan more clearly. The fault is mine Don't worry, i can fix that one (it only means more reading for the rest of you, hahahahaha!!)hahaha 2) Pits I forgot to mention they were covered with sticks and leafs to make them blend in with the surrounding area. Again, my fault on not making things clear. hahaha this is your fault hahaha "Soldier!! While i appreciate you speaking your mind on the issue of the Ankhegs, let me ask you this. Do you really want to draw Ankhegs here, with the smell of rotten flesh? Do you really want to give them a reason to come here? Furthermore, if we were to do that often, do you think the Ankhegs would think "Hmmm, if we hang around this place, we get fed". Didn't your mother ever teach you not to feed wild animals? Pfft. Nope, it is better to burn them and avoid all the aggravation and plagues associated with dead bodies. Or are you trying to skive out of doing some hard labour, soldier?" *cocks an eyebrow* "sir, yes sir." your soldiers eyes start to water. Acid / Ankhegs: Funny you should mention this actually, since I was thinking the same thing recently (I wrote up an inventory of what I could produce / year). I came to the assumption of this, 1 Ankheg - 1 Acid Proof Armour - 2 Flasks of Acid depending of how you get your acid Assuming I get attacked by 10 Ankhegs a year (not at the same time, but over the year) that is 20 flasks and 10 Acid Proof Armours. I have been living for 1 year (to date, prior to the battle, I have lived 1 year, or was it 2 years?) 2 years. Anyhow, that is my assumptions. If you want me to be attacked by more Ankhegs each year, that will be great. However, I think I’d limit the amount I can make anyhow, since I my pop is small. But that is my assumption. you will be attacked by Ankhegs every year. I forget who had which solutions. Perhaps I should make that a requirement with each post. State the solution with each post. Is that asking too much? However, I’ll check later to make sure. I maybe wrong (I’m not on my other computer you see, otherwise I’d just give you the summary I made yesterday). Feel free to criticise. It is difficult making accurate assumptions based on what your populace can/can’t do, so criticise is good (helps me make better use of things and get a real sense of reality on what I can / can’t do) what? I thought you were doing fine. What else can I tell you? This question could help me with other players or any of my DMing I plan to do. P.S. How do you want to do battle scenes in the future? Should I make up the results, or would you rather draw it out a little. I post, you post, I post, etc? Anyhow, was fun J I like this thread… Thanks I think this thread is fun. Their is a book called Hereos of Battle (forget the name) based on war. i used to have it. I lent it out. I think I will go with ALL average rolls. Everything is take 10, all damage is assumed average. But Id rather skip anything that requires small amounts of work, like that Orc battle, why did I question the results over 2 lives. We have so much more work to do. The bigger picture is whats important. But the small stuff is fun.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:46 AM	Just a few thoughts. What is the larger, strategic scale, esp. as regards logistics? What is the reproductive rate of goblins? What is the goblin infant mortality rate? How prone is the goblin population to diseases? I cant answer these questions right now. I just dont have the research. Im not so sure I need to know this stuff. at least not yet. Good questions though. Where do goblins get their food from? How do they keep their supply lines free from raiders? If they forage on campaign, how do they keep enough unit cohesion in order not to be cut down in detail by human riders? If they have mounts, how much food do they have to provide them per day to keep them battle-capable. Remember, it takes a lot more land and resources to keep a carnivore fed than an herbivore, especially a large carnivore. How unified are goblins, both tribally and from tribe to tribe?Are they prone to internecine conflicts (I would offer, yes). Finally, if the goblins destroy all the humans in an area, do they then settle down and take up an agricultural lifestyle in order to provide for themselves? Or do they wander heedlessly into the next territory, already populated with a human militia on war footing, a rival goblin tribe, or hill giants who are unwilling to share their territory with a bunch of half-starved runts. These are fantastic questions. Questions I think about myself. However the D&D rules depicts these creatures, is the way we will be running the golblinoid races. I will try to follow the rules as much as possible. To the best possible way. It is difficult because the D&D do not answer these questions. A wise human ruler would set up a mandatory militia on the English or Swiss model, with every male citizen drilling with pike or longbow, as well as handling their domestic duties. The history of both these countries suggests that an effective citizen army can be created in this way. As a human I would try to exploit the weaknesses of an underground race. A daylight attack on their fortress, if subterranean, could simply entail smoking their burrows with bonfires of green wood, taking note of where the smoke emerges as possible escape routes, and spear them with pikes as they come out for air. Or if not, they can all suffocate. I surely would not attempt to delve into their fortress or do any other sort of heroics of that nature. Gunpowder, if it exists, could do a nice job in this arena, as well. Gunpowder hasnt been invented yet. :) Great ideas. Are you building a fortress?
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:47 AM	If there is only 20 humans, how many dwarves, elves and goblinoids is there? If you're starting us out with 20 and them with hundreds, you are unfairly setting up the humans to fail. I strongly feel I am not setting up the humans to fail.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:50 AM	That's a good point. One would have to be sponsored by a great lord who could sent hundreds of reinforcements in a crisis, or somehow start a "land boom" by offering free plots to whoever shows up, which would flood your foundling country with settlers from overpopulated lands. This is how it was done in real history, unfortunately here there are no other human Kingdoms to send support Does anyone know how many settlers the Roanoke and Jamestown settlements started with? I know it was more than twenty, and they only had to deal with enemies with neolithic technology, and no Ankhegs! I do not know who Roanoke or Jamestown settlements are. Is this a real life reference? that would explain the lack of Ankhegs.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:52 AM	Someone asked what you would offer the invading band of orcs as a peace offering. May I humbly suggest a few hogsheads of still-refined grain alcohol, and a couple well-used "campfollowers" (ahem). Then, when Orcish nature has exhausted itself on the aforesaid amusements, the militia springs out and casually cuts their throats. Oh, aye, and the wee orclings, too. Fighting dirty eh? Good ideas. Are you building a Fortress?
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:53 AM	i weant thourough a low magic (only magical items) campaign all 4 of us humanand defeated a demi god , it's so possible would you care to share any sollutions for our problems? Or maybe build a Fortress?
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 12:04 PM	Alright, 20 humans. My base is near some mountains, the coast, and a forest. It is also near a river. It is a temporary logging base. The main one is going to be built out of wood, as a bunch of rafts and is going to float. I make my lumberjacks cut wood and vines, make rafts, and send them out. The rafts are then attached. My other workers fish, gather sea-weed, and also grow some other things on rafts full of dirt. :clap: :clap: :clap: A floating town. Very goodThe ankheg problem is avoided, because they can't swim well, if they can my slingers deal with them, and at that point I have the rafts set up. I then plant the seeds of the trees in the temporary fortress, which I will log in sections, allowing it to be renewable. For stone, I trade with the dwarves. They get ale(made from various crops, including the gathered sea weed) and a small part of lumber. To deal with the elves, point out that I am growing a small forest in my former base, and will soon be able to cut indefinitely. I also say I will only cut a small amount and move from place to place. So you wont be using your magic Blueprint yet? 20 Humans 7 Farmers 2 Soldiers 5 Loggers 2 Shipwrights 1 Bard 1 Healer(commoner with heal skill) 1 Mason 1 Scout To the dwarves, I tell them that the stone will no longer be needed. I will trade any gems I find(sapphires show up in water often) for future stone. I also mention that I have seen several orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins, that I will keep an eye on. I also get some barrels made, and try to store as much water as possible, all while reinforcing the giant raft. When the orcs attack, I move further down the coast. Continued later, unfinished. I love this Kingdom. lol You are completely fitting in. Id like to see your Kingdom thrive, but I just posted a water problem. For the sake of you succeeding ( I want to see where this goes) Just ignore the Fishermens problems I posted. And if anyone thinks Im favouring you, I have some logical explanations for it. weak but still explanations.
PhilipR 08-05-07, 12:09 PM	Fighting dirty eh? Good ideas. Are you building a Fortress? Well, I got started in posts 94 and 95 in this thread, but I have a feeling this is going to be quite time intensive, so maybe I'll just pop-in with possible brainstorms, if that's not going to disrupt the thread too much. Okay, this is a great topic for a thread, I can't stop thinking about it. So, hat's off to you, Captain Spartan. Set up: Given the constellation of hostile humanoid creatures, an area will be chosen for defensive qualities. I will choose a broad glacier-carved valley set within a mountain chain. The passes to and from the valley are narrow and hence easily defended, and anyone entering would be easy to spot. The fortification/village and its additions will be set at the bend of a relatively swift river that runs northeast-southwest through the valley, providing a natural moat on three sides and a source of fish. Across the river is a large tract of forest, comprised of oak, walnut, yew, ash, linden, then as the elevation increases, primarily conifers until we reach the treeline. On the fortress side of the river will be primarily a broad alpine meadow, interrupted by copses of trees and the odd glacially deposited boulder. Population: Okay, late medieval technology, 20 humans. The only way to survive long term, of course, is to reproduce. That means 10 adult males and 10 adult females. That's not alot to work with when it comes to defense, let alone heavy duty tasks like quarrying stone and plowing fields. So we can either waive the risks of those duties to carrying a pregnancy to term and make everyone equal, or assume a mostly male populace. The latter will likely result in internal strife, so I will have my women share all the normal male roles, because that's the only way such a small population could survive. Besides, in D&D, there are no restrictions on a woman's strength or fighting ability. We will need everyone to participate in production, and everyone to participate in defense. So that means a militia, no professional soldiers. Production: A Ranger, preferably a high level one. He would be responsible both for scouting the outlying regions and for procuring extra protein from the forest. A Pseudo-Europe would have various species of deer, ibex, elk, aurochs (wild cattle), forest bison and bears to help keep our citizens fed during periods of crop failure. A ranger would also (hopefully) know enough about elvish customs to keep relations from going completely south. Farmers In reality, every household regardless of occupation would have a plot and participate in some agricultural activities, but these are the full-timers. They will be responsible for: Growing crops, primarily barley, rye, and other grains that can be traded to non-agricultural peoples, esp. Dwarves and (If they don't produce grains and grain-derived products) forest dwelling Elves and related creatures. As some others suggested, ale would be a prized trade item for dealing with Dwarves and others. Keeping Animals- a cow for every household, at least, and plenty of grazing in the meadows. Sheep will be extremely needed, as well, since they are cheaper to raise than cows and produce wool as well as meat and milk (yuk). Cheese can be a valuable trade item, to the non-cheesemaking races. Horse will be need for scouting and warfare. Bees can be kept, again honey and mead would be useful trade items. Smith (and at least one Apprentice We need someone turning out farming implements, tools, and most importanly, arrowheads, helmets and munitions-grade armor. If we can't mine iron ourselves, we will have to get it in trade from the Dwarves. A water-powered mill will be able to pound out flat sheets of iron more efficiently than a couple of men using muscle-power alone. Small plates riveted or laced to the inside of a leather or canvas coat will make a crude but effective coat-of-plates or jack-of plates. If that is too much for our beleagured smithy, then horn (from the rams, cattles and goats) discs can be sewn to the insides of canvas jackets by folks at night, sitting by the fire, making servicable brigandine substitutes. General Carpenter/Mason We need someone who can not only build with whatever materials are at hand, but direct the community in building whatever the exigencies of the moment requires. A Priest/Herbalist/Healer For all the obvious reasons. Defense- Positioning: All houses, barns, and storage buildings will be built either inside the fortress or within an extended ditch and earthwork wall perimeter that, as time permits, will be reinforced with stonework (from fieldstones) pointy sticks, palisades, etc. All buildings will be roofed with slate, or if un-available, sod, to prevent the easy firing of the village. Fieldstones are the preferred building material, but half-timbered construction is faster, so all exposed wood must be plastered to avoid, again, being set fire. Doors will be narrow, windows high and shuttered, and all houses will be equipped with arrow-slits. Everyone not scheduled for patrols that night will be inside the perimeter walls by nightfall. Watchtowers will be erected to keep an eye on things approaching through the fields or daring to cross the swift river. Dogs, if possible dogs trained to key in on monsters and ignore small fluffy things, will be used both around the village "walls" and in long-range patrols. Horses, which have good night vision and hearing, would be helpful if paid attention to, as well. Everyone on patrol duties will carry a whistle or horn (whichever experiment proves better) to alert the populace if danger is afoot. As stated, everyone will have to be in the militia. Everyone will have to drill like Swiss Mercs. Mock combats will take place. It will be exhausting with the additional duties of producing food and tools, but totally necessary given the precarious position we're in. The cheapest and most effective weapons will be pikes and bows. [edit- oh, aye, and following the English and Swiss medium-length polearms, your forest bills and halberds etc.- they'd fall in the third rank of the pikes] The pikes can be cut from stands of ash in the valley (wouldn't even need to go into the elves' forests) and the bows could be cut from the limbs of elms or yew without felling an entire tree. Bowstring comes from sinew, either from our own animals or cheaply obtained from other humans downriver. Ideally the Yew staves should cure for a year before being made into bows, but we need them now, so I'll take the less-than ideal and get a better bunch of bows next year. Everybody trains in pike, everybody trains in bow, but in actual combat we'll have to have the best-armored guys hold the pikes (in front) while the bowmen fire from the flanks, ready to withdraw into the phalanx if threatened. Armor- Linen gambesons are obviously the cheapest, but augmenting them with horn or iron plates will up the defensive value considerably. The Northwest Amerindians fought in complete wooden slat armor which was said to have rebuffed musketballs, and vikings used wood limb splints as well, so splint limb defenses, even if not iron (which is preferable) are doable for our front-line fighters. The better protected they are, the better, since losing even one man in this scenario can have disastrous consequences. Basic battle strategy. Preferably, our long-range patrols (esp. the Ranger) will know of anyone approaching a long way off and we will intercept them in the narrow mountain passes, block them with pikes and rain arrows down on them, then go home for beers. Murphy's being what it is, such a rosey scenario is unlikely. We will adopt in all confrontations a defensive, badger-like strategy, fighting only in spaces narrow enough to negate the numerical advantages of the enemy. If that means retreating inside the village walls with all hoofed and portable goods until the enemy goes away, that's what we'll have to do. The only time we will go on the offense in the open is when the enemy is caught with the trousers completely down [as detailed in my "distilled alcohol and camp followers" post], and for such reasons horses will be valuable. [edit to add- surprise raids and ambushes, when absolutely, positively done with overwhelming force, like 100 men against twelve goblins in the middle of the day, will be utilized when tacticall feasible] Marauders will have no food to eat, unless they come at harvest time, and are willing to harvest their own grain and bake their own bread while enduring the odd arrow shot from a sneaky skirmisher. Or they can attempt to take the village, which will be a hard target if my defense planning goes according to theory! Ankheg problems- It's late but I'll get back to you on that The Ankheg. If we only have one, or a couple, I would simply monitor the area and leave that field "fallow". We could encourage it to stay in the "designated area" by occaisional offerings of fresh "by products" of butchered animals. Then, when the Ankheg has finished fertilizing that field, we rotate him to the next field we want him to minister to with fresh bait. Now, should he become unmanagable or overpopulated I'd stuff a freshly killed hog with arsenic (derived from the copper smelting process, thus presumably obtainable from dwarves or human coppersmiths) and let him "chow down". Alternatively, we wait for the first frost and dig the torpid frozen cold blooded bug up and saw him into pieces. I think we'll avoid confronting 3d10 hd monsters in direct combat til my militia is "blooded" with a few more orcs. I'm thinking the ankheg could be useful in digging earthworks and mines (for countermining besiegers) if herded properly, but at this stage I don't have enough men and women to waste in experimenting with the concept. Oh yes, the other requested details: Align- LN Political type-Primitive Republic, with Warmaking and other Powers granted to the "King" Monetary system- primarily trade, at this early stage, but coinage valued as it trickles in. Was there anything else? 1.In addition to the details provided in the above posts, since I'm located in a mountainous region, giants will be a hazard, and thrown rocks will imperil a curtain wall, so earth and wood ramparts will have to be built as an extension of the original fortress, ala the fortifications in the age of gunpowder. We have way to much for a settlement of 20 to do! 2. If we have iron, and presumably the blacksmith can draw wire, we just need the punches, sheers and rivets, and everyone can work on mail hauberks in off hours. The smith can pre-cut the rings, everyone else will do the punching and riveting. It will take a long time, but is a simple enough task for the unskilled. If we can augment that with the coat-of-plates or other supplementary defenses (wood slats, horn), we'll have a pretty well armored little force in a year or so. Again, water-power will help offset our small number here.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 12:10 PM	This post is starting to get a bit extensive and includes a good amount of villages. It would almost be easier to set up a forum for this 'game' with a thread for each village. Still looking for clarification on playing as the hobgoblins. Yes I thought about a thread for Each village. Lady Sophia certainly could use a seperate thread. This is very extensive and cutting into my spare time quite a bit. Perhaps too much. Im excited for your HobGoblin Kingdom. Im not sure how I can make a HobGoblin Kingdom run smoothly. You would have to create your own ideas to keep it together. One idea is keep human slaves, have them produce farms and food. And the food is used to feed surrounding tribes of Goblind and Orcs when they run out of their own supply. You would work as an insurance for them. This means they will flock near your area, and when the time comes you can rally them for War when needed. You will keep a population in your settlement, I would think this population rotates. A tribe of goblins lives within your walls for 6 months or 2 years and then leaves. It would depend on how strong you are to manage more and more goblinoids to live in your Fortress at once.
PhilipR 08-05-07, 12:27 PM	This is how it was done in real history, unfortunately here there are no other human Kingdoms to send support I do not know who Roanoke or Jamestown settlements are. Is this a real life reference? that would explain the lack of Ankhegs. From:http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html The first English Colony of Roanoke, originally consisting of 100 householders, was founded in 1585, 22 years before Jamestown and 37 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, under the ultimate authority of Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1584 Raleigh had been granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth I to colonize America. This Colony was run by Ralph Lane after Sir Richard Grenville, who had transported the colonists to Virginia, returned to Britain for supplies. These colonists were ill-prepared and not particularly clever, because, although they depended upon the local Indians for food, they also antagonized the Indians by such tactics as kidnapping them and holding them hostage in exchange for information. Unfortunately for the colonists, who were desperately in need of supplies, Grenville's return was delayed. As a result, when Sir Francis Drake put in at Roanoke after destroying the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, the entire colony returned with Drake to England. Interestingly, when Drake picked up these colonists, he left behind 15 of his own men, who were never heard from again. This foreshadowed one of the great mysteries of North America, Roanoke's so-called "Lost Colony" of 90 men, 17 women and 9 children, founded in 1587 and discovered to be missing in 1590, but for the word "Croatan" carved on a post. Although both the English and the Spanish searched for clues to the colony's disappearance for many years, the mystery has never been solved. The first Roanoke colony lasted a total of ten months. This account, a fascinating description of American before European settlement, is taken from Lane's report on the adventure to Sir Walter Raleigh. From Wikipedia: In 1587, Raleigh dispatched another group of colonists. These 121 colonists were led by John White, an artist and friend of Raleigh's who had accompanied the previous expeditions to Roanoke. The new colonists were tasked with picking up the fifteen men left at Roanoke and settling farther north, in the Chesapeake Bay area, however no trace of them was found, other than the bones of a single man. The one local tribe still friendly towards the English, the Croatans on present-day Hatteras Island, reported that the men had been attacked, but that nine had survived and sailed up the coast in their boat. The settlers landed on Roanoke Island on July 22, 1587. On August 18, White's daughter delivered the first English child born in the Americas: Virginia Dare. Before her birth, White reestablished relations with the neighboring Croatans and tried to reestablish relations with the tribes that Ralph Lane had attacked a year previously. The aggrieved tribes refused to meet with the new colonists. Shortly thereafter, George Howe was killed by natives while searching for crabs alone in Albemarle Sound. Knowing what had happened during Ralph Lane's tenure in the area and fearing for their lives, the colonists convinced Governor White to return to England to explain the colony's situation and ask for help. There were approximately 116 colonists—115 men and women who made the trans-Atlantic passage and a new born baby, Virginia Dare, when White returned to England. Crossing the Atlantic as late in the year as White did was a considerable risk, as evidenced by the claim of pilot Simon Fernandez that their vessel barely made it back to England. Plans for a relief fleet were initially delayed by the captains' refusal to sail back during the winter. Then, the coming of the Spanish Armada led to every able ship in England being commandeered to fight, which left White with no seaworthy vessels with which to return to Roanoke. He did manage, however, to hire two smaller vessels deemed unnecessary for the Armada defense and set out for Roanoke in the spring of 1588. This time, White's attempt to return to Roanoke was foiled by human nature and circumstance; the two vessels were small, and their captains greedy. They attempted to capture several vessels on the outward-bound voyage to improve the profitability of their venture, until they were captured themselves and their cargo taken. With nothing left to deliver to the colonists, the ships returned to England Because of the continuing war with Spain, White was not able to raise another resupply attempt for two more years. He finally gained passage on a privateering expedition that agreed to stop off at Roanoke on the way back from the Caribbean. White landed on August 18th in 1590, on his granddaughter's third birthday, but found the settlement deserted. He organized a search, but his men could not find any trace of the colonists. Some ninety men, seventeen women, and eleven children had disappeared; there was no sign of a struggle or battle of any kind. The only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved into a post of the fort and "Cro" carved into a nearby tree. In addition, there were two skeltons buried. All the houses and fortifications were dismantled. Before the colony disappeared, White established that if anything happened to them they would carve a maltese cross on a tree near their location indicating that their disappearance could have been forced. White took this to mean that they had moved to Croatoan Island, but he was unable to conduct a search; a massive storm was brewing and his men refused to go any further. The next day, White stood on the deck of his ship and watched, helplessly, as they left Roanoke Island. So, the point here is that you have over 100 people with gunpowder weapons *and* probably some steel armor who are overwhelmed either by a technologically inferior but numerically superior enemy or simply succumb to starvation and disapper. This is with sponsorship by a huge nation-state. Note also that Jamestown colony, which was successful, lost 80% of its population at one point, and again, this is a colony with resupply from outside, cannons, matchlocks, steel plate and jack-of-plate armors, and all the other early modern advantages. Conclusion- a colony of a mere twenty humans amid hostile goblinoids and demi-humans without external aid is likely doomed at the outset.
Holy_Beholder 08-05-07, 12:52 PM	:clap: :clap: :clap: A floating town. Very good So you wont be using your magic Blueprint yet? I love this Kingdom. lol You are completely fitting in. Id like to see your Kingdom thrive, but I just posted a water problem. For the sake of you succeeding ( I want to see where this goes) Just ignore the Fishermens' problems I posted. And if anyone thinks Im favouring you, I have some logical explanations for it. weak but still explanations. You mean about fresh water or what, I can't find it. Since fresh water is addressed by having 2 big barrels on each raft with people on it. Also, continuing where I was, I will have my scout on their own raft. Crops take water too, so they will also have barrels. Since I intend to move around a lot, fishing shouldn't deplete sources. Now for the magic blue print. The 10 cubic acres is a wall 1/4 acres wide. 1/4 acres thick(40 feet of which is underground) and 160 acres long, encompassing a large part of the coast. The western side is where I am growing trees so that I don't have to bother the elves about it. It also is where I get barrels of water and such. Since a human eats 1 pound a day, and drinks 1 gallon of water(I think, I couldn't find it searching the PHB) and a barrel the size my guys are working on can hold 20 gallons(essentially 80 liters, which is 80 cubic decimeters, or .8 cubic meters. 1.8 cubic meters means a barrel .6 meters across and 1.5 meters tall. That translates over to a barrel about 1'9'' wide, and 4'6'' tall). Each raft has two of these, and assuming one person per raft, there is enough water for 40 days. That allows short movements before I have to restock. For food, I have more barrels. A gallon of water is 8 pounds, assuming that the food is the same or near the same density as the water, I get 160 pounds of food per barrel. Enough to last 160 days. Meaning I only need one barrel every 2 rafts. The rafts are each about 5x5 feet, each has one person, but people can move between raft to raft easily. Once I get all the preparations for food and water, as well as the crops I grow on the raft, I will move the entire raft on the coast, away from the hobgoblins. I will keep adding rafts, people on my main base(roving bands will probably settle) can build a raft and come join the colony. Are there any other problems I should be aware of?
PhilipR 08-05-07, 01:20 PM	Well, I've seen these same arguements come up in different subjects. Evolution, Genetics, Ambition, Motives, Breeding. I believe the Humans breed much like the Elves. We only breed if we need to. Example: World War I & II , we lost a generation of men (who are still suffering). To compensate that we had the baby boom. Women can have a child every 9 months. But who does that?! 2.5 kids is the norm. Too much work. And now people in North America are single longer and live happily without having children. Its not needed that we breed now, and life is good that way. I would suggest this is a thoroughly modern urban POV. A century ago families of five-ten children were not uncommon, since in a rural setting children don't make work, they do the work. In crisis situations, it's true, we tend to reproduce less, but humans living on very thin means seem to have lots and lots of babies nonetheless- see modern families living in the third world. And of course all those extra babies means competition for resources, wars, and depopulation again. A vicious cycle.
Khadmus 08-05-07, 03:46 PM	Forget that I humiliated myself with my previous posts. New thorp, but same population. Commoner 5 Expert 5 Bard 3 Rogue 2 Adept 1 Barbarian 1 Bard 1 Bard 1 Monk 1 Rogue 1 Rogue 1 Warrior 1 13x Commoner 1 In temperate mountains. No time for such pleasantries as government. The elite commoner has a +13 bonus on Profession (rancher/cook) checks [+8 ranks, +3 skill focus, +2 ability]. He also has a +12 bonus on Handle animal checks [+8 ranks, +3 skill focus, +1 ability.]. He makes an average of 11.75 gp per week (3.9166666 pigs per week) and can rear animals (example animal: Huge snake, chosen because it is also in a temperate climate zone). The expert has a +13 bonus on Profession (rancher) checks {see EC}, a +10 bonus on Profession (cook) checks [+8 skill, +2 ability) a +15 bonus on Survival checks [+8 ranks, +5 feats, +2 ability]. The elite bard has the same skill modifiers as the expert, with a -2 rank penalty on Profession checks and a -5 rank penalty on Survival checks (+11/+8/+10). He produces an average of 10.75 gp per week (8.5833333 pigs per week). The elite rogue has the same skill modifiers as the elite bard, with a -1 rank penalty on the checks (+10/+7/+9). He produces an average of 10.25 gp per week (3.4166666 pigs per week). The adept, weaker bards, monk, and weaker rogues have a +9 modifier on Profession (rancher) checks [+4 rank, +2 ability, +3 skill focus] and make an average of 58.5 gp per week altogether (19.5 pigs per week) The commoners have the same modifier as the monk, but with a -1 ability penalty. They make an average of 100.75 gp per week altogether (40.0833333 pigs per week). The barbarian has a +7 modifier on Profession (rancher) checks [+2 ability, +2 ranks, +3 skill focus]. He makes an average of 8.75 gp per week (2.9166666 pigs per week). The warrior has the same modifier as the barbarian, but with a -1 ability penalty. He makes an average of 8.25 gp per week (2.75 pigs per week). The total average pigs per week is 85.0 (rounded). "Average" was found using 10.5 (average roll of 1d20)+skill modifer for the check result. With an average gain of 85 pigs per week, they can afford to weather the hard times (low Profession check results). The Survival checks are made to forage for herbs, etc. that provide nutrients (all-pork diet isn't very healthy). Defense coming soon.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:16 PM	Okay, this is a great topic for a thread, I can't stop thinking about it. So, hat's off to you, Captain Spartan. Thank you very much. Set up: Given the constellation of hostile humanoid creatures, an area will be chosen for defensive qualities. I will choose a broad glacier-carved valley set within a mountain chain. The passes to and from the valley are narrow and hence easily defended, and anyone entering would be easy to spot. The fortification/village and its additions will be set at the bend of a relatively swift river that runs northeast-southwest through the valley, providing a natural moat on three sides and a source of fish. Across the river is a large tract of forest, comprised of oak, walnut, yew, ash, linden, then as the elevation increases, primarily conifers until we reach the treeline. On the fortress side of the river will be primarily a broad alpine meadow, interrupted by copses of trees and the odd glacially deposited boulder. excellent choice Population: Okay, late medieval technology, 20 humans. The only way to survive long term, of course, is to reproduce. That means 10 adult males and 10 adult females. That's not alot to work with when it comes to defense, let alone heavy duty tasks like quarrying stone and plowing fields. So we can either waive the risks of those duties to carrying a pregnancy to term and make everyone equal, or assume a mostly male populace. The latter will likely result in internal strife, so I will have my women share all the normal male roles, because that's the only way such a small population could survive. Besides, in D&D, there are no restrictions on a woman's strength or fighting ability. Im glad you brought this up. My friend and I are having major disputes on this gender topic. We will need everyone to participate in production, and everyone to participate in defense. So that means a militia, no professional soldiers. Production: A Ranger, preferably a high level one. He would be responsible both for scouting the outlying regions and for procuring extra protein from the forest. A Pseudo-Europe would have various species of deer, ibex, elk, aurochs (wild cattle), forest bison and bears to help keep our citizens fed during periods of crop failure. A ranger would also (hopefully) know enough about elvish customs to keep relations from going completely south. Elven relations kept simple. good. Farmers In reality, every household regardless of occupation would have a plot and participate in some agricultural activities, but these are the full-timers. They will be responsible for: Growing crops, primarily barley, rye, and other grains that can be traded to non-agricultural peoples, esp. Dwarves and (If they don't produce grains and grain-derived products) forest dwelling Elves and related creatures. As some others suggested, ale would be a prized trade item for dealing with Dwarves and others. not so sure your production levels will be high enough to produce enough trade on your first year. Keeping Animals- a cow for every household, at least, and plenty of grazing in the meadows. Sheep will be extremely needed, as well, since they are cheaper to raise than cows and produce wool as well as meat and milk (yuk). Cheese can be a valuable trade item, to the non-cheesemaking races. Horse will be need for scouting and warfare. trading cheese is a great idea, never thought of that. That makes me wonder if cheese should be a human specialty... but that makes me wonder more, what do Elves and Dwarves do in this void? Bees can be kept, again honey and mead would be useful trade items. Smith (and at least one Apprentice We need someone turning out farming implements, tools, and most importanly, arrowheads, helmets and munitions-grade armor. If we can't mine iron ourselves, we will have to get it in trade from the Dwarves. A water-powered mill will be able to pound out flat sheets of iron more efficiently than a couple of men using muscle-power alone. Small plates riveted or laced to the inside of a leather or canvas coat will make a crude but effective coat-of-plates or jack-of plates. If that is too much for our beleagured smithy, then horn (from the rams, cattles and goats) discs can be sewn to the insides of canvas jackets by folks at night, sitting by the fire, making servicable brigandine substitutes. I can feel the frosty mist of the mountains early in the morning General Carpenter/Mason We need someone who can not only build with whatever materials are at hand, but direct the community in building whatever the exigencies of the moment requires. A Priest/Herbalist/Healer For all the obvious reasons. Defense- Positioning: All houses, barns, and storage buildings will be built either inside the fortress or within an extended ditch and earthwork wall perimeter that, as time permits, will be reinforced with stonework (from fieldstones) pointy sticks, palisades, etc. All buildings will be roofed with slate, or if un-available, sod, to prevent the easy firing of the village. Fieldstones are the preferred building material, but half-timbered construction is faster, so all exposed wood must be plastered to avoid, again, being set fire. Doors will be narrow, windows high and shuttered, and all houses will be equipped with arrow-slits. thats great thinking Everyone not scheduled for patrols that night will be inside the perimeter walls by nightfall. Watchtowers will be erected to keep an eye on things approaching through the fields or daring to cross the swift river. Dogs, if possible dogs trained to key in on monsters and ignore small fluffy things, will be used both around the village "walls" and in long-range patrols. Horses, which have good night vision and hearing, would be helpful if paid attention to, as well. Everyone on patrol duties will carry a whistle or horn (whichever experiment proves better) to alert the populace if danger is afoot. As stated, everyone will have to be in the militia. Everyone will have to drill like Swiss Mercs. Mock combats will take place. It will be exhausting with the additional duties of producing food and tools, but totally necessary given the precarious position we're in. The cheapest and most effective weapons will be pikes and bows. [edit- oh, aye, and following the English and Swiss medium-length polearms, your forest bills and halberds etc.- they'd fall in the third rank of the pikes] The pikes can be cut from stands of ash in the valley (wouldn't even need to go into the elves' forests) and the bows could be cut from the limbs of elms or yew without felling an entire tree. Bowstring comes from sinew, either from our own animals or cheaply obtained from other humans downriver. Ideally the Yew staves should cure for a year before being made into bows, but we need them now, so I'll take the less-than ideal and get a better bunch of bows next year. Everybody trains in pike, everybody trains in bow, but in actual combat we'll have to have the best-armored guys hold the pikes (in front) while the bowmen fire from the flanks, ready to withdraw into the phalanx if threatened. Phalanx?? are they Spartans? ;) Armor- Linen gambesons are obviously the cheapest, but augmenting them with horn or iron plates will up the defensive value considerably. The Northwest Amerindians fought in complete wooden slat armor which was said to have rebuffed musketballs, and vikings used wood limb splints as well, so splint limb defenses, even if not iron (which is preferable) are doable for our front-line fighters. The better protected they are, the better, since losing even one man in this scenario can have disastrous consequences. Basic battle strategy. Preferably, our long-range patrols (esp. the Ranger) will know of anyone approaching a long way off and we will intercept them in the narrow mountain passes, block them with pikes and rain arrows down on them, then go home for beers. Murphy's being what it is, such a rosey scenario is unlikely. We will adopt in all confrontations a defensive, badger-like strategy, fighting only in spaces narrow enough to negate the numerical advantages of the enemy. If that means retreating inside the village walls with all hoofed and portable goods until the enemy goes away, that's what we'll have to do. The only time we will go on the offense in the open is when the enemy is caught with the trousers completely down [as detailed in my "distilled alcohol and camp followers" post], and for such reasons horses will be valuable. [edit to add- surprise raids and ambushes, when absolutely, positively done with overwhelming force, like 100 men against twelve goblins in the middle of the day, will be utilized when tacticall feasible] Marauders will have no food to eat, unless they come at harvest time, and are willing to harvest their own grain and bake their own bread while enduring the odd arrow shot from a sneaky skirmisher. Or they can attempt to take the village, which will be a hard target if my defense planning goes according to theory! ;) Ankheg problems- It's late but I'll get back to you on that-;) Good read. Very fleshed out. I feel like I know your villagers by person. Really good stuff. Dwarves and Elves being friendly, surely will help you get on your feet. Elves lending 5 long bows and arrows. And teaching you how to make them. And Dwarves will lend some weapons and shields to save your men from extra work in their first year. Their is one trick the humans did with horn. They would soak a single horn in a bucket of heavily salted water, for a very long time. This would soften the horn, and it could be split open and flattened, creating a translucent yellow almost plastic like material. They used this as shingles in their windows allowing light in.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:16 PM	double post error.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:26 PM	The Ankheg. If we only have one, or a couple, I would simply monitor the area and leave that field "fallow". We could encourage it to stay in the "designated area" by occaisional offerings of fresh "by products" of butchered animals. Then, when the Ankheg has finished fertilizing that field, we rotate him to the next field we want him to minister to with fresh bait. Now, should he become unmanagable or overpopulated I'd stuff a freshly killed hog with arsenic (derived from the copper smelting process, thus presumably obtainable from dwarves or human coppersmiths) and let him "chow down". Alternatively, we wait for the first frost and dig the torpid frozen cold blooded bug up and saw him into pieces. I think we'll avoid confronting 3d10 hd monsters in direct combat til my militia is "blooded" with a few more orcs.:) I'm thinking the ankheg could be useful in digging earthworks and mines (for countermining besiegers) if herded properly, but at this stage I don't have enough men and women to waste in experimenting with the concept. Oh yes, the other requested details: Align- LN Political type-Primitive Republic, with Warmaking and other Powers granted to the "King" Monetary system- primarily trade, at this early stage, but coinage valued as it trickles in. Was there anything else? Thanks for that. Using the Ankhegs for your survival is smart. Also dangerous for your villagers. I'd say your first year is successful. Your 20 villagers were carful enough not to make any casualties among themselves.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:43 PM	Well, I got started in posts 94 and 95 in this thread, but I have a feeling this is going to be quite time intensive, so maybe I'll just pop-in with possible brainstorms, if that's not going to disrupt the thread too much. I dont think you will be disrupting anything with pop in notes. Everyone is free to pop in. You can keep your Fortress building notes detailed or short and simple. Its up to you. 1.In addition to the details provided in the above posts, since I'm located in a mountainous region, giants will be a hazard, and thrown rocks will imperil a curtain wall, so earth and wood ramparts will have to be built as an extension of the original fortress, ala the fortifications in the age of gunpowder. We have way to much for a settlement of 20 to do! yes you are very busy. Dont worry about the Giant challenge until they come. Its good to think ahead, but just get past the first year and you will be fine. Having a Fortress built will attract more humans to your settlement. So after your first year, lets say an additional 80 humans show up on your door step wanting protection and willing to work for it. 2. If we have iron, and presumably the blacksmith can draw wire, we just need the punches, sheers and rivets, and everyone can work on mail hauberks in off hours. The smith can pre-cut the rings, everyone else will do the punching and riveting. It will take a long time, but is a simple enough task for the unskilled. If we can augment that with the coat-of-plates or other supplementary defenses (wood slats, horn), we'll have a pretty well armored little force in a year or so. Again, water-power will help offset our small number here. Good thinking. Id almost ask you to sketch out the working hours of each day to distribute their duties. These guys barely sleep! But thats okay, I wont ask that of you. Its too time consuming, no point in keeping track of fine details.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 10:48 PM	From:http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html From Wikipedia: So, the point here is that you have over 100 people with gunpowder weapons *and* probably some steel armor who are overwhelmed either by a technologically inferior but numerically superior enemy or simply succumb to starvation and disapper. This is with sponsorship by a huge nation-state. Note also that Jamestown colony, which was successful, lost 80% of its population at one point, and again, this is a colony with resupply from outside, cannons, matchlocks, steel plate and jack-of-plate armors, and all the other early modern advantages. Conclusion- a colony of a mere twenty humans amid hostile goblinoids and demi-humans without external aid is likely doomed at the outset. It will take me some time to evaluate this. You bring up a good point.
CaptainSpartan 08-05-07, 11:00 PM	You mean about fresh water or what, I can't find it. Since fresh water is addressed by having 2 big barrels on each raft with people on it. Also, continuing where I was, I will have my scout on their own raft. Crops take water too, so they will also have barrels. Since I intend to move around a lot, fishing shouldn't deplete sources. Now for the magic blue print. The 10 cubic acres is a wall 1/4 acres wide. 1/4 acres thick(40 feet of which is underground) and 160 acres long, encompassing a large part of the coast. The western side is where I am growing trees so that I don't have to bother the elves about it. It also is where I get barrels of water and such. Since a human eats 1 pound a day, and drinks 1 gallon of water(I think, I couldn't find it searching the PHB) and a barrel the size my guys are working on can hold 20 gallons(essentially 80 liters, which is 80 cubic decimeters, or .8 cubic meters. 1.8 cubic meters means a barrel .6 meters across and 1.5 meters tall. That translates over to a barrel about 1'9'' wide, and 4'6'' tall). Each raft has two of these, and assuming one person per raft, there is enough water for 40 days. That allows short movements before I have to restock. For food, I have more barrels. A gallon of water is 8 pounds, assuming that the food is the same or near the same density as the water, I get 160 pounds of food per barrel. Enough to last 160 days. Meaning I only need one barrel every 2 rafts. The rafts are each about 5x5 feet, each has one person, but people can move between raft to raft easily. Once I get all the preparations for food and water, as well as the crops I grow on the raft, I will move the entire raft on the coast, away from the hobgoblins. I will keep adding rafts, people on my main base(roving bands will probably settle) can build a raft and come join the colony. Are there any other problems I should be aware of? I cant think of too many problems. Sometimes logs sink, sometimes they dont. Im sure your men can easily replace a log or two that starts to sink. Its called repair and maintanence. Wait, you are on fresh water right? wheres that old post? If you are on salty waters, that means high waves and low chance of survival. So fresh water it is. When humans flock to you, to grow your settlement how will they reach you? Because you passed the Ankheg challenge, you can go to the next year with 80 new villagers. But how will they get to your Kingdom? Year 2 you will have a total of 100 villagers.
Holy_Beholder 08-05-07, 11:39 PM	Sweet, 100 villagers. 10 soldiers 35 farmers 5 healers(including a cleric) 3 blacksmiths 1 bard 15 loggers 5 brewers 10 shipwrights 5 scouts 7 masons 2 trap makers Alright, diplomacy with dwarves and elves. Dwarves now get some ale. I am going to get the elves permission to do a little more cutting, until my plantation of trees is grown. I tell them that I am planting the seeds, so the forest will come back. My loggers and shipwrights get to work building more rafts, and I also build more barrels. Its been a year, so I expand crops, and use crop rotation. I also grow some tobacco, to trade. The blacksmiths are replacing the rope and vines used on the rafts with wire. As for stone, I am sending a scout down the coast to find a place I can get stone without dealing with dwarves. I tell the dwarves that. As for the orcs, well lets see how they do attacking a sea outpost. Just to be on the safe side though, I have trap makers set up arrow traps to kill the orcs. One of my scouts is going to send word to other human bands about the "great floating raft, led by a mighty emperor, where over 100 humans gather, that is seeking for more humans" I also offer to take any elves or dwarves that want to see the world.
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-06-07, 12:26 AM	I don't know if this was said but ankegs have no acid resistance beyond what keeps it from boiling out its insides. Anywho I start in the first year this way Lord Kamikaize has decided to establish his father's dream of a nation Koboldistan surrounding territory: To the east is a bog that exends about 2 miles away. To the north there are what is assumed to be the elven forest. the south heralds th great mountains of the dwarves. the west is open prairie filled with wild game as well as wildhorses. The fortess itself is atop an easy defended rocky hill that that has two main paths going to the north and south. the fortress consists of earthen walls with woodens spikes and small makeshift towers where guardsmen sit watching the main keep is a large county hall where the lord and many of the villagers reside (this will change). Reasoning the mountains provide with protectrion except from giants assuming most terrors must go through dwarven brigades to get to us. The prairie will provide us with mounts to make a more fitting army. The bog contains oils from long dead plant matter in addition to the possibility of ther being coal to trade and use at a later date. Also the bottoms of bogs a lot of times have clay at the bottom which makes it so harmful waste cannot seep into ground water. These can be used to store garbage without harming the enviornment as much (which would score big with the elves since I wouldn't be cutting down trees to make room for a cesspool) Job Assignments 5 human fighters (standard town guard including constable) 10 warriors (these are the farmers who have been in a scrap or two these farmers also include ranchers) 1 cleric (godfearing villagers are happy villagers 2 experts (one is a smith the other is a leather tanner) 2 rangers (both trackers that alternate between catching horses and hunting game) Work Distribution Guards alternate in shifts of about 2 with the constable always on duty 2 farmers grow barley for ale making 3 grow grain with 1 being a miller for flour making who moonlights as a baker. 2 grow corn 2 are cattle ranchers that provide both meet as well as milk and cheese cleric help in child rearing and assists in education smith expert uses limited resources to craft polearms of bronze until he can gain access to stronger ores tanner expert uses hide from slaughtered cows to create armor for watch as well as the farmer warriors 1 ranger tracks an captures horses 1 ranger hunts wild game Problem response the majority of people live within the keep but the farmers live outside to watch crops grow and keep animals away. The farmers live in a bunk house that is on a rock out cropping that is too out of reach for the ankegs to worry about. If killed the ankegs are harvested for any thing of use (i.e. chitin armor, acid, food) any thing else is used as fertilizer Diplomacy not wanting to be thought of as a coward (and since every body is working) Lord Kamikaize approaches the masters of the mountain himself. "Great masters of the mountain may your flagons be ever full, I come on behalf of my people a struggling group that seeks to find its place in the world. we have not tresspassed in your mighty mountains and we truly do not seek your ire. We have sown are barley and begun brewing opperations in the hopes that you would be willing to share the plentiful bounties of the mountain with us. We understand that to put stake in our people with troop support could end in disaster for you we would appeal to your good nature to provide us with your legendary weapons and, we shall ask no more thank for your time dwarf lords" On one of the rangers off days he is sent into the wilds with a message for the elves: Dear masters of the wood, forgive me for my trespasses. I must plead that I was ignorant of yourwoodland existance. Your reputation as masters of intergrating your lives with the wood has clearly been well earned, but we need the wood and would be happy to negotiate low impact logging operations with your leaders. I this vast and dangerous world we could not expect you to risk your lives to aid us with troops but you coul aid us in other ways. For example I happen to have a hide tanner that can craft for you the finest clothes of soft leather or even armor if you so desire. All we ask is that you possibly impart any knowledge of animal husbandry or of tree growth that youa share with us so that we may become more like your kind and live in little more harmony with the natural bounty of treasire the gods have deemed worthy for us all Thank you, Lord Kamikaize I hope that this covers everything for I desire sleep.
Label 08-06-07, 02:54 AM	Halflings Halflings have been spotted working in your town. They work hard and get allot done. They have been knocking on your villagers doors asking for work in exhange for a place to sleep, they promise to pull their own weight and then some. Thier numbers very subtly grow as your population expands. Will you allow the Halflings to reside in your town? Oh there's halfling wanting to live in my town? HELL YEAH! They are welcomed as friends, and can work on the rice plantations, as fishers or as craftmens. They will be treated as equals to humans. I'll give them citizenship if they help us and don't cause trouble. Oh and by-the-way, women are equals to men in my town. If we are to survive, we must survive together. So, let's deal with the ankhegs so I can finish that year and pass on to something else. Since my farms are inside the limits of the city, I'll make sure our walls can sourround us and builded with solid foundations. Deep enough to block the angkegs. But I'll add a little something on the outer sides of my walls : an undergroud slope of stone, that stats 42 feets deep ground, and 150ft far from the walls, with an inclinasion that will force the burrowers to surface at the feets of the walls. Where we can then drop boulders in flames on their head (falling damage + fire damage + possibility of being caught in fire). For those who surface farther from the wall, guys with heavy crossbows and ballistas will shot them. While the construction (or upgrade) of the walls, the guards (which, according to the DMG, are only 6 guys for a 600 population...+ 30 militia levies) armed with always-ready heavy crossbows and glaives (for the reach) will protect the farms. With the now aquired knowledge of the elves, we will now be able to predict their future venues, and prepare in advance. If some of the newly aknowledged halfling members are willing to become guards or militia, it will help more. Now, to improve the commerce : I'll set up a public market place, and invite the elven, dwarven and halfling merchants to set up booth or other presence in the market, with a "no tax for a year" promotion for all new merchant. (If they accept, it's a nice opportunity to open inns, and eventually develop a cargo-transport business, for those of my peope who are entrepreneurs.) Ok, the goblinoid kingdom now. Let's make the first step for peace : I'll send diplomatic emisaries to them, proposing peace and trade. I'll make sure to mention the offer of the market place, pointing out that it's a good place to buy good weapons (dwarven, elvend and human made) and delicious beverage (elven wine, dwarven stout and human sake) and other nice things that their kingdom can use. I'll also propose them to teach how to write and read. We have much to exchange for the benefit of both our people. Oh and... I also have to think about my legacy :cool: If the elves are open to the idea of half-elfs (human + elfs of course... not elfs + dwarfs :eek: ) I'll marry an elf woman, in the hope of a. have a nice child to carry my name b. reinforce the diplomatic relations with the elven kingdom. But if they are not that open minded... well let's just find a nice human woman for the a. objective :P That way, I'll show the example (make children! our population need to grow! and if my wife is an elf : be open minded to the world we try to live in!!) and raise the morale (the birth or a child is always good news in a situation like ours, it gives hope for the future.) :D I love your game. Maybe because I play a lot of god-games and empire-building games :P
stargate525 08-06-07, 03:26 AM	Alright, I'll give this game a shot, seems like fun. Inveran Thorp Population 20 LG Dragonlord (King) Laws are standard for LG towns, unbiased, open to everyone. The only oddity is that all married couples (luckily enough we have 10!) must attempt to produce at least three children, and that children may be raised by the town collectively. Landscape: A sheer cliff face that leads to a small rocky coast before dropping again into the bay. The bay is calm and good for fish and a (future) harbor, and the small coastline is inaccessible. The city is built into the cliff, with a set of lifts that can move people and goods to the top of the cliff. A set of stairs leads down to the coast. There is forest above us, as well as a waterfall that comes down off the cliff, from which we get our freshwater. The clifftop is a grassy field which is unsuitable for crops (less than 4 inches of soil before we hit bedrock) The Town: The town itself is inside the mountain, and courtyards are chiseled out of the stone for light and air (think the native american cliff dwellings in the Southwest). The Dragonlord's (King's) Manor is only slightly bigger than the other houses, but has a window behind the waterfall. The stairs are guarded by the entire town's garrison, and the lift up is guarded by one man whose orders are to lower the lift and give warning should enemies come (the lift is manned from below, not above). Barbarians - 0 Bards - 0 Clerics - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Druids - 0 Fighters - 3 2-0-1-0-0 Monks - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Paladins - 0 Rangers - 0 Rogues - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Sorcerers - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Wizards - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Adepts - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Aristocrats - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Commoners - 6 3-2-0-0-1 Experts - 3 0-0-2-0-1 Warriors - 1 0-1-0-0-0 Worker Distribution: 6 fishermen: All the commoners. They fish from shore and from the boat. They have a quota, and on days when they cannot fish and if they have time left, they act as our laborers as well. 1 Teacher/scientist: My wizard. His job is to educate the younglings that will come, as well as think up ways to use his magic to better the town. In a pinch he also has defensive spells (magic missile!) 7 Gatherers/soldiers: These men act as the town's only line of defense, as well as gatherers of whatever the town may need from above, mostly wood and fruits. they go out in a single party of three, with the remaining four on guard (three at the gate/off duty, one guarding the lift). 1 miner, 1 blacksmith, 1 carpenter: My three experts. The carpenter is the level 5, renowned for his skill. He builds the furniture and any other tools we may need. What we can't make out of wood, we make from the iron deposits found behind our town. The head miner, as well as the off-duty fishermen mine the ore while the blacksmith smelts it and makes tools. 1 scout: The rogue. He explores the wilderness for potential threats and lives off the land. 1 Guard captain: My second-in-command, it's his job to make sure that the day-to-day running of the city goes smoothly. 1 priest: The highest level cleric serves as our spiritual advisor, and takes care of the sick. I think that's everything. I do believe the first challenge was ankhegs, and our response is to retreat to safety below the cliffs when they come, and wait them out. Should they somehow get below, we retreat to the coast while killing as many as possible.
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 10:29 AM	Forget that I humiliated myself with my previous posts. New thorp, but same population. I see no humiliation Commoner 5 Expert 5 Bard 3 Rogue 2 Adept 1 Barbarian 1 Bard 1 Bard 1 Monk 1 Rogue 1 Rogue 1 Warrior 1 13x Commoner 1 5+5+3+2+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+13= 20?:thinks: Did i miss something?:detect: In temperate mountains. No time for such pleasantries as government. The elite commoner has a +13 bonus on Profession (rancher/cook) checks [+8 ranks, +3 skill focus, +2 ability]. He also has a +12 bonus on Handle animal checks [+8 ranks, +3 skill focus, +1 ability.]. He makes an average of 11.75 gp per week (3.9166666 pigs per week) This guy is RICH! Who is paying this guy? The average commoner makes 3 gp a year right?or is it 3 gp a month? and can rear animals (example animal: Huge snake, chosen because it is also in a temperate climate zone). The expert has a +13 bonus on Profession (rancher) checks {see EC}, a +10 bonus on Profession (cook) checks [+8 skill, +2 ability) a +15 bonus on Survival checks [+8 ranks, +5 feats, +2 ability]. The elite bard has the same skill modifiers as the expert, with a -2 rank penalty on Profession checks and a -5 rank penalty on Survival checks (+11/+8/+10). He produces an average of 10.75 gp per week (8.5833333 pigs per week). The elite rogue has the same skill modifiers as the elite bard, with a -1 rank penalty on the checks (+10/+7/+9). He produces an average of 10.25 gp per week (3.4166666 pigs per week). The adept, weaker bards, monk, and weaker rogues have a +9 modifier on Profession (rancher) checks [+4 rank, +2 ability, +3 skill focus] and make an average of 58.5 gp per week altogether (19.5 pigs per week) The commoners have the same modifier as the monk, but with a -1 ability penalty. They make an average of 100.75 gp per week altogether (40.0833333 pigs per week). The barbarian has a +7 modifier on Profession (rancher) checks [+2 ability, +2 ranks, +3 skill focus]. He makes an average of 8.75 gp per week (2.9166666 pigs per week). The warrior has the same modifier as the barbarian, but with a -1 ability penalty. He makes an average of 8.25 gp per week (2.75 pigs per week). The total average pigs per week is 85.0 (rounded). "Average" was found using 10.5 (average roll of 1d20)+skill modifer for the check result. 85 pigs... where did you get 85 pigs? and you get them every week?:detect: :whatsthis With an average gain of 85 pigs per week, they can afford to weather the hard times (low Profession check results). The Survival checks are made to forage for herbs, etc. that provide nutrients (all-pork diet isn't very healthy). Defense coming soon. Talk about bringing home the bacon. :drool:
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 10:35 AM	Sweet, 100 villagers. 10 soldiers 35 farmers 5 healers(including a cleric) 3 blacksmiths 1 bard 15 loggers 5 brewers 10 shipwrights 5 scouts 7 masons 2 trap makers Alright, diplomacy with dwarves and elves. Dwarves now get some ale. I am going to get the elves permission to do a little more cutting, until my plantation of trees is grown. I tell them that I am planting the seeds, so the forest will come back. My loggers and shipwrights get to work building more rafts, and I also build more barrels. Its been a year, so I expand crops, and use crop rotation. I also grow some tobacco, to trade. The blacksmiths are replacing the rope and vines used on the rafts with wire. As for stone, I am sending a scout down the coast to find a place I can get stone without dealing with dwarves. I tell the dwarves that. As for the orcs, well lets see how they do attacking a sea outpost. Just to be on the safe side though, I have trap makers set up arrow traps to kill the orcs. One of my scouts is going to send word to other human bands about the "great floating raft, led by a mighty emperor, where over 100 humans gather, that is seeking for more humans" I also offer to take any elves or dwarves that want to see the world. You see a shadowy mass lurking deep below your rafts. This sight has become a common sighting among your villagers. It hasnt surfaced, yet. It has caused you no problems so far. No one has identified it , yet. The Orcs will attack anything you have on land. Triggering a few traps... they start to search and disarm your traps, since they are not being threatened on land at night. They hide during the day, waiting for any of your villagers to go to land. Then they attack. With arrows and spears. Hiding in the shaded bushes.
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 10:51 AM	I don't know if this was said but ankegs have no acid resistance beyond what keeps it from boiling out its insides. I thought about this. The MM says they dont have acid resistance. Perhaps I made the mistake to make this call. It just makes sense that they would be resistant to their own acid. In case they drool on themselves. right? So I could further rule this (to cover my blunder) that their chitinous shells are only resistant to their own type of acid. Any body else have thoughts? Thanks for pointing that out. Anywho I start in the first year this way Lord Kamikaize has decided to establish his father's dream of a nation Koboldistan surrounding territory: To the east is a bog that exends about 2 miles away. To the north there are what is assumed to be the elven forest. the south heralds th great mountains of the dwarves. the west is open prairie filled with wild game as well as wildhorses. The fortess itself is atop an easy defended rocky hill that that has two main paths going to the north and south. the fortress consists of earthen walls with woodens spikes and small makeshift towers where guardsmen sit watching the main keep is a large county hall where the lord and many of the villagers reside (this will change). Reasoning the mountains provide with protectrion except from giants assuming most terrors must go through dwarven brigades to get to us. The prairie will provide us with mounts to make a more fitting army. The bog contains oils from long dead plant matter in addition to the possibility of ther being coal to trade and use at a later date. Also the bottoms of bogs a lot of times have clay at the bottom which makes it so harmful waste cannot seep into ground water. These can be used to store garbage without harming the enviornment as much (which would score big with the elves since I wouldn't be cutting down trees to make room for a cesspool) Job Assignments 5 human fighters (standard town guard including constable) 10 warriors (these are the farmers who have been in a scrap or two these farmers also include ranchers) 1 cleric (godfearing villagers are happy villagers 2 experts (one is a smith the other is a leather tanner) 2 rangers (both trackers that alternate between catching horses and hunting game) Work Distribution Guards alternate in shifts of about 2 with the constable always on duty 2 farmers grow barley for ale making 3 grow grain with 1 being a miller for flour making who moonlights as a baker. 2 grow corn 2 are cattle ranchers that provide both meet as well as milk and cheese cleric help in child rearing and assists in education smith expert uses limited resources to craft polearms of bronze until he can gain access to stronger ores tanner expert uses hide from slaughtered cows to create armor for watch as well as the farmer warriors 1 ranger tracks an captures horses 1 ranger hunts wild game Problem response the majority of people live within the keep but the farmers live outside to watch crops grow and keep animals away. The farmers live in a bunk house that is on a rock out cropping that is too out of reach for the ankegs to worry about. If killed the ankegs are harvested for any thing of use (i.e. chitin armor, acid, food) any thing else is used as fertilizer The Ankhegs will still be searching for food. Perhaps where you are throwing your wastes, and the odd wandering child or villager will get sucked into a hole. If you chose to kill Ankhegs as they arrive, thats fine. But they will keep returning each year because your town is a source of food for them Diplomacy not wanting to be thought of as a coward (and since every body is working) Lord Kamikaize approaches the masters of the mountain himself. "Great masters of the mountain may your flagons be ever full, I come on behalf of my people a struggling group that seeks to find its place in the world. we have not tresspassed in your mighty mountains and we truly do not seek your ire. We have sown are barley and begun brewing opperations in the hopes that you would be willing to share the plentiful bounties of the mountain with us. We understand that to put stake in our people with troop support could end in disaster for you we would appeal to your good nature to provide us with your legendary weapons and, we shall ask no more thank for your time dwarf lords" Like all other Kingdoms. If you are only 20, you are given some weapons as a starting gift. And you are allowed to mine a small portion of the mountain On one of the rangers off days he is sent into the wilds with a message for the elves: Dear masters of the wood, forgive me for my trespasses. I must plead that I was ignorant of yourwoodland existance. Your reputation as masters of intergrating your lives with the wood has clearly been well earned, but we need the wood and would be happy to negotiate low impact logging operations with your leaders. I this vast and dangerous world we could not expect you to risk your lives to aid us with troops but you coul aid us in other ways. For example I happen to have a hide tanner that can craft for you the finest clothes of soft leather or even armor if you so desire. All we ask is that you possibly impart any knowledge of animal husbandry or of tree growth that youa share with us so that we may become more like your kind and live in little more harmony with the natural bounty of treasire the gods have deemed worthy for us all Thank you, Lord Kamikaize This will produce the same results as the other Kingdoms. A small portion of land for harvesting trees to meet your needs. No elven secrets will be handed out, but help with training druids and Rangers is no secret. If you are only 20 villagers, they will lend you wooden long bows and teach you how to make them. I hope that this covers everything for I desire sleep. sleep?!? I forgot what thats like.
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 11:02 AM	Oh there's halfling wanting to live in my town? HELL YEAH! They are welcomed as friends, and can work on the rice plantations, as fishers or as craftmens. They will be treated as equals to humans. I'll give them citizenship if they help us and don't cause trouble. Oh and by-the-way, women are equals to men in my town. If we are to survive, we must survive together. So, let's deal with the ankhegs so I can finish that year and pass on to something else. Since my farms are inside the limits of the city, I'll make sure our walls can sourround us and builded with solid foundations. Deep enough to block the angkegs. But I'll add a little something on the outer sides of my walls : an undergroud slope of stone, that stats 42 feets deep ground, and 150ft far from the walls, with an inclinasion that will force the burrowers to surface at the feets of the walls. Where we can then drop boulders in flames on their head (falling damage + fire damage + possibility of being caught in fire). For those who surface farther from the wall, guys with heavy crossbows and ballistas will shot them. While the construction (or upgrade) of the walls, the guards (which, according to the DMG, are only 6 guys for a 600 population...+ 30 militia levies) armed with always-ready heavy crossbows and glaives (for the reach) will protect the farms. With the now aquired knowledge of the elves, we will now be able to predict their future venues, and prepare in advance. DING: Year two. + 100 villagers. Your walls are lined with boulders year round. I like your trap. its original. If some of the newly aknowledged halfling members are willing to become guards or militia, it will help more. Thats up to you. Now, to improve the commerce : I'll set up a public market place, and invite the elven, dwarven and halfling merchants to set up booth or other presence in the market, with a "no tax for a year" promotion for all new merchant. (If they accept, it's a nice opportunity to open inns, and eventually develop a cargo-transport business, for those of my peope who are entrepreneurs.) these cargo-transports will be attacked by pillaging tribes. aka Orcs. Ok, the goblinoid kingdom now. Let's make the first step for peace : I'll send diplomatic emisaries to them, proposing peace and trade. I'll make sure to mention the offer of the market place, pointing out that it's a good place to buy good weapons (dwarven, elvend and human made) and delicious beverage (elven wine, dwarven stout and human sake) and other nice things that their kingdom can use. I'll also propose them to teach how to write and read. We have much to exchange for the benefit of both our people. Your emisaries dont return.(incase I forget why, the Goblins assume they can keep them) however 4 Ogres and a Goblin show up on your door with orders on a papper. The papper they hand you is flithy and slimy. Barely intact. "Teach these guys to read, and send me some ale" Oh and... I also have to think about my legacy :cool: If the elves are open to the idea of half-elfs (human + elfs of course... not elfs + dwarfs :eek: ) I'll marry an elf woman, in the hope of a. have a nice child to carry my name b. reinforce the diplomatic relations with the elven kingdom. But if they are not that open minded... well let's just find a nice human woman for the a. objective :P That way, I'll show the example (make children! our population need to grow! and if my wife is an elf : be open minded to the world we try to live in!!) and raise the morale (the birth or a child is always good news in a situation like ours, it gives hope for the future.) what would a Dwarf/Elf look like? And why dont we have any? And why dont we have Dwarf/Humans? Anyways... Elves are individuals. So if an individual Elf wants to shag you, thats all fair. :D I love your game. Maybe because I play a lot of god-games and empire-building games :P Thanks. I like it too. Its allot of work though.
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-06-07, 11:07 AM	The Ankhegs will still be searching for food. Perhaps where you are throwing your wastes, and the odd wandering child or villager will get sucked into a hole. If you chose to kill Ankhegs as they arrive, thats fine. But they will keep returning each year because your town is a source of food for them Yeah I was planning on them going for the dump. I could use this to establish that we have no need to kill them and leaves possible room in the future for domestication. as for the children and villagers dieing they have just as much of a chance of falling down in the fields and bashing their head open on a rock as well but I don't think it will be too much of an issue. If the ankegs return later on there will be a more organized extermination if they are a problem but, since they are mostly eating refuse which is a good thing. theres no need to conqer nature (yet!!!):ayyyy!:
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 11:14 AM	Alright, I'll give this game a shot, seems like fun. Inveran Thorp Population 20 LG Dragonlord (King) Laws are standard for LG towns, unbiased, open to everyone. The only oddity is that all married couples (luckily enough we have 10!) must attempt to produce at least three children, and that children may be raised by the town collectively. PhillipR had mentioned that in the old days having 10 children was common. This is very true.Your people are popping out children at this rate. And the children are put to work at an early age. Good Laws. Keeps the People happy. high sex life."But honey, its the law!" Landscape: A sheer cliff face that leads to a small rocky coast before dropping again into the bay. The bay is calm and good for fish and a (future) harbor, and the small coastline is inaccessible. The city is built into the cliff, with a set of lifts that can move people and goods to the top of the cliff. A set of stairs leads down to the coast. There is forest above us, as well as a waterfall that comes down off the cliff, from which we get our freshwater. The clifftop is a grassy field which is unsuitable for crops (less than 4 inches of soil before we hit bedrock) The Town: The town itself is inside the mountain, and courtyards are chiseled out of the stone for light and air (think the native american cliff dwellings in the Southwest). The Dragonlord's (King's) Manor is only slightly bigger than the other houses, but has a window behind the waterfall. you may be creating competition with the Dwarves. The stairs are guarded by the entire town's garrison, and the lift up is guarded by one man whose orders are to lower the lift and give warning should enemies come (the lift is manned from below, not above). Barbarians - 0 Bards - 0 Clerics - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Druids - 0 Fighters - 3 2-0-1-0-0 Monks - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Paladins - 0 Rangers - 0 Rogues - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Sorcerers - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Wizards - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Adepts - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Aristocrats - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Commoners - 6 3-2-0-0-1 Experts - 3 0-0-2-0-1 Warriors - 1 0-1-0-0-0 Worker Distribution: 6 fishermen: All the commoners. They fish from shore and from the boat. They have a quota, and on days when they cannot fish and if they have time left, they act as our laborers as well. 1 Teacher/scientist: My wizard. His job is to educate the younglings that will come, as well as think up ways to use his magic to better the town. In a pinch he also has defensive spells (magic missile!) 7 Gatherers/soldiers: These men act as the town's only line of defense, as well as gatherers of whatever the town may need from above, mostly wood and fruits. they go out in a single party of three, with the remaining four on guard (three at the gate/off duty, one guarding the lift). 1 miner, 1 blacksmith, 1 carpenter: My three experts. The carpenter is the level 5, renowned for his skill. He builds the furniture and any other tools we may need. What we can't make out of wood, we make from the iron deposits found behind our town. The head miner, as well as the off-duty fishermen mine the ore while the blacksmith smelts it and makes tools. 1 scout: The rogue. He explores the wilderness for potential threats and lives off the land. 1 Guard captain: My second-in-command, it's his job to make sure that the day-to-day running of the city goes smoothly. 1 priest: The highest level cleric serves as our spiritual advisor, and takes care of the sick. I think that's everything. I do believe the first challenge was ankhegs, and our response is to retreat to safety below the cliffs when they come, and wait them out. Should they somehow get below, we retreat to the coast while killing as many as possible. Seems tough for Ankhegs to get below. But they will attack your farms, and they seek out decomposing vegetation. Which could also mean they rummage through your garbage too. Soo, Im not so sure you solved this problem. They burrow underneath, so you cant see them comming. They dont agressively attack farmers, but it happens. Your farmers are afraid to tend to the crops. You'll need to come up with a strategy to protect them, or you wont attract more people. Thanks for climbing aboard.
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 11:17 AM	Yeah I was planning on them going for the dump. I could use this to establish that we have no need to kill them and leaves possible room in the future for domestication. as for the children and villagers dieing they have just as much of a chance of falling down in the fields and bashing their head open on a rock as well but I don't think it will be too much of an issue. If the ankegs return later on there will be a more organized extermination if they are a problem but, since they are mostly eating refuse which is a good thing. Ankhegs have tremorsense. Which means they can sense the fresh meat approaching. Fresh meat is prefered for Ankhegs and hiding below ground and waiting for the Farmers routine is easy picking. Your farmers are affraid to go on the feilds regardless. Would you personally go onto a farm land knowing those things are hidding underground waiting to be stepped on?
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-06-07, 11:35 AM	Your farmers are affraid to go on the feilds regardless. Would you personally go onto a farm land knowing those things are hidding underground waiting to be stepped on? Does it say anywhere that they like humans especially or is it just fresh meat. Then we shall tie old, sick, or wounded horses or cattle out in an open field with soldiers waiting on raised platforms(as not to alert their blindsense so easily) and fire upon the ankegs as they come up from the ground. when killed their blood will be used to bait another trap making them think their is a concentration of ankegs in one area and if there is a female among those killed the will be ready to mate. When they do they might start competeing for the imaginary female weakening them so that the guards can finish them off with little trouble. (correct me if this dosen't work I don't know every thing about ankegs.)
stargate525 08-06-07, 12:38 PM	Seems tough for Ankhegs to get below. But they will attack your farms, and they seek out decomposing vegetation. Which could also mean they rummage through your garbage too. Soo, Im not so sure you solved this problem. They burrow underneath, so you cant see them comming. They dont agressively attack farmers, but it happens. Your farmers are afraid to tend to the crops. You'll need to come up with a strategy to protect them, or you wont attract more people. Thanks for climbing aboard. Ah, but I have no farms. We survive off of fishing. :) Also, Ankhegs can burrow in less than four inches of earth (which is why we don't have crops)? The garbage... we take into the forest and bury. Once Ankhegs are spotted, we move to a new spot in the forest, or if we're being sieged, dump it into the bay, away from our fishing grounds. And thank you; I'm already having fun.
Holy_Beholder 08-06-07, 01:01 PM	You see a shadowy mass lurking deep below your rafts. This sight has become a common sighting among your villagers. It hasnt surfaced, yet. It has caused you no problems so far. No one has identified it , yet. The Orcs will attack anything you have on land. Triggering a few traps... they start to search and disarm your traps, since they are not being threatened on land at night. They hide during the day, waiting for any of your villagers to go to land. Then they attack. With arrows and spears. Hiding in the shaded bushes. I said I was having my slingers attack from the sea. Archers could be a problem though, I didn't know they had any. Alright, in that case I am setting up a few rafts as cover for my slingers. I kill off the archers, then kill off the spear men. Also, I was attacking them while they dealt with traps, and never came on land.
GnomishSorcerer 08-06-07, 06:02 PM	I said I was having my slingers attack from the sea. Archers could be a problem though, I didn't know they had any. Alright, in that case I am setting up a few rafts as cover for my slingers. I kill off the archers, then kill off the spear men. Also, I was attacking them while they dealt with traps, and never came on land. Exactly how close to land are your rafts? And how close to shore is your lumber camp? Slings have a range increment of a mere 50 feet, and even heavy crossbows only see an increment of 120 feet. Admittedly you CAN fire further but your accuracy begins to go down... something rather major for low level and NPC characters.
Holy_Beholder 08-06-07, 06:08 PM	I'm at 50 feet. Cover offsets the bonus, and with spear throwers, they have a huge penalty. Not to mention the way crossbows need a constant reload, which could prove advantageous. Not to mention traps that don't get found, everyone rolls horribly sometimes.
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-06-07, 08:57 PM	Not to mention traps that don't get found, everyone rolls horribly sometimes. he said the default role was 10
CaptainSpartan 08-06-07, 09:31 PM	Does it say anywhere that they like humans especially or is it just fresh meat. The MM states they prefer fresh meat. Also being a monster stated to fight PC's I wouldnt rule out that they attack humans , especially if hungry. Another point is that they are CR 3 and large, so one single farmer is easy picking, or children even easier. Since they hide underground and ambush their prey they have a huge advantage and would only target single easy victims. Thats my view on it, Im open to disputes if you think Ankhegs will act differently. Then we shall tie old, sick, or wounded horses or cattle out in an open field with soldiers waiting on raised platforms(as not to alert their blindsense so easily) and fire upon the ankegs as they come up from the ground. when killed their blood will be used to bait another trap making them think their is a concentration of ankegs in one area and if there is a female among those killed the will be ready to mate. When they do they might start competeing for the imaginary female weakening them so that the guards can finish them off with little trouble. (correct me if this dosen't work I don't know every thing about ankegs.) I dont know everything about Ankhegs either. Im going by the MM book. I have no information on mating rituals for Ankhegs. I would assume the smell of Ankheg blood will scare them off, or cause them to attack, or nothing at all. I would also assume that a female Ankheg would have some type of spray, or mating sound or perhaps antennae tremore signal to attract other mates, I dont think the blood of a female will attract mating rituals. You may use old sickly live stock to feed or bait your traps. If this is your solution, you will have to trap and kill Ankhegs yearly, which will cause you allot of work in the end. You can procceed to the next year gaining 100 population, but you will have to trap and kill them again. Good luck.
PhilipR 08-06-07, 09:44 PM	Consider this a partial enumeration of the items on our agenda. Time constraints will require that I address a number of other pressing matters later. The petty “king” of the tiny alpine hamlet awoke in a terrified sweat. It was The Nightmare again. All at once, dragons flew down from the peaks, breathing consuming flame onto crops so long and carefully tended. A seething horde of hobgoblins and orcs burst through the mountain passes, as Rime Jotuns [frost giants], laughing, cast boulders from the icecaps miles distant, crushing walls that took months to build in a mere moment. From unseen caverns in the mountain slopes all manner of abomination from the deepest dungeons burst forth ready for slaughter. And the starving people clamored around his feet, screaming “You’ve led us here to die! Our blood is on YOUR HEAD!” Shaking himself back into reality, he threw on his woolen cloak and strode with feigned confidence into the courtyard, greeted by the cold morning air of the late alpine spring. Milling about were the eighty haggard newcomers that had wandered into the valley over the winter, begging charity from the only marginally stable human settlement for leagues, or for all he knew, the world. What am I going to do with these people? More people mean more mouths to feed. It means more internal conflicts, and the possibility of folks trying to be free-riders. It also means more yeoman-warriors, and the possibility of highly skilled specialists. It means it will be harder for our foundling community to escape being noticed by Bad Things. To organize our novices the original twenty will be appointed as a combination of senators and magistrates. The Twenty, as we will call them henceforth, have demonstrated superhuman endurance and willpower, they’ve fought savagely and sagely, they’ve gained the strength that comes from plowing stony fields, hammering on iron from morning till night, building houses and fortifications and, with the strength they have remaining, drilling with weapons until they cannot stand. Perhaps, even, some few of them are now nursing infants while at the same time carrying bow and quiver at their backs. The Twenty will acquaint the newcomers with “the way we do things around here”, find out who has useable skills, and organize the newcomers into units, both for labor (“This field is your responsibility. You will prosper or suffer by how well you keep it”) and warfare. The Twenty will also act as representatives to the king, voting on matters of concern to their “constituency”, limited of course to matters of internal affairs. In this manner we will hopefully diffuse discontent directed at the tyrant before it blows up into a mutiny or civil war. Skills in Demand- The good part about taking in 80 wanderers is that to survive alone as long as they have means they are either pretty tough, pretty smart, or pretty lucky. All the sorts of folks we need. Engineer- 1 Someone more specialized than the mason/carpenter. He will be able to do mathematics to a high level (relative to the state of development of this society), geometry, plan mechanical constructions, and novel fortifications. Ideally someone like Archimedes or Leonardo, but if no such prodigy shows up, I’ll take the brightest, most mechanically, mathematically and visually inclined fellow in the bunch and say “I want you to sit down and think about things. Think about how to make a trebuchet, how to make our mills more efficient, how we can make better defenses, how we can better obscure our location from marauders, and any other thing you think might be useful to us. Write it all down (on a piece of bark if necessary), draw plans, make models. Then you’re going to direct us how to build it, if we think it’s a good idea.” If this guy exhibits a great deal of potential in this area he will be given a waiver from the more intensive communal duties, if so desired. Naturalist/Ankheg Warden- 1 This person’s duty is primarily to keep an eye (from a safe distance) on the Ankheg situation. She’s going to observe Ankheg behavior, life cycles, and will work with the Engineer to develop methods of monitoring and containing the Ankheg and managing its population. She will be responsible for alerting the community to Ankheg-related emergencies, and will be empowered at such times to direct the measures necessary to eliminate the threat by means calculated to avoid peril to human life. The spring thaw will have the bugs a stirring, and being unaware of exactly how rapidly the Ankheg reproduces carries with it the potential of a really, really big problem. Other duties, should there be any time for them, will include studying other wildlife/monsters in the area and reporting thoroughly on their habits as affects the village, climatic and other environmental threats. A Druid is probably the best candidate for this task, and its nature is such that other communal duties should be waived. Scouting Corps- 5-10 (at the discretion of the Ranger) these will be select newcomers who will fall under the command and training of the Ranger. They will either be rangers or otherwise really, really good woodsmen. Their duties, obviously, will be to scout on foot or on horseback, as the situation demands, the perimeter of the valley, checking for signs of incursions. They will track all enemy spies and scouts and eliminate them before they can return to report on our whereabouts. They will conduct super secret probes into potential enemy territory and give intelligence reports on the military and logistical make up of any potential threats. They will be delegated the secondary tasks of the Ranger, such as supplementary food procurement and, under the direction of the Ranger, aid him in liaisons with the elfin community. In pitched warfare they will act as ambush raiders/ skirmishers, shooting bows at the enemies’ flanks and riding out of danger before he can muster a response. Blacksmith’s Helpers- Last year’s apprentice is upgraded to journeyman status, and four new apprentices are appointed to help our overworked smith keep up with all the tool-making, weaponsmithing, sharpening, and armoring that has to be done, now for a village of 100. Not included- Mage- obviously, it’s useful to have a guy that can blast your foes with fireballs and obscure your position with mists, but I’m trying to envision possible stratagems in a low-magic campaign, so no mages wander in this year. Extending Fortifications- With 100 people now, it’s still feasible to keep all the households inside the extended fortifications, but now the larger amount of farming and grazing land needed will make the daily journey from village to field more problematic, so outlying fortified satellites will need to be put into the planning stage for next year’s hoped-for population increase. The passes to and from the valley need to be controlled more tightly. This is a dodgy gamble, on the one hand building a garrison in the approaches may alert enemy spies to our presence, on the other hand the swelling in our population is going to make it difficult to escape notice, anyway. The best compromise we can come up with is to set up something that looks like a natural part of the geology of the region. We will need to be able to: block enemies from coming through frontally, drop obstacles onto the path behind them, trapping small raiding parties and chopping larger war parties into bit-sized chunks, and be able to drop boulders and shoot arrows at them from a vantage point which they cannot hope to attack, preferably from two or three sides at once. The design of the pass fortresses needs to allow it to be maintained easily by a minimal garrison of three people, on rotating duty, but spacious enough to allow a large force to occupy it against a major besieging force. The garrison will be equipped with means to alert the valley on the approach of a major threat, the garrison will hold the pass until a mounted relief force can rush to the battle, followed by the main force on foot. To be continued…
PhilipR 08-06-07, 10:53 PM	Dwarves and Elves being friendly, surely will help you get on your feet. Elves lending 5 long bows and arrows. And teaching you how to make them. And Dwarves will lend some weapons and shields to save your men from extra work in their first year. Their is one trick the humans did with horn. They would soak a single horn in a bucket of heavily salted water, for a very long time. This would soften the horn, and it could be split open and flattened, creating a translucent yellow almost plastic like material. They used this as shingles in their windows allowing light in. The elven bows will go to our keenest marksmen, who will best be able to maximize their quality, the dwarven weapons and shields to our sturdiest front line fighters from among the Twenty. The horn is a great idea, esp. for getting extra light and warmth in the long winter months. The addition of 80 extra mouths will temporarily cut back on our surpluses intended for trade until their productivity starts seeing returns. The spring thaw will allow us to gather wild herbs and do some fishing to offset that a bit, hopefully. I'm thinking of our trading partners now. Dwarves are fond of mead and ale, yet we never read of Dwarven beekeepers or barley and hops growers. They love roasted meat, yet we never hear of herds of cattle being stabled in their great halls. Perhaps some specialists in agriculture do exist among them, but are there enough to keep a clan well supplied with meat, bread and other products? Farming would seem to be a very unpopular profession among dwarves. Barring outright magic, a dwarven clan seems to have a limited number of possibilities when it comes to procuring food. They can subsist on subterranean fungi, but, who wants to? They can enslave other races to tend fields in their territory, but how wise is it to trust your food supply to resentful goblin slave-farmers? They'd be adequate hunters and excellent trappers, but hunting and trapping are inadequate methods of maintaining a large sedentary population. So trading with humans, who are good at doing those sorts of things, and who crave more than gold or silver something as common in a dwarven mine system as iron ore would not only make sense, it would likely be crucial to the success of the dwarves. The human settlement being overrun by orcs would be a disaster for both races. Clothing- unless dwarves cultivate some sort of subterranean flax or wool substitute, they'd have to get non-leather clothing from some surface race, as well. Elves would not fair so badly as dwarves, being forest dwellers they would have more options available to them in procuring meat, nuts, fruits and honey. It's difficult to imagine them milking cows and goats and ewes and making cheese, though, so specialization by some of our farmers in the production of a variety of cheeses should be encouraged. Perhaps the elves have some kind of silkworm from which to produce fine garments, but wool would be still a useful product for them, since it keeps the wearer warm even when wet, though linen, made from flax, might be held in lower regard by them. Humans may very well be some sort of bipedal aphid to the elder demi-human races, who tend and stroke them and are rewarded with treats they themselves would not stoop to produce. So like the ant-aphid symbiosis, there is hope that they would take measures to protect their strange semi-domesticated beasts. Its a humbling thought, but given the multiple perils facing man in this world, it's better than the alternative.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 07:17 AM	Ah, but I have no farms. We survive off of fishing. :) Also, Ankhegs can burrow in less than four inches of earth (which is why we don't have crops)? The garbage... we take into the forest and bury. Once Ankhegs are spotted, we move to a new spot in the forest, or if we're being sieged, dump it into the bay, away from our fishing grounds. And thank you; I'm already having fun. My fault, I misread your post. You have no crops. You pass the first year. Depending on your population size you either grow to 100 pop or gain an additional 100. Burying your garbage is no problem, it will attract Ankhegs to where ever you buried it. Does anyone disagree with that? Your people have no crops?!?! Only fish!? I think your people start to eat Sea weed and other underwater plants. Snails found crawling in your caves... Escargot with out the butter, and sashimi(sushi)... mmmmm. Have a look at Year 3. you will have large problems. And look at year 2. The Orcs will ambush any humans coming up your cliff. Easy targets, since you cant fit many humans up at once. And easy to kill your, just push over the edge of the cliff. Also the Orcs will sabotage anything they can get to easily, cuting ropes, burning wooden stairs all at night. good luck in your second year.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 07:29 AM	I said I was having my slingers attack from the sea. Archers could be a problem though, I didn't know they had any. Alright, in that case I am setting up a few rafts as cover for my slingers. I kill off the archers, then kill off the spear men. Also, I was attacking them while they dealt with traps, and never came on land. The Orcs attack at night only. And are disarming your traps at night. The traps manage to kill off a few Orcs in the process. If you can shoot the Orcs then that means they can shoot back. But only your archers rafts are within shooting distance? And they have cover? And the rest of your rafts are further and out of range of arrows? Thats really far. Arrows can go really far. If you are tied to shore, those ropes are used to pull in your rafts. So I assume you are using anchors. Or else the Orcs would have easy prey. All the Orcs have to do is light your archers rafts on fire. They light their arrows on fire and land it on your archers protected rafts. And up in smoke it goes. After losing one of your archers rafts, you decide that might not be the best idea. Those Orcs are cleverer than you thought. Your men gain no casualties. They simply dove in the water and swam to the other rafts. You got lucky this time. Oh yeah, all your people learn to swim? That reminds me, do your people have fire? do they cook? Smelt Iron?
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 07:35 AM	I'm at 50 feet. Cover offsets the bonus, and with spear throwers, they have a huge penalty. Not to mention the way crossbows need a constant reload, which could prove advantageous. Not to mention traps that don't get found, everyone rolls horribly sometimes. All rolls are average. 1d3=1.5(2) 1d4=2 1d6=3 1d8=4 1d10=5 1d12=6 1d20=10 1d100=50
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 08:00 AM	Consider this a partial enumeration of the items on our agenda. Time constraints will require that I address a number of other pressing matters later. The petty “king” of the tiny alpine hamlet awoke in a terrified sweat. It was The Nightmare again. All at once, dragons flew down from the peaks, breathing consuming flame onto crops so long and carefully tended. A seething horde of hobgoblins and orcs burst through the mountain passes, as Rime Jotuns [frost giants], laughing, cast boulders from the icecaps miles distant, crushing walls that took months to build in a mere moment. From unseen caverns in the mountain slopes all manner of abomination from the deepest dungeons burst forth ready for slaughter. And the starving people clamored around his feet, screaming “You’ve led us here to die! Our blood is on YOUR HEAD!” Shaking himself back into reality, he threw on his woolen cloak and strode with feigned confidence into the courtyard, greeted by the cold morning air of the late alpine spring. Milling about were the eighty haggard newcomers that had wandered into the valley over the winter, begging charity from the only marginally stable human settlement for leagues, or for all he knew, the world. What am I going to do with these people? More people mean more mouths to feed. It means more internal conflicts, and the possibility of folks trying to be free-riders. It also means more yeoman-warriors, and the possibility of highly skilled specialists. It means it will be harder for our foundling community to escape being noticed by Bad Things. To organize our novices the original twenty will be appointed as a combination of senators and magistrates. The Twenty, as we will call them henceforth, have demonstrated superhuman endurance and willpower, they’ve fought savagely and sagely, they’ve gained the strength that comes from plowing stony fields, hammering on iron from morning till night, building houses and fortifications and, with the strength they have remaining, drilling with weapons until they cannot stand. Perhaps, even, some few of them are now nursing infants while at the same time carrying bow and quiver at their backs. The Twenty will acquaint the newcomers with “the way we do things around here”, find out who has useable skills, and organize the newcomers into units, both for labor (“This field is your responsibility. You will prosper or suffer by how well you keep it”) and warfare. The Twenty will also act as representatives to the king, voting on matters of concern to their “constituency”, limited of course to matters of internal affairs. In this manner we will hopefully diffuse discontent directed at the tyrant before it blows up into a mutiny or civil war. Skills in Demand- The good part about taking in 80 wanderers is that to survive alone as long as they have means they are either pretty tough, pretty smart, or pretty lucky. All the sorts of folks we need. Engineer- 1 Someone more specialized than the mason/carpenter. He will be able to do mathematics to a high level (relative to the state of development of this society), geometry, plan mechanical constructions, and novel fortifications. Ideally someone like Archimedes or Leonardo, but if no such prodigy shows up, I’ll take the brightest, most mechanically, mathematically and visually inclined fellow in the bunch and say “I want you to sit down and think about things. Think about how to make a trebuchet, how to make our mills more efficient, how we can make better defenses, how we can better obscure our location from marauders, and any other thing you think might be useful to us. Write it all down (on a piece of bark if necessary), draw plans, make models. Then you’re going to direct us how to build it, if we think it’s a good idea.” If this guy exhibits a great deal of potential in this area he will be given a waiver from the more intensive communal duties, if so desired. Naturalist/Ankheg Warden- 1 This person’s duty is primarily to keep an eye (from a safe distance) on the Ankheg situation. She’s going to observe Ankheg behavior, life cycles, and will work with the Engineer to develop methods of monitoring and containing the Ankheg and managing its population. She will be responsible for alerting the community to Ankheg-related emergencies, and will be empowered at such times to direct the measures necessary to eliminate the threat by means calculated to avoid peril to human life. The spring thaw will have the bugs a stirring, and being unaware of exactly how rapidly the Ankheg reproduces carries with it the potential of a really, really big problem. Other duties, should there be any time for them, will include studying other wildlife/monsters in the area and reporting thoroughly on their habits as affects the village, climatic and other environmental threats. A Druid is probably the best candidate for this task, and its nature is such that other communal duties should be waived. Scouting Corps- 5-10 (at the discretion of the Ranger) these will be select newcomers who will fall under the command and training of the Ranger. They will either be rangers or otherwise really, really good woodsmen. Their duties, obviously, will be to scout on foot or on horseback, as the situation demands, the perimeter of the valley, checking for signs of incursions. They will track all enemy spies and scouts and eliminate them before they can return to report on our whereabouts. They will conduct super secret probes into potential enemy territory and give intelligence reports on the military and logistical make up of any potential threats. They will be delegated the secondary tasks of the Ranger, such as supplementary food procurement and, under the direction of the Ranger, aid him in liaisons with the elfin community. In pitched warfare they will act as ambush raiders/ skirmishers, shooting bows at the enemies’ flanks and riding out of danger before he can muster a response. Blacksmith’s Helpers- Last year’s apprentice is upgraded to journeyman status, and four new apprentices are appointed to help our overworked smith keep up with all the tool-making, weaponsmithing, sharpening, and armoring that has to be done, now for a village of 100. Not included- Mage- obviously, it’s useful to have a guy that can blast your foes with fireballs and obscure your position with mists, but I’m trying to envision possible stratagems in a low-magic campaign, so no mages wander in this year. It is completely your choice to have high use of magic or not. Even if you take the magic route, we still have the experiment of what a Kingdom would look like with the use of Magic. Extending Fortifications- With 100 people now, it’s still feasible to keep all the households inside the extended fortifications, but now the larger amount of farming and grazing land needed will make the daily journey from village to field more problematic, so outlying fortified satellites will need to be put into the planning stage for next year’s hoped-for population increase. The passes to and from the valley need to be controlled more tightly. This is a dodgy gamble, on the one hand building a garrison in the approaches may alert enemy spies to our presence, on the other hand the swelling in our population is going to make it difficult to escape notice, anyway. The best compromise we can come up with is to set up something that looks like a natural part of the geology of the region. We will need to be able to: block enemies from coming through frontally, drop obstacles onto the path behind them, trapping small raiding parties and chopping larger war parties into bit-sized chunks, and be able to drop boulders and shoot arrows at them from a vantage point which they cannot hope to attack, preferably from two or three sides at once. The design of the pass fortresses needs to allow it to be maintained easily by a minimal garrison of three people, on rotating duty, but spacious enough to allow a large force to occupy it against a major besieging force. The garrison will be equipped with means to alert the valley on the approach of a major threat, the garrison will hold the pass until a mounted relief force can rush to the battle, followed by the main force on foot. To be continued… That was fun to read. I want to make a Kingdom too. Anyone have any objections? Perhaps someone else can judge my settlement.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 08:13 AM	The elven bows will go to our keenest marksmen, who will best be able to maximize their quality, the dwarven weapons and shields to our sturdiest front line fighters from among the Twenty. The horn is a great idea, esp. for getting extra light and warmth in the long winter months. This is what they did in real life. the Horns had to be soaked for months. The addition of 80 extra mouths will temporarily cut back on our surpluses intended for trade until their productivity starts seeing returns. The spring thaw will allow us to gather wild herbs and do some fishing to offset that a bit, hopefully. I'm thinking of our trading partners now. Dwarves are fond of mead and ale, yet we never read of Dwarven beekeepers or barley and hops growers. They love roasted meat, yet we never hear of herds of cattle being stabled in their great halls. Perhaps some specialists in agriculture do exist among them, but are there enough to keep a clan well supplied with meat, bread and other products? Farming would seem to be a very unpopular profession among dwarves. Barring outright magic, a dwarven clan seems to have a limited number of possibilities when it comes to procuring food. These are questions I ask my self all the time too. What would a Dwarven community really look like? From reading some notes, Dwarves dont stay underground all the time, but hearding and crop growing will draw attention to their homes. I wonder if I should get some players to play a Dwarven or Elven settlement. The evolution of D&D begins here. They can subsist on subterranean fungi, but, who wants to? They can enslave other races to tend fields in their territory, but how wise is it to trust your food supply to resentful goblin slave-farmers? They'd be adequate hunters and excellent trappers, but hunting and trapping are inadequate methods of maintaining a large sedentary population. So trading with humans, who are good at doing those sorts of things, and who crave more than gold or silver something as common in a dwarven mine system as iron ore would not only make sense, it would likely be crucial to the success of the dwarves. The human settlement being overrun by orcs would be a disaster for both races. Clothing- unless dwarves cultivate some sort of subterranean flax or wool substitute, they'd have to get non-leather clothing from some surface race, as well. Elves would not fair so badly as dwarves, being forest dwellers they would have more options available to them in procuring meat, nuts, fruits and honey. It's difficult to imagine them milking cows and goats and ewes and making cheese, though, so specialization by some of our farmers in the production of a variety of cheeses should be encouraged. Perhaps the elves have some kind of silkworm from which to produce fine garments, but wool would be still a useful product for them, since it keeps the wearer warm even when wet, though linen, made from flax, might be held in lower regard by them. cotton grows in wild weeds. A female discovery/invention Humans may very well be some sort of bipedal aphid to the elder demi-human races, who tend and stroke them and are rewarded with treats they themselves would not stoop to produce. So like the ant-aphid symbiosis, there is hope that they would take measures to protect their strange semi-domesticated beasts. Its a humbling thought, but given the multiple perils facing man in this world, it's better than the alternative.
Hsien 08-07-07, 10:57 AM	Good intimidation. What do you offer the Orcs for peace? You are on their land! If you cannot offer them anything, they will flee without battle. I'll need to hear your peace offers before graduation to your next year/level/population increase Year 2 cont…resolving a few issues I hope Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 700 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains, similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral Census is underway: I've worked up some initial figures using the DMG for pouplation development but will wait and see if this gets me to Year 3 before posting the entire set but here is a sample. I left the partial numbers in to show next years youth development Format notation: Level / Description (Qty) Adepts (6.1) 4/Wise Woman(1); 2/ Holy Man (1), Herbalist(1); 1/ Apprentices (3.1) Aristocrat (6.1) 4/Mayor(1), 2/Councilmen (2), 1/ Village reps (3.1) Commoner (562.2) 11/Farmer Merryglade(1); 6/Barkeep (1),Skilled Farmers(3) 1/misc commoners (557.2) Expert (25.6) 11/ Educated Sage: Kulgan(1); 6/ Weaponsmith (1) Canny Merchant (1) 4 /Skilled Merchant (1) Armorsmith (1) Mason (1) Engineer (1) 1 / skilled professionals (10.6), exp merchants (3), guides (2), teachers (2), alchemist(1) ________________________________________ ________ Elves/Dwarves: Trading posts/tents are at mutually agreeable locations. Tent pavilions are more intermittent and at different locations at the elves discretion. Trading post for dwarves would be a set location within easy distance to dwarves for their convenience. Orc Problem: Mounted archers prepared to attack and harry them if Orcs attempt to flee or attack. While talks are going on footmen/rangers are setting a perimeter to prevent escape in case things turn to violence. Militia note; Have about 100 class level people that would be pulled from and have another 100 militia pulled from local farms there or on the way; commoner militia drag branches to make as much dust as possible to increase there suspected numbers.Bards Drum Corps will have a steady beat and spread out along perimiter w/ mixture of class level/commmer militia to further enhance the effect. Sheriff Gardner ( 7Warr), w/escort, meets Orc leader 1/2way and offer.... Option 1: Offer them an opportunity to take up permanent residence, a somewhat remote corner of the duchy or down river, where they can reside and trade and become a productive part of the society…perhaps they will be beneficial in dealing with the large Humanoid kingdom as well or at least provide some information. Explain that although they claim the land, we also have placed a claim and have set up a permanent residence over the past year ( did they not notice that big castle?), and have established laws for this territory. The first time can be forgiven as a misunderstanding, however...( see below) Option 2: The ability to leave unmolested to the duchy’s border, if they should “wander” back we may allow for trade if they are not hostile. Make it clear that whichever option they take, any further attacks or acts of banditry will be dealt with swiftly and finally.
stargate525 08-07-07, 12:13 PM	My fault, I misread your post. You have no crops. You pass the first year. Depending on your population size you either grow to 100 pop or gain an additional 100. Burying your garbage is no problem, it will attract Ankhegs to where ever you buried it. Does anyone disagree with that? Except that our trash will be so miniscule compared to normal rot in the forest that I don't think it'll matter, no. Your people have no crops?!?! Only fish!? I think your people start to eat Sea weed and other underwater plants. Snails found crawling in your caves... Escargot with out the butter, and sashimi(sushi)... mmmmm. I seriously doubt that. We more than likely gather up berries and stuff from above to supplement, and native american tribes had no problems with a main diet of fish. Have a look at Year 3. you will have large problems. And look at year 2. The Orcs will ambush any humans coming up your cliff. Easy targets, since you cant fit many humans up at once. And easy to kill your, just push over the edge of the cliff. Also the Orcs will sabotage anything they can get to easily, cuting ropes, burning wooden stairs all at night. good luck in your second year. Thanks! Inveran Hamlet Population 120 LG Dragonlord (King) Laws are standard for LG towns, unbiased, open to everyone. The only oddity is that all married couples must attempt to produce at least three children, and that children may be raised by the town collectively. Landscape: A sheer cliff face that leads to a small rocky coast before dropping again into the bay. The bay is calm and good for fish and a (future) harbor, and the small coastline is inaccessible. The city is built into the cliff, with a set of lifts that can move people and goods to the top of the cliff. A set of stairs leads down to the coast. There is forest above us, as well as a waterfall that comes down off the cliff, from which we get our freshwater. The clifftop is a grassy field which is unsuitable for crops (less than 4 inches of soil before we hit bedrock) The Town: The town itself is inside the mountain, and courtyards are chiseled out of the stone for light and air (think the native american cliff dwellings in the Southwest). The Dragonlord's (King's) Manor is only slightly bigger than the other houses, but has a window behind the waterfall. Newly constructed this year is the lift tower, a two story stone structure that the lift empties out to. The tower us surrounded by a spiked pit moat, and constantly manned. Also new is the dock. Able to hold four boats, we no longer have to beach our ships on the shore. Barbarians - 0 Bards - 0 Clerics - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Druids - 0 Fighters - 23 15-7-0-1-0 Monks - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Paladins - 0 Rangers - 5 0-5-0-0-0 Rogues - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Sorcerers - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Wizards - 4 3-1-0-0-0 Adepts - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Aristocrats - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Commoners - 56 30-23-2-0-0 / 1 Experts - 13 7-3-0-2-0 / 1 Warriors - 11 10-1-0-0-0 Worker Distribution: 30 fishermen: Commoners. They fish from shore and from the boat. 1 Teacher: His job is to educate the younglings that will come, as well as think up ways to use his magic to better the town. In a pinch he also has defensive spells (magic missile!) 20 Gatherers: These men's job is to gather up berries and fruit from the forest above to supplement the diet of fish, as well as lumber from the forest. 10 miners: Mining up iron ore at a decent rate. 6 blacksmiths: Making tools and weapons. 4 carpenters: Making tools, furniture, weapons, and other goods. 4 shipwrights: Building boats to increase our fleet. 6 scouts: Exploring the Wilderness to make contact with allies and to give advance warning of potential threats. 1 Guard captain: My second-in-command, it's his job to make sure that the day-to-day running of the city goes smoothly. 2 priests: They run a small shrine in our town, and take care of the sick and wounded. 6 Full-time Spellcasters: Using their magic for the good of the colony. They accompany other groups when they are needed, and form the auxiliary group to our small army. 30 town guard: their main job is the defense of the town, but they also accompany the gatherers for protection. Alright. Orcs. The first thing we do is send an emissary, asking if we can all get along.If they agree to talk, we set up arrangements on the clifftop for negotiations. If [once] the emissary is killed/rejected/sent back without a head, we move on to the attack. Since we now have our shiny new guard tower, we hold there as long as we can. Our scouts attempt to find the encampment of these orcs and discover their numbers. If they outnumber us less than 3 to 1, we attack during the day, when they are all asleep (I'm assuming that since you said they attack at night). We land by boat, moving overland to the encampment and avoiding the clifftop. Using our spellcasters, we give a diversion (ghost sound and dancing lights to make it sound like we're attacking from the other side) and attack their flanks. Melee combatants at the front, spellcasters using whatever they have left on disabling spells (Sleep! Grease! Magic missile! Color Spray!). Any volunteer commoners will swell the ranks, and our clerics are about to heal the seriously wounded. If we lose half our force, we fall back to the ships, then retreat to the town.
Holy_Beholder 08-07-07, 02:23 PM	The Orcs attack at night only. And are disarming your traps at night. The traps manage to kill off a few Orcs in the process. If you can shoot the Orcs then that means they can shoot back. But only your archers rafts are within shooting distance? And they have cover? And the rest of your rafts are further and out of range of arrows? Thats really far. Arrows can go really far. If you are tied to shore, those ropes are used to pull in your rafts. So I assume you are using anchors. Or else the Orcs would have easy prey. All the Orcs have to do is light your archers rafts on fire. They light their arrows on fire and land it on your archers protected rafts. And up in smoke it goes. After losing one of your archers rafts, you decide that might not be the best idea. Those Orcs are cleverer than you thought. Your men gain no casualties. They simply dove in the water and swam to the other rafts. You got lucky this time. Oh yeah, all your people learn to swim? That reminds me, do your people have fire? do they cook? Smelt Iron? Yeah, we have fire, cook, and smelt iron, thats why we need a little stone. Alright, the orcs seem to be somewhat smart. Time to sail down the coast, then out to sea a little more. I am going to get a catapult raft, and flee out of the orcs range. Catapults are area attacks, and they have pretty good range. Also, I'm going to see if there are any islands around here.
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-07-07, 03:35 PM	Year two huh well lets get started New worker assignments(all older residents keep their assignments) 20 fighters: thes become my standing army. equipped with horses caught from the previous year and dwarven spears. 20 warriors: these new workers double as the town militia. they are also miners, qaurrymen, loggers, and general builders 3 druids: these research forestry and tree sciences for growing trees fast and animal husbandry as well as ambassadors to the elves. 1 bard: this serves as an entertainer as well as my herald 10 monks: these will set up a monastery and begin finding books and copying books that the do find. They will also have fields of their own to tend to. 6 wzards: these will serve as school masters for the children and live with the monks in the monastery for protection. They also will serve as alchemist and make the following item in as much qauntity as possible: tanglefoot bags, Alchemist fire, and acid. 4 clerics: these will serve as ambassadors to the dwarves as well as mine foremen their deity is moradin 6 rangers: these will serve as scouts as well as assisting the rangers with hunting and horse catching. 7 experts: 1 will be an armor smith 1 will be poleturner 1 will be a general tailor making clothes and sacks 1 will be a carpenter. the other 3 will be working on pitch rigs in the swamp with plenty safety percautions. (uses for this will be shown later :D ) 3 rogues: these will be trained as spies and will assist in scouting duty when not training. Objectives 1) finish ankeg problem. With a full time army on hand I will use the rangers to track the ankegs down and and the soldiers will follow and destroy the ankegs found using tangle foot bags to keep it in place. this will happen once a week until there are no ankegs found for three weeks in a row 2) Improve the kingdom. The new stone masons will get to work on a new keep. They will construct a monastery for the monks that is close to the fields so that the peasants can run to it for protection if they can reach the castle. also the villagers spend their free time building their own little houses mostly of wood and mud built partially below ground. (like those viking house they found in america don't remember the name for them though) There will also be walls erected from stone where ever possible 3) The orc problem. one night after the day's work has been done the druids shall gather for a ritual. this will mostly consists of a burning effigy of the orc god gruumsh. the infuriated orcs shall charge the druids for their blasphemy and in doing so they will stand on trenchs (designed to hold their wieght) that are filled with pitch. at that time a large bird trained by the druids (an animal companion) will drop a flask of alchemist fire onto a part of the trench that has hard rock to break the flask and exposed pitch. this will ignite and burn many of the orcs and scatter them as well. Then a combined force of cavalry, militia infantry, snd allied wildlife will chase them down. the next day the rangers will be dispatched to track their footprints before the battle to their camp where me personal army will comence killing all that they find. (yes even the younglings may pelor forgive me) they shall then return and I shall tell them that they gave the orcs a quick merciful end theat they would not have given the soldiers families.( are there any slaves with them because it says so in the monster manual but it really dosen't matter I just wanted to free them and possible add them to my population. Also I would like to think my plan was perrfectly executed but I don't know so feel free to assign casaulties as you see fit) 4) finally get me a wife and take a ride on the kingmaker express to raise moral as well as get an heir to my kingdom Trade imports minerals and ore=dwarves weapons and armor= dwarves and elves cloth=elves Exports ale and other alcoholic beverages=dwarves meats and cheese from cows=dwarves horses=elves (If they will accept them being taken from the wild and all) Surplus wood=dwarves (the = means where something is coming from in the case of imports as well as where goods are going in the case of exports) diplomacy elves: the usual fawning of how ignorant and shortsighted humans are as well as gifts of horses and invitations to come to a feast celebrating our victory over the orcs(again if they accept the horses being captured) Dwarves: a few kegs of free ale and an invitation to our great hall to share in our victory over that of the orc marauders. Orginally I wrote this last night but it didn't post for some reason.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 03:54 PM	Year 2 cont…resolving a few issues I hope Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 700 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains, similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral Census is underway: I've worked up some initial figures using the DMG for pouplation development but will wait and see if this gets me to Year 3 before posting the entire set but here is a sample. I left the partial numbers in to show next years youth development Format notation: Level / Description (Qty) Adepts (6.1) 4/Wise Woman(1); 2/ Holy Man (1), Herbalist(1); 1/ Apprentices (3.1) Aristocrat (6.1) 4/Mayor(1), 2/Councilmen (2), 1/ Village reps (3.1) Commoner (562.2) 11/Farmer Merryglade(1); 6/Barkeep (1),Skilled Farmers(3) 1/misc commoners (557.2) Expert (25.6) 11/ Educated Sage: Kulgan(1); 6/ Weaponsmith (1) Canny Merchant (1) 4 /Skilled Merchant (1) Armorsmith (1) Mason (1) Engineer (1) 1 / skilled professionals (10.6), exp merchants (3), guides (2), teachers (2), alchemist(1) ________________________________________ ________ Elves/Dwarves: Trading posts/tents are at mutually agreeable locations. Tent pavilions are more intermittent and at different locations at the elves discretion. Trading post for dwarves would be a set location within easy distance to dwarves for their convenience. Orc Problem: Mounted archers prepared to attack and harry them if Orcs attempt to flee or attack. While talks are going on footmen/rangers are setting a perimeter to prevent escape in case things turn to violence. Militia note; Have about 100 class level people that would be pulled from and have another 100 militia pulled from local farms there or on the way; commoner militia drag branches to make as much dust as possible to increase there suspected numbers.Bards Drum Corps will have a steady beat and spread out along perimiter w/ mixture of class level/commmer militia to further enhance the effect. Sheriff Gardner ( 7Warr), w/escort, meets Orc leader 1/2way and offer.... Option 1: Offer them an opportunity to take up permanent residence, a somewhat remote corner of the duchy or down river, where they can reside and trade and become a productive part of the society…perhaps they will be beneficial in dealing with the large Humanoid kingdom as well or at least provide some information. Seeing Peace could be interesting. However this race is not too stable and staying in one place is not the way of life for them. The Chiefs says while rubbing his chin in interest "Peace? hhmm... We will stay for a short period of time, bring us food, gold and weapons as gifts. And we will stay in peace. We are your lords, this is our land, and we may allow you to stay for payment of using our lands" Explain that although they claim the land, we also have placed a claim and have set up a permanent residence over the past year ( did they not notice that big castle?), and have established laws for this territory. The first time can be forgiven as a misunderstanding, however...( see below) this statement has surely insulted the Chief. "Gruumsh, is our god. He has rightfully made this land for the Orcs. It has been ours since the creation of time. This land is a gift from Gruumsh to the whole race of all Orcs. Our Orc tribes travel these lands and never stay in the same place. It is the way of our people. We were here last year, and the year before, and the year before that.. and long before that our Ancestors roamed these lands. No Orc will stand for this. You may have us as allies and we may speak on behalf of your Kingdom to the rest of the Orc tribes, if you offer us feasts and gifts on regular basis" Option 2: The ability to leave unmolested to the duchy’s border, if they should “wander” back we may allow for trade if they are not hostile. Make it clear that whichever option they take, any further attacks or acts of banditry will be dealt with swiftly and finally.[/QUOTE] You can advance to the 3rd year, for the sake of time. However this Orc matter will be played out further between us. you gain another 100 people.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 04:04 PM	Except that our trash will be so miniscule compared to normal rot in the forest that I don't think it'll matter, no. I seriously doubt that. We more than likely gather up berries and stuff from above to supplement, and native american tribes had no problems with a main diet of fish. Thanks! Inveran Hamlet Population 120 LG Dragonlord (King) Laws are standard for LG towns, unbiased, open to everyone. The only oddity is that all married couples must attempt to produce at least three children, and that children may be raised by the town collectively. Landscape: A sheer cliff face that leads to a small rocky coast before dropping again into the bay. The bay is calm and good for fish and a (future) harbor, and the small coastline is inaccessible. The city is built into the cliff, with a set of lifts that can move people and goods to the top of the cliff. A set of stairs leads down to the coast. There is forest above us, as well as a waterfall that comes down off the cliff, from which we get our freshwater. The clifftop is a grassy field which is unsuitable for crops (less than 4 inches of soil before we hit bedrock) The Town: The town itself is inside the mountain, and courtyards are chiseled out of the stone for light and air (think the native american cliff dwellings in the Southwest). The Dragonlord's (King's) Manor is only slightly bigger than the other houses, but has a window behind the waterfall. Newly constructed this year is the lift tower, a two story stone structure that the lift empties out to. The tower us surrounded by a spiked pit moat, and constantly manned. Also new is the dock. Able to hold four boats, we no longer have to beach our ships on the shore. Barbarians - 0 Bards - 0 Clerics - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Druids - 0 Fighters - 23 15-7-0-1-0 Monks - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Paladins - 0 Rangers - 5 0-5-0-0-0 Rogues - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Sorcerers - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Wizards - 4 3-1-0-0-0 Adepts - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Aristocrats - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Commoners - 56 30-23-2-0-0 / 1 Experts - 13 7-3-0-2-0 / 1 Warriors - 11 10-1-0-0-0 Worker Distribution: 30 fishermen: Commoners. They fish from shore and from the boat. 1 Teacher: His job is to educate the younglings that will come, as well as think up ways to use his magic to better the town. In a pinch he also has defensive spells (magic missile!) 20 Gatherers: These men's job is to gather up berries and fruit from the forest above to supplement the diet of fish, as well as lumber from the forest. 10 miners: Mining up iron ore at a decent rate. 6 blacksmiths: Making tools and weapons. 4 carpenters: Making tools, furniture, weapons, and other goods. 4 shipwrights: Building boats to increase our fleet. 6 scouts: Exploring the Wilderness to make contact with allies and to give advance warning of potential threats. 1 Guard captain: My second-in-command, it's his job to make sure that the day-to-day running of the city goes smoothly. 2 priests: They run a small shrine in our town, and take care of the sick and wounded. 6 Full-time Spellcasters: Using their magic for the good of the colony. They accompany other groups when they are needed, and form the auxiliary group to our small army. 30 town guard: their main job is the defense of the town, but they also accompany the gatherers for protection. Alright. Orcs. The first thing we do is send an emissary, asking if we can all get along.If they agree to talk, we set up arrangements on the clifftop for negotiations. If [once] the emissary is killed/rejected/sent back without a head, we move on to the attack. The Orcs ask for protection money. In return they will stay on the land, gaurding this area from other Orc tribes. This tribe will negotiate with other Orc tribes to leave your land at peace. The Orcs ask that you pay them with rich foods, weapons and gifts on a daily basis. Since we now have our shiny new guard tower, we hold there as long as we can. Our scouts attempt to find the encampment of these orcs and discover their numbers. If they outnumber us less than 3 to 1, we attack during the day, 60 Orcs. Only 40 fight. when they are all asleep (I'm assuming that since you said they attack at night). We land by boat, moving overland to the encampment and avoiding the clifftop. Using our spellcasters, we give a diversion (ghost sound and dancing lights to make it sound like we're attacking from the other side) and attack their flanks. Melee combatants at the front, spellcasters using whatever they have left on disabling spells (Sleep! Grease! Magic missile! Color Spray!). Any volunteer commoners will swell the ranks, and our clerics are about to heal the seriously wounded. If we lose half our force, we fall back to the ships, then retreat to the town. With a population of 120, do you think you can kill all the Orcs? You might have a high number of casualties. However, if you chose to slaughter the Orcs. Proceed to your 3rd year. Good luck.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 04:13 PM	Yeah, we have fire, cook, and smelt iron, thats why we need a little stone. Alright, the orcs seem to be somewhat smart. Time to sail down the coast, then out to sea a little more. I am going to get a catapult raft, and flee out of the orcs range. Catapults are area attacks, and they have pretty good range. Also, I'm going to see if there are any islands around here. Im pretty much allowing the players to design their own terrain. You want islands?! *Poof* you got islands. You'll have Ankhegs on your islands too. The Orcs will try to follow you if they can. I dont imagine you go too deep. Its too dangerous. You'll need giant ships to survive the waves. Actually if you are on any ocean/sea the waves are WAY too big for rafts. So you manage to build a Catapult. What will you load them with? You cant carry that much stone on your rafts can you? The catapult do hit an area effect, but Id assume you have limited amunition. And if you hit Orcs the first time, the Orcs will spread out, or run for cover in the bushes where you cant see them or out of your range. Orcs will build or steal boats/canoes to attack you if they chose. Building crewd canoes wont be too hard for them. (Carve out a tree trunk). I guess you could stay out far enough from shore where they cant reach you with missle attacks. I think it would take a long time for them to give up on you. Plus this would stop any other humans from getting to your Kingdom and growing. Im sure if the Orcs left, they would return to check up on you. You are a juicy catch for them. They do leave, but only long enough to trick your men to land ashore and get attacked. dont give up! Your people are still safe.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 04:22 PM	Year two huh well lets get started New worker assignments(all older residents keep their assignments) 20 fighters: thes become my standing army. equipped with horses caught from the previous year and dwarven spears. 20 warriors: these new workers double as the town militia. they are also miners, qaurrymen, loggers, and general builders 3 druids: these research forestry and tree sciences for growing trees fast and animal husbandry as well as ambassadors to the elves. 1 bard: this serves as an entertainer as well as my herald 10 monks: these will set up a monastery and begin finding books and copying books that the do find. They will also have fields of their own to tend to. 6 wzards: these will serve as school masters for the children and live with the monks in the monastery for protection. They also will serve as alchemist and make the following item in as much qauntity as possible: tanglefoot bags, Alchemist fire, and acid. 4 clerics: these will serve as ambassadors to the dwarves as well as mine foremen their deity is moradin 6 rangers: these will serve as scouts as well as assisting the rangers with hunting and horse catching. 7 experts: 1 will be an armor smith 1 will be poleturner 1 will be a general tailor making clothes and sacks 1 will be a carpenter. the other 3 will be working on pitch rigs in the swamp with plenty safety percautions. (uses for this will be shown later :D ) 3 rogues: these will be trained as spies and will assist in scouting duty when not training. Objectives 1) finish ankeg problem. With a full time army on hand I will use the rangers to track the ankegs down and and the soldiers will follow and destroy the ankegs found using tangle foot bags to keep it in place. this will happen once a week until there are no ankegs found for three weeks in a row. 2) Improve the kingdom. The new stone masons will get to work on a new keep. They will construct a monastery for the monks that is close to the fields so that the peasants can run to it for protection if they can reach the castle. also the villagers spend their free time building their own little houses mostly of wood and mud built partially below ground. (like those viking house they found in america don't remember the name for them though) There will also be walls erected from stone where ever possible 3) The orc problem. one night after the day's work has been done the druids shall gather for a ritual. this will mostly consists of a burning effigy of the orc god gruumsh. the infuriated orcs shall charge the druids for their blasphemy and in doing so they will stand on trenchs (designed to hold their wieght) that are filled with pitch. at that time a large bird trained by the druids (an animal companion) will drop a flask of alchemist fire onto a part of the trench that has hard rock to break the flask and exposed pitch. this will ignite and burn many of the orcs and scatter them as well. Then a combined force of cavalry, militia infantry, snd allied wildlife will chase them down. the next day the rangers will be dispatched to track their footprints before the battle to their camp where me personal army will comence killing all that they find. (yes even the younglings may pelor forgive me) they shall then return and I shall tell them that they gave the orcs a quick merciful end theat they would not have given the soldiers families.( are there any slaves with them because it says so in the monster manual but it really dosen't matter I just wanted to free them and possible add them to my population. Also I would like to think my plan was perrfectly executed but I don't know so feel free to assign casaulties as you see fit) I missed the part where they have slaves. If the MM states a tribe of 60 Orcs has human slaves, so be it. This should make up for any casualties, which you had. Im not keeping track of the casualties, but you should keep track of them. The population growth will work out in end including casualties when you reach 2,000 pop. 4) finally get me a wife and take a ride on the kingmaker express to raise moral as well as get an heir to my kingdom Trade imports minerals and ore=dwarves weapons and armor= dwarves and elves cloth=elves Exports ale and other alcoholic beverages=dwarves meats and cheese from cows=dwarves horses=elves (If they will accept them being taken from the wild and all) Surplus wood=dwarves (the = means where something is coming from in the case of imports as well as where goods are going in the case of exports) diplomacy elves: the usual fawning of how ignorant and shortsighted humans are as well as gifts of horses and invitations to come to a feast celebrating our victory over the orcs(again if they accept the horses being captured). I cant think of any reason why Elves dont like Horses. Dwarves: a few kegs of free ale and an invitation to our great hall to share in our victory over that of the orc marauders. Orginally I wrote this last night but it didn't post for some reason. A party with the Dwarves. A loud looooong party. Graduate to the 3rd year. +100 population.
CaptainSpartan 08-07-07, 04:25 PM	Does anyone wanna see my version of survival so far? If I follow allong this expirement, I will need judges to make calls on my Kingdom.
Holy_Beholder 08-07-07, 04:26 PM	What? I'm headed towards the island. Alright, first I am going to throw a rock or something at the island, if the ankhegs come up to investigate, I sling at them. I repeat this until they have learned their lesson(that being you can have the other side of the island. Scoot) Once I have them all herded onto the other side of the island(which has a moutain, with streams running down it, and a forest, and is maybe 4 square miles, I take stone from the mountain and build a raised platform. Then I make a catapult, get stones for ammo, and set the island up to beat the tar out of any orcs. As the cleric has alchemy, I am making alchemist fire cluster shots to shoot at the orc's boats. This game can be played by two. Then I drop of 25 men on the island, and move to another, repeating the process. Drop off 25 men. Then on an island between them, I have 50 men, including me. All of the islands have anti ankheg defenses, and a little dirt will be moved up. If they get up to attack, I deal with them. Acid will also be used with the catapults. In addition, because the catapults(2 on the small islands, 4 on big) shoot in an arc, I have a wall providing very good cover, but I leave in a grate with glass on either side, so I can see. The orcs are now screwed. I'm assuming that if they try to cut stuff down, the elves will cause some problems. I also begin to set up connected rafts as a bridge between the islands. They can be untied on one end and folded back if needed. I am also going to set up a few traps. I am filling coconuts with alchemist fire, and sending them over to the orcs. On each of them is a note that says "We surrender, accept these gifts. Please give at least one to each boat. They are edible" My cleric is taking care of healing, along with his 4 assistants. Population: 100 10 soldiers 35 farmers 5 healers(including a cleric) 3 blacksmiths 1 bard 15 loggers 5 brewers 10 shipwrights 5 scouts 7 masons 2 trap makers
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-07-07, 04:38 PM	I missed the part where they have slaves. If the MM states a tribe of 60 Orcs has human slaves, so be it. This should make up for any casualties, which you had. Alright thanks it says about slaves under the orc society paragraph stating that there is one slave for every ten adults.(on page204 if you want to see for yourself) I assumed that the enite band was adult but as they say assuming makes an ass out of u and me. so I would welcome your opinion as well and thank you for allowing me to advance Spartan. (does your survival invovle persians and elephants? :) )
stargate525 08-07-07, 05:19 PM	60 Orcs. Only 40 fight. With a population of 120, do you think you can kill all the Orcs? You might have a high number of casualties. However, if you chose to slaughter the Orcs. Proceed to your 3rd year. We outnumber them 2 to 1. And using only our fighters and warriors, we're on even combative footing (34 to 40). Using an ambush style attack, with maybe 100 of our population should be able to kick their butts. I realize we're going to have casualties, but this isn't exactly the land of the care bears. Yes, I proceed to slaughter the orcs and move on, send a message to everyone around that we won't be bullied. I need to know how many people I've lost (and gained).
PhilipR 08-07-07, 10:14 PM	Does anyone wanna see my version of survival so far? If I follow allong this expirement, I will need judges to make calls on my Kingdom. Please do so. I would like to help provide feedback, and perhaps try to think up novel challenges. :)
Label 08-07-07, 10:37 PM	60 Orcs. Only 40 fight. 40 fighters? Isn't supposed to be 24? It says in the MM that a band has 30-100 + 150% non combattants... So if their total number in the tribe is 60, that mean they have 24 fighters and 36 non-combattants (24 * 1.5 = 36... 24+36 = 60). Am I wrong or did I have misread/miscalulated ?
Hsien 08-08-07, 02:45 PM	Had some "odd" thoughts on how to deal with problems, so I found out how to "Hide" text so as to not spoil/influence anyone else and saves lots of space...sort of. Year 3 Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 800 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains …similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral Magic: low-Magic, low-Divine; No Psionics Class Level / Description (Qty) Adepts (6.6) 4/Wise Woman(1); 2/ Holy Man (1), Herbalist(1); 1/ Healer Apprentices (3.1) Aristocrat (6.6) 4/Mayor(1), 2/Councilmen (2), 1/ Village reps (3.1) Commoner (653.2) 11/Farmer Merryglade(1); 6/Barkeep (1),Skilled Farmers(3) 1/misc commoners (653.2) Expert (28.6) 11/ Educated Sage: Kulgan(1); 6/ Weaponsmith (1) Canny Merchant (1) 4 /Skilled Merchant (1) Armorsmith (1) Mason (1) Engineer (1) 1 / skilled professionals (12), exp merchants (4), guides (2), teachers (2), alchemist(1) Warrior (41) All Warriors are also part of Militia 7 / Sheriff Gardner(1); 4/ Deputy (2); 2/ Guards (2); 1/Guards (36) Standard equipment: Leather Armor; Scimitar, Dagger, Club; Longbow if on wall watch. Barbarian (7) 4 / Barb (1); 2/ Barb (2); 1/ Barb(4) Bard (16) 5/ Bard (1); 3/ Bard (2); 2/ Bard (3); 1/ Bard(10) ( replaced character levels for Sorc/Wiz as Bards ) Cleric (3) 2/ Cleric (1); 1/ Cleric(2) Pelor and Obid-Hai are 2 main religions Druid (7) 5/ Druid (1); 3/ Druid (2); 1/ Druid (4) Fighter (7) 5/ Fighter (1); 3/ Fighter (2); 1/ Fighter (4) Ranger (9) 3/ Ranger (1); 2/ Ranger (2); 1 /Ranger (6) (replaced character levels for Monk/Paladin as Rangers ) Rogue (15) 7/ Rogue (1); 4/ Rogue(2); 2/ Rogue(4); 1/ Rogue(8) These act as scouts. Continue to improve political/trade relations with Elves/Dwarves. Continue to act as intermediary for trade of goods. New Development: Previous years development concerns will still proceed and advance but much of this year’s new development will be spent on resolving major issues. ( see below ) Many of the Youth-Skill training for this year will be in masonry, to better assist with building, Fire prevention and Sewer/Water construction projects. (Year 2 figures used, no change to available units) We will not accept to be threatened by an obviously inferior force. By now all forces should be in position, Sheriff returns to ranks to discuss with his counselors and then they raise the flag for attack as the bards’ drums herald the orcs doom ( everyone should have +1 hit/damage). Waves of bolts/arrows will fly at orcs from all sides. Horse riders will ride in and out of range using their archery to eliminate and to funnel orcs into awaiting groups of militia & ground archers. The barbarians will be ready for any orc suicide charge and to pursue them as needed. Rest our best to stay out of their range, and hopefully cripple them before any melee occurs. Did an average breakdown of forces/damage vs standard orcs, just to rough it out. Ranges are from closest targets, not center of orcs. Round 1 50 Militia w/ light x-bows at 70-80 ft: ~40% hit rate avg 5 dmge ( -20 orcs ) 50 Character classes/Warriors w/ Longbows/Comp Longbow at 70-80 ft: ~45% or 50% = avg 6 dmge ( - 21 orcs) 12 Rogues ( scouts ) w/ short bows: hold fire until within 60 ft ~40-45% holding until w/in 60’ avg 4 dmge ( 5 Orcs hurt ) That all works out to, assuming avg orcs, about 41 Orcs down and 5 injured. Now even if they charge or take a double move they still cannot even get to the perimeter line; ( if/as they move that’s when the 5 injured from Rogues occur ) Daylight so Orcs are at -1 to hit. Round 2 Depends on what the Orcs did; do they surrender, try to flee or fight to the end? The majority of the Orcs actual fighting force should about be eliminated at this point. If they fight/flee, even with a few possible injuries to Militia from few Orc range missiles, the range militia should finish off all the average orcs and any exceptional orcs ( sergeants/chief etc..) should be hurt as well. Barbarians/Fighters/Warriors/Melee militia stand ready to intercept them. Druids/Clerics/Adepts stand ready to defend themselves and assist injured. River Mermaids? How bizarre? Send guards to secure the flood gates and water/saw mills as well as piers/boats etc… as this may be something else entirely. Have our druids study the water itself to see if it has been contaminated / poisoned somehow, and the clerics/druids study the fisherman that must be kept in fresh water. Have a bard nearby to counter-song any sound based charms. What can those men tell us about their new condition…how do they react to salt water? Send druid w/ escort upstream to investigate possible source, and also druid/ranger to inform Elves of unnatural occurrence, and to see if they have ever heard of such a thing a problem. Need more info/research before planning next step. Delver. Ask the Dwarves for advise and assistance. Our Scholar Kulgan, there was a reason I gave the highest expert level to a scholar, should be able to do some research and find out info. Hoped for plan: Delvers are intelligent and can be bargained with. Send an envoy to discuss a arrangement with him, probably will have to hire a dwarf due to language issues. We hire him to dig tunnels and provide gems and some metals to him…this is going to be an extensive construction idea. See also "Sewers." Some miners will then be relegated to the somewhat easier time of securing tunnels created and assisting Delver with sewer construction. Delver will dig out the majority of the tunnel, but supports and building the actually system still needs to occur. These miners will be given be trained in masonry techniques as the septic system will need to be stone/brick construction. Miners will then be on a rotational basis of sewer construction work, sewer connection work, aboveground masonry and actually mining. Safety report; We’ve had 42 injury free days since the last accident…umm nevermind, somebody get the first aid kit andd vinegar. Hoping we have managed to make a deal with the Delver. With it’s assistance we will create a sewer system underneath the town/ and very carefully under the fortress. Using our Mason & Engineer to oversee support systems as we slowly progress. We will also attempt to hire a small group of dwarves to help oversee this project as the cost to utilize their underground skills and sense should outweigh the cost of the many costly mistakes we would make on our own. Plus we still need to be able to communicate with the Delver. It will be some time before we have a few people able to learn a language it speaks. Make sure there is plenty of vinegar available to wash away residual acid that can’t be collected and re-used elsewhere. We cannot empty the Sewer System into the river as that would harm our fishing and river trade interests, so we will look for a chasm or valley area that it can dump out to so that that land can be eventually used as fertilizer. The key is to control the dumpsite to reduce the impact on the area and make use of the waste/water eventually. Normal bugs and worms are used in it’s breakdown. We will connect a feed line from the river so that the waste keeps moving and the system can occasionally be flushed out if needed. This will be maintained by a series of flood gates to control flow speed. Privies and entrance points will then be connected to the system. Alchemist will likewise take as much residual acid samples for study and research, as possible as the connection to the river will likely have to be done manually. Plus there will be areas in the sewer that will need adjustments. There will also be a seperate "clean" water line installed and the septic system, with water gates wide open can be used in case of major fires, see "Fire" section. Sewer/water will be a major undertaking, taking much time and cost, and if it’s plausible will continue into the next year. Fire prevention: After a year+ of farming, there should be plenty of fieldstones to build with. Start re-building homes with stones and mud stucco. Homes that are not getting rebuilt will be mud-stucco'd to cover exposed timbers. Start replacing thatch roofs with wooden plank roof covering ( still burns but much slower then thatch ) this region is also know for having lots of shale stone which we can start to utilize on some roofs and will also help cut down fire issues. Set up a building plan to have breaks between buildings and organize a fire brigade system. Set up interval well/septic connections so that getting water quickly is not a problem in case of major fires. We are going to start making bricks for the sewer system, some of those resources could also be used to create tile roofing. Roof replacement will be a gradual process. Set up grass bundlers, to harvest field grasses not fit for horses and then bundle the into logs for burning, and also set up a couple of charcoal makers, away from town/neighbors.
CaptainSpartan 08-08-07, 10:57 PM	What? what?I'm headed towards the island. Alright, first I am going to throw a rock or something at the island, if the ankhegs come up to investigate, I sling at them. I repeat this until they have learned their lesson(that being you can have the other side of the island. Scoot) Im not so sure rocks would trick the Ankhegs. But I guess your main goal is to just kill them by hand Once I have them all herded onto the other side of the island(which has a moutain, with streams running down it, and a forest, and is maybe 4 square miles, I take stone from the mountain and build a raised platform. Then I make a catapult, get stones for ammo, and set the island up to beat the tar out of any orcs. As the cleric has alchemy, I am making alchemist fire cluster shots to shoot at the orc's boats. This game can be played by two. Then I drop of 25 men on the island, and move to another, repeating the process. Drop off 25 men. Then on an island between them, I have 50 men, including me. All of the islands have anti ankheg defenses, and a little dirt will be moved up. what are anti ankheg defences? If they get up to attack, I deal with them. Acid will also be used with the catapults. In addition, because the catapults(2 on the small islands, 4 on big) shoot in an arc, I have a wall providing very good cover, but I leave in a grate with glass on either side, so I can see. The orcs are now screwed. I'm assuming that if they try to cut stuff down, the elves will cause some problems. I also begin to set up connected rafts as a bridge between the islands. They can be untied on one end and folded back if needed. I am also going to set up a few traps. I am filling coconuts with alchemist fire, and sending them over to the orcs. On each of them is a note that says "We surrender, accept these gifts. Please give at least one to each boat. They are edible" My cleric is taking care of healing, along with his 4 assistants. Population: 100 10 soldiers 35 farmers 5 healers(including a cleric) 3 blacksmiths 1 bard 15 loggers 5 brewers 10 shipwrights 5 scouts 7 masons 2 trap makers
CaptainSpartan 08-09-07, 12:51 AM	Alright thanks it says about slaves under the orc society paragraph stating that there is one slave for every ten adults.(on page204 if you want to see for yourself) I assumed that the enite band was adult but as they say assuming makes an ass out of u and me. so I would welcome your opinion as well 10/1 = 60/6 so that means 6 slaves. Go with whatever the book says. and thank you for allowing me to advance Spartan. Geez, its like Im the DM or something. I started this thread for everyones opinion. Everything is open to debate. (does your survival invovle persians and elephants? :) ) I will be training my men to have respect and honor for the man beside them. I will fight among them in battle to bring up morale. We will be in an organized battle formation that will work together like one giant monster. We will fight the Immortals, praise the Titans, and throw babies off cliffs.
CaptainSpartan 08-09-07, 12:58 AM	We outnumber them 2 to 1. And using only our fighters and warriors, we're on even combative footing (34 to 40). Using an ambush style attack, with maybe 100 of our population should be able to kick their butts. I realize we're going to have casualties, but this isn't exactly the land of the care bears. Yes, I proceed to slaughter the orcs and move on, send a message to everyone around that we won't be bullied. I need to know how many people I've lost (and gained). Killing the Orcs gets you to the next year. Everyone gets 100 people every year (except for the first year, you gain 80 people, just to keep it even. 20+80=100) Casualties? Im not worried about the casualties this early in the game. Im saving that for massive wars and plauges. If you want to micro manage for the sake of authentic roleplaying, use all roles as average. 1d6=3 1d20=10 etc. I like to read the micro management if you like to keep track of it.
CaptainSpartan 08-09-07, 01:17 AM	Please do so. I would like to help provide feedback, and perhaps try to think up novel challenges. :) Awesome Here's my link. I still need to edit stuff. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=901587 (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=901587) http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=901587 Copy and paste my notes in here for the stuff you want to challenge. All Im going to do is edit everything over and over again in that thread. I used my Fortress to save allot of the work, so we dont have to build homes until we get large enough. Its in the Forest. Trees hiding us. I will cut them down when I get strong enough. Im hiding from Dragon attacks for now. AnkHegs. Im keeping them. Domesticating them. chopping their mandibles(teeth) off and de-clawing them. I built a tremornator device to scare them off during farming hours. Orcs. I offered my women to the Orcs. I ask the women to volunteer for this. Large obligation ofcourse. Once I kill the Orcs, I feed their bodies to my Ankhegs. I cook the Orc brains for my soldiers to eat. (Human growth hormone is found in the back of the brain = also known as steriods) Some of this stuff I havent added in my thread yet. I will. I hope you guys judge each others plans of building too. It would lend me/all of us more ideas.
CaptainSpartan 08-09-07, 01:29 AM	40 fighters? Isn't supposed to be 24? It says in the MM that a band has 30-100 + 150% non combattants... So if their total number in the tribe is 60, that mean they have 24 fighters and 36 non-combattants (24 * 1.5 = 36... 24+36 = 60). Am I wrong or did I have misread/miscalulated ? ahh, so thats what those rules meant. I cant decipher D&D rules. To me its like reading a parking sign in the city. Well it doesnt matter to me. I made a guess, that this band was travelling fast and there fore carried few children, and I made the women fighters. I added no extra levels. But for arguement sake we can add the levels and say only 24 combatants, or keep the call to 40 fighting Orcs, and change the total number to 100 orcs total instead of 60. (40x150% = 60. 60+40 =100) I just wanted to state that Orcs will be a forever pressing problem, since you are on their land. According to Gruumsh. You are right. Im being sloppy. Glad you are here to set things straight.
CaptainSpartan 08-09-07, 01:54 AM	Had some "odd" thoughts on how to deal with problems, so I found out how to "Hide" text so as to not spoil/influence anyone else and saves lots of space...sort of. Year 3 Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 800 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains …similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral Magic: low-Magic, low-Divine; No Psionics Class Level / Description (Qty) Adepts (6.6) 4/Wise Woman(1); 2/ Holy Man (1), Herbalist(1); 1/ Healer Apprentices (3.1) Aristocrat (6.6) 4/Mayor(1), 2/Councilmen (2), 1/ Village reps (3.1) Commoner (653.2) 11/Farmer Merryglade(1); 6/Barkeep (1),Skilled Farmers(3) 1/misc commoners (653.2) Expert (28.6) 11/ Educated Sage: Kulgan(1); 6/ Weaponsmith (1) Canny Merchant (1) 4 /Skilled Merchant (1) Armorsmith (1) Mason (1) Engineer (1) 1 / skilled professionals (12), exp merchants (4), guides (2), teachers (2), alchemist(1) Warrior (41) All Warriors are also part of Militia 7 / Sheriff Gardner(1); 4/ Deputy (2); 2/ Guards (2); 1/Guards (36) Standard equipment: Leather Armor; Scimitar, Dagger, Club; Longbow if on wall watch. Barbarian (7) 4 / Barb (1); 2/ Barb (2); 1/ Barb(4) Bard (16) 5/ Bard (1); 3/ Bard (2); 2/ Bard (3); 1/ Bard(10) ( replaced character levels for Sorc/Wiz as Bards ) Cleric (3) 2/ Cleric (1); 1/ Cleric(2) Pelor and Obid-Hai are 2 main religions Druid (7) 5/ Druid (1); 3/ Druid (2); 1/ Druid (4) Fighter (7) 5/ Fighter (1); 3/ Fighter (2); 1/ Fighter (4) Ranger (9) 3/ Ranger (1); 2/ Ranger (2); 1 /Ranger (6) (replaced character levels for Monk/Paladin as Rangers ) Rogue (15) 7/ Rogue (1); 4/ Rogue(2); 2/ Rogue(4); 1/ Rogue(8) These act as scouts. Continue to improve political/trade relations with Elves/Dwarves. Continue to act as intermediary for trade of goods. New Development: Previous years development concerns will still proceed and advance but much of this year’s new development will be spent on resolving major issues. ( see below ) Many of the Youth-Skill training for this year will be in masonry, to better assist with building, Fire prevention and Sewer/Water construction projects. (Year 2 figures used, no change to available units) We will not accept to be threatened by an obviously inferior force. By now all forces should be in position, Sheriff returns to ranks to discuss with his counselors and then they raise the flag for attack as the bards’ drums herald the orcs doom ( everyone should have +1 hit/damage). Waves of bolts/arrows will fly at orcs from all sides. Horse riders will ride in and out of range using their archery to eliminate and to funnel orcs into awaiting groups of militia & ground archers. The barbarians will be ready for any orc suicide charge and to pursue them as needed. Rest our best to stay out of their range, and hopefully cripple them before any melee occurs. Did an average breakdown of forces/damage vs standard orcs, just to rough it out. Ranges are from closest targets, not center of orcs. Round 1 50 Militia w/ light x-bows at 70-80 ft: ~40% hit rate avg 5 dmge ( -20 orcs ) 50 Character classes/Warriors w/ Longbows/Comp Longbow at 70-80 ft: ~45% or 50% = avg 6 dmge ( - 21 orcs) 12 Rogues ( scouts ) w/ short bows: hold fire until within 60 ft ~40-45% holding until w/in 60’ avg 4 dmge ( 5 Orcs hurt ) That all works out to, assuming avg orcs, about 41 Orcs down and 5 injured. Now even if they charge or take a double move they still cannot even get to the perimeter line; ( if/as they move that’s when the 5 injured from Rogues occur ) Daylight so Orcs are at -1 to hit. Round 2 Depends on what the Orcs did; do they surrender, try to flee or fight to the end? The majority of the Orcs actual fighting force should about be eliminated at this point. If they fight/flee, even with a few possible injuries to Militia from few Orc range missiles, the range militia should finish off all the average orcs and any exceptional orcs ( sergeants/chief etc..) should be hurt as well. Barbarians/Fighters/Warriors/Melee militia stand ready to intercept them. Druids/Clerics/Adepts stand ready to defend themselves and assist injured. Good you killed the Orcs River Mermaids? How bizarre? Send guards to secure the flood gates and water/saw mills as well as piers/boats etc… as this may be something else entirely. Have our druids study the water itself to see if it has been contaminated / poisoned somehow, and the clerics/druids study the fisherman that must be kept in fresh water. Have a bard nearby to counter-song any sound based charms. What can those men tell us about their new condition…how do they react to salt water? Send druid w/ escort upstream to investigate possible source, and also druid/ranger to inform Elves of unnatural occurrence, and to see if they have ever heard of such a thing a problem. Need more info/research before planning next step. You get a report from the Druids in your mail Delver. Ask the Dwarves for advise and assistance. Our Scholar Kulgan, there was a reason I gave the highest expert level to a scholar, should be able to do some research and find out info. Hoped for plan: Delvers are intelligent and can be bargained with. Send an envoy to discuss a arrangement with him, probably will have to hire a dwarf due to language issues. We hire him to dig tunnels and provide gems and some metals to him…this is going to be an extensive construction idea. See also "Sewers." Some miners will then be relegated to the somewhat easier time of securing tunnels created and assisting Delver with sewer construction. Delver will dig out the majority of the tunnel, but supports and building the actually system still needs to occur. These miners will be given be trained in masonry techniques as the septic system will need to be stone/brick construction. Miners will then be on a rotational basis of sewer construction work, sewer connection work, aboveground masonry and actually mining. Safety report; We’ve had 42 injury free days since the last accident…umm nevermind, somebody get the first aid kit andd vinegar. good thinking. I'll have to think abou this one. I'll send you something in the mail in a few days. I wonder what others think if this idea would work or pose any problems. Your solution changes the face of D&D as most people see it. Hoping we have managed to make a deal with the Delver. With it’s assistance we will create a sewer system underneath the town/ and very carefully under the fortress. Using our Mason & Engineer to oversee support systems as we slowly progress. We will also attempt to hire a small group of dwarves to help oversee this project as the cost to utilize their underground skills and sense should outweigh the cost of the many costly mistakes we would make on our own. Plus we still need to be able to communicate with the Delver. It will be some time before we have a few people able to learn a language it speaks. Make sure there is plenty of vinegar available to wash away residual acid that can’t be collected and re-used elsewhere. We cannot empty the Sewer System into the river as that would harm our fishing and river trade interests, so we will look for a chasm or valley area that it can dump out to so that that land can be eventually used as fertilizer. The key is to control the dumpsite to reduce the impact on the area and make use of the waste/water eventually. Normal bugs and worms are used in it’s breakdown. We will connect a feed line from the river so that the waste keeps moving and the system can occasionally be flushed out if needed. This will be maintained by a series of flood gates to control flow speed. Privies and entrance points will then be connected to the system. Alchemist will likewise take as much residual acid samples for study and research, as possible as the connection to the river will likely have to be done manually. Plus there will be areas in the sewer that will need adjustments. There will also be a seperate "clean" water line installed and the septic system, with water gates wide open can be used in case of major fires, see "Fire" section. Sewer/water will be a major undertaking, taking much time and cost, and if it’s plausible will continue into the next year. vinegar to stop acid corrosion, hmm , where did I read that? Your sewer system is a HUGE construction process. And VERY expensive. Dwarves are expensive. (any thoughts on making Dwarves expensive?) I'd say this job will take you a few years. Fire prevention: After a year+ of farming, there should be plenty of fieldstones to build with. Start re-building homes with stones and mud stucco. Homes that are not getting rebuilt will be mud-stucco'd to cover exposed timbers. Start replacing thatch roofs with wooden plank roof covering ( still burns but much slower then thatch ) this region is also know for having lots of shale stone which we can start to utilize on some roofs and will also help cut down fire issues. Set up a building plan to have breaks between buildings and organize a fire brigade system. Set up interval well/septic connections so that getting water quickly is not a problem in case of major fires. We are going to start making bricks for the sewer system, some of those resources could also be used to create tile roofing. Roof replacement will be a gradual process. Set up grass bundlers, to harvest field grasses not fit for horses and then bundle the into logs for burning, and also set up a couple of charcoal makers, away from town/neighbors. Go ahead to your next year. you gained another +100 population. We will work on the remainder problems in the mean time to save us time.
stargate525 08-09-07, 03:45 AM	Killing the Orcs gets you to the next year. Everyone gets 100 people every year (except for the first year, you gain 80 people, just to keep it even. 20+80=100) Casualties? Im not worried about the casualties this early in the game. Im saving that for massive wars and plauges. If you want to micro manage for the sake of authentic roleplaying, use all roles as average. 1d6=3 1d20=10 etc. I like to read the micro management if you like to keep track of it. Ah, I see. We'll assume that whatever casualties we incurred is made up by extra newcomers and little kids. Unfortunately, I don't know what year three's challenge is. edit: nevermind, I found it. And I won't micromanage that much, sorry. Inveran Hamlet Population 200 LG Dragonlord (King) Laws are standard for LG towns, unbiased, open to everyone. The only oddities are that all married couples must attempt to produce at least three children, and that children may be raised by the town collectively. In addition, all able bodied adults (male and female) must be trained in the use of either a pike, sword, or bow, should they be called upon to serve as militia. Landscape: A sheer cliff face that leads to a small rocky coast before dropping again into the bay. The bay is calm and good for fish and a (future) harbor, and the small coastline is inaccessible. The city is built into the cliff, with a set of lifts that can move people and goods to the top of the cliff. A set of stairs leads down to the coast. There is forest above us, as well as a waterfall that comes down off the cliff, from which we get our freshwater. The clifftop is a grassy field which is unsuitable for crops (less than 4 inches of soil before we hit bedrock) The Town: The town itself is inside the mountain, and courtyards are chiseled out of the stone for light and air (think the native american cliff dwellings in the Southwest). The Dragonlord's (King's) Manor is bigger than the other houses, but has a window behind the waterfall. On the clifftop is a two story stone tower, surrounded by a dug out pit. The lift from below leads up into this building, and protects it from incursion. Below is a wooden pier, able to hold a dozen boats. A small wooden sub-community is growing on the shoreline, and a barge is sent almost weekly to the forested coast for a shipment of lumber. Barbarians - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Bards - 3 2-0-1-0-0 Clerics - 10 6-3-1-0-0 Druids - 0 Fighters - 24 16-7-0-1-0 Monks - 1 1-0-0-0-0 Paladins - 0 Rangers - 5 0-5-0-0-0 Rogues - 8 5-2-0-0-1 Sorcerers - 3 2-1-0-0-0 Wizards - 4 3-1-0-0-0 Adepts - 0 0-0-0-0-0 Aristocrats - 3 0-2-0-1-0 Commoners - 116 89-27-2-0-2 / 1 Experts - 18 9-5-0-3-0 / 1 Warriors - 17 13-3-0-1-0 Worker Distribution: (I've got too many people to keep distributing per person. Instead I'll list off the main labor providers we have.) Fishermen: They fish from shore and from boats, providing the main sustenance for the growing settlement. School/Academy: Little more than the village's smartest person, this small establishment teaches youngsters, and will hopefully grow into a full-sized academy one day. Gatherers: These men gather fruits and other wild-growing foods to supplement the diet. Blacksmith: Makes tools and weapons. Carpenter: Making tools, furniture, weapons, and other goods. Shipwright: They build and repair our fleet of fishing boats. Scouting Corps: Exploring the Wilderness to make contact with allies and to give advance warning of potential threats. Guard: It's their job to manage the defense of the hamlet, as well as maintain the peace. The Guard Captain is the Hamlet's second-in-command. Shrine: Taking care of religious matters, as well as running a small hospital. Lumberyard: due to the town's growing demand for lumber, people have been designated for the task of harvesting and preparing lumber for use. Mine: A small mine of iron. It is believed that the vein is rather small. Once it's depleted, the mined area will be smoothed out and turned into housing, with the miners and their families given first selection. Shepherds: A small group of sheep was brought with one human refugee, and is now being bred into a large flock. The herd currently resides on the clifftop, within the perimeter of the planned wall. The sheep provide wool for clothes and other textiles, milk, and meat when they become too old. Ongoing Projects and Goals: Realizing that not everyone will want to live underground, and that some crafting and production processes will necessitate open space, work has begun to wall in the clifftop using the stone carved out of the cliff. Since the wall is nearly two miles long (making the field roughly 600ft. across), this is expected to take roughly four years, although there will be some defensive bonus by year 2. Currently, the stone is being stockpiled, and volunteers are digging out the perimeter of the wall down to the bedrock. Eventually, the bedrock will be chiseled into, and stone anchors will be placed. Once these are in place, two parallel stone walls will be laid, each roughly a foot thick and three feet apart. The middle section will be filled with gravel and dirt, then topped with stone battlements and walkway. The wall will have no towers, and a simple wooden gate. Stone supply will not meet the demands, and unless we import or mine stone for its own sake, we will need roughly 6 years to produce enough excess to construct this. The casualties suffered by the orc ambush was unacceptable. Therefore, spare weapons are being stockpiled and the populace is being registered to form a militia. The militia will consist of every able-bodied man and woman (roughly half the population), and must be proficient in one of the militia's stockpiled weapons (currently spears, a few swords, and bows). It is one of the duties of the Guard to train them, and this training is supplied free to the people. The weapons are stored in the guardhouses and specially constructed buildings near the defensive perimeter for easy access. Full training is expected to take two years, at which point we should be able to keep up with newcomers. Finding Inveran's natural resources to be lacking in space or soil to hold farms, alternative methods of agriculture are being researched, such as floating plots of farmland, the cultivation of seaweed and other water-based plants, and the feasibility of deforestation to provide the needed space. This research is also looking for ways to keep livestock, and scouts are looking for pastureland beyond the forest. Research is ongoing until a suitable method can be obtained in both regards. Challenges: Fishermen: Seeing as this constitutes a direct threat to the well-being of everyone in the town, our entire complement of clerics and healers are put into researching a cure. Anyone who comes down with the disease is immediately brought to the river and immersed, under quarantine. We send our bravest and most stalwart warriors to explore the bay, checking for the mermaids and making contact if possible. Until this is solved, no fishing boat is allowed more than 1000 feet from the shore, and watchers have been placed to observe the fleet at all times. The guard is doubled around essential locaitons, and anyone caught vandalizing is interrogated as to motives, then sentenced to a week working on the wall. Miners: We attempt to negotiate, both with the miners and the delver. To the miners, we offer them the first claim to the real-estate they are opening up, as well as a 10% share of whatever they mine, to do with what they will. Hopefully this will begin to spark a public, non-govermental market system. To the Delver, we offer in exchange for his services as a mining assistant, we offer it lodging, what protection we can give it, as well as a percentage of all the ore extracted (we'll have to negotiate this, I'm hoping for something less than 10%). Should he agree, we also bottle the slime that he produces for offensive use. This is done by highly trained, brave, and protected men, who get double wages. Fire: Our houses aren't made of wood, so I'm assuming we don't have to deal with this nearly as badly. However, we do begin a project to divert some of the river from above into the caverns below. This will be used as a fire prevention system and a water supply, and should be finished within the year. Until then, the size of the Guard is increased, and assigned the duty to form and organize bucket brigades in case of a fire. Sewer: Using our Delver buddy (alright, 40%, but no higher!), we dig out a long central tunnel that leads to a pit away from the coast. The water diversion project (see fire) will also supply running water. The waste from the sewer will be washed down into the system from this supply, along with the extra water. Once it reaches the pit, a few clerics or druids will be assigned to stick heating rods (long metal poles that have heat metal cast on them) into the sludge, which will dry it out. Once it is drier, workers will shovel it out and distribute it either to farms that need it or the forest, which should help grow the trees faster which should alleviate the wood problem.
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-09-07, 10:16 AM	Orcs. I offered my women to the Orcs. I ask the women to volunteer for this. Large obligation ofcourse. Once I kill the Orcs, I feed their bodies to my Ankhegs. I cook the Orc brains for my soldiers to eat. (Human growth hormone is found in the back of the brain = also known as steriods) You know that eating huminoid brains can cause fatal disease. I remember reading about a tride in scotland (I think) that ate the brains of their fathers when they died and they all contracted a disease. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm just saying.
stargate525 08-09-07, 12:01 PM	Aye, there are some organs (brain, lungs, and stomach for instance) that are tossed out for a reason.
baby_kamikaize_kobold 08-09-07, 12:16 PM	and yet we used to use the part where the feces passed as sausage casing :nonono:
Holy_Beholder 08-09-07, 02:21 PM	what? Im not so sure rocks would trick the Ankhegs. But I guess your main goal is to just kill them by hand what are anti ankheg defences? Rocks would trick them, they are int 1, and sense vibrations. I figure a rock bouncing on the ground might feel like a rabbit hopping. Then I scare them off, by slinging at them from out of range, they aren't quite mindless so it should work. The anti ankheg defenses are the raised platforms of stone I described, since they might decide to come back. The catapults are to deal with the orcs and the orc's ships, along with the "presents" of firey doom.
Hsien 08-10-07, 04:25 PM	Year 4 Duchy of Hillcrest Pop = 900 Terrain = Piedmont ( Hills/Plains …similar to US central east coast region, VA) Alignment = Lawful Neutral Magic: low-Magic, low-Divine; No Psionics Continued Development ~ Improve Trade and Political relations with Elves/Dwarves. ~ Work around Duchy to increase security, motte/bailey fort system hopefully reached the coast line this year. Establish coastal village near best available beachfront. Next year plan to be able to utilize ocean as a resource. ~ Youth Skills Internships ~ Roof replacement and fire prevention methods. ~ Sewer ( cont. from Year 3 ) Assuming a 30 day/month and 12 months/year. Mason/Crasftsperon: 3sp/day, works out to 36 GP a year. Engineer:5 sp/day; 55GP/year Used some data from DMII, although it’s not on our list of allowed books, only it used DMGII to help guess at costs. Master Planner/Architect Skill Check of 30: 6GP/day = 2160/yr + one time bonuses of 1000 skill level bonus + 500 Hazard = 3660 Master Engineer: Skill check 15: 3 gp/day = 1080yr ( + 1000 skill/haz bonus) Total Dwarvish workforce cost = 4,400/year + 2500 Haz/Skill bonus Master Architect ( skill check 30 ) : 2160/yr + 1500 bonus = 3660 Exceptional Engineer ( skill check 15 ) : 1080/yr + 1000 bonus = 2080 10 Masons/Miners : 360 gp + double pay for Skill/Haz = 720/yr 4 Architect/Engineers: 220 gp + double pay for Skill/Haz = 440/yr Bonuses will be paid out in increments so that one year’s economy does not bear the full burden and cripple other projects. Double pay occurs per year. Delver: Unsure of cost as they don’t seem to have a need for money, except to eat. Supplement with scrap metals and ore that is not of good quality for smithies, to help cut costs, be very cautious of gem use do to there effects. We want the delver happy though, so I’m going to ballpark 800/yr towards metal/ 200/yr gems for now, And a project bonus, paid over a couple years, of 1000 metal/400 gems. May be able to provide more depending on how successful the project is. Large start up costs, but the expertise/resource should be worth it. Again this a building plan for a huge city, and eventually nearby towns; not just our current village. New Development: Fortify Coastal Village; concerns for sewer drainage system taken into account so that ocean is not polluted. Village/fort should also be away from the where fresh/salt water meet due to health concerns. Agricultural research, some examples ~ Irrigation, natural fertilizers, and benefits of plant to soil type, erosion etc.. ~ Livestock studies and lake fish farms Duke Hillcrest has declared a Mid-summers festival, where ages are added instead of trying to keep track of individual dates. It is also known for it's revalry, gaming and competition matches. This festival, known as Generation Continuum by scholars, is commonly referred to as GEN CON!!! with an ethusiastic yell. The Duchy will have a special event taking place this year in the uncompleted portion of the Sewer system, a game of chance and wits called Truest Delver. Citizen Hsien was noted as saying, "I'm leaving for Gen Con on Tues, yippee!!!!" Issues: ( cont. from Year 3 ) Some info PM per request. Doing more research on how to locate / limit source problem and possible cure. Those already infected, will be taken to a secure river/lake location to work as fisherman, until cure can be located/developed. River/Ocean Fisherman are warned of danger, will have to plot out areas where problems occurred at and stay clear of those regions for now. Sage Kulgan indicates that it is likely a Lycanthrope or some type, due to nature of attacks it is likely a werewolf or possibly a person that recently contracted Lycan and cannot control it yet. Rangers review incident sites to determine what sort of tracks are there. Hopefully this will provide animal type track that will indicate which Lycan it is. Druids/Adepts harvest belladonna and wolf’s bane and start working with on cure. Guard/Militia will be issued several silver tipped arrows and a silver dagger, as they become available. Extra guards are assigned to night duty and provided signal whistles. At next full moon cycle, assuming it has not been resolved already, extra patrols are established and class levels citizens have been asked to assist in securing region, and restraining/destroying the Lycan if found, where the attacks took place.
PhilipR 08-11-07, 11:40 PM	Sorry, missed this post somehow, will try to catch up! Don't take the comments as absolute DMing, just my suggestion on what a likely outcome might be. Kings Name: King LionBlood Government: Free: 2 Kings; Magocratic communist slavery. Hmmm, sounds familiar... LAWS Must give life for the Kingdom. Only the strongest humans will breed. Only the best spellcasters will breed. Women are property of the state. Citizenship: Must give life for the Kingdom. Must be born from quality parents. Hellots: Hellots are not citizens. Hellots are workers and farmers. Terrain Country: Island: Thoughts of starting on an island are debatable. Fortress (Blueprint) The Fortress and walls will be conjured in the Forest. The forest trees will provide cover for my growing settlement. The Fortress walls will house trees and outside of the walls. The instant erection of the walls will trap much forest creatures within the walls. A small stream (with fish) will run close to our Fortress. A large river will be close. A lake will be close by for fishing. An ocean will be 6 hours by horse and cart away. All sounds doable thus far. Races. Dwarves Request training to fight like Dwarven Defenders. We will be working with the Dwarves on many obstacles. Stone buildings. Weapons. Fortifications. I have nothing to offer in my first years. Hmm, the Dwarves will agree to send an observer/advisor to dribble out information, training and perhaps some needed equipment. The Dwarf can be expected to report intelligence back to the local clan, BTW. Given the policies you've described below, they seem a bit dodgy about providing a great deal of trade and assistance. Elves. We will leave the elves alone if they leave us alone. Keeping trade open for my Hellots. Eventually we will expand into Elven territory, and the Elves must follow my laws. I'd say you're pretty much already in elven territory, but since you haven't made contact, they observe your progress silently from the undergrowth. Gnomes Will provide us with superior seige designs. Hopefully Orcs In my early years, I am in no condition to fight them. I offer my women up to the Chief (biggest Orc) in return for peace. I want my women back alive, and will negotiate terms to make this happen in a trustworthy manner. My women will give birth to the Strongest Half Orcs and in turn those Half Orcs will be my strongest fighting army. An admirably calculated, if Machiavellian,(and frankly repugnant) strategy. The Orcs decide to move in to a cave near your settlement offering terms of mutual defense in return for free access to your women. HobGoblins. I offer peace. I offer an alliance to work together and rule the world. HobGoblins will be allowed to be Captains in my future large army. The Hobgoblins are quite keen on meeting with you in person, and would like to know precisely where your fortress is, so they can march a large garrison there- solely to help you guard it from elves, of course. ;) Halflings. At first they will serve as farmers and workers in our Kingdom. 'Hellots'. They will also serve as spies and espionage for future warfare. Hmmm, the enslaved halflings might be hard to keep on the farms with your first year numbers. You may also wish to consider that they could appeal to the Elves and Dwarves for assistance. Year 1. Population = 20 The King (me) will help the people in all labour and work. The King will work the hardest among his men to lead by example. The first year is the hardest for my people. We will all live in the fortress the first year. No need work harder and build more homes. We will keep the wood chopping to a bare minimum. No trees will be cut within the walls. Any wood will be harvested from a distance spread out as to not reveal our hidden Kingdom. Food Food will be hunted. Leather harvested. Wild animals will be caged for breeding, milking and feeding. Very small farms will be made. (only have to feed 20+1 people) Water is fresh from the stream. Mining This will be the major source of labour. Mining in mountains aproved by the respected Dwarves. All gems and gold will be given to the Dwarves the first year. BlackSmith One man will be the black smith. He will make weapons and armour. Some tools. Seems reasonable. You find enough iron and time to make armor for about half your people. (your choice as to what type, though plate would be beyond the skills of a normal blacksmith IMO) A few of your women come back a bit bruised from rough Orcish mating rituals, but the Chief sends with them a flask of a very deadly blade poison peculiar to Orcs as a compensation for your damaged property. As Winter sets in, some of the women are showing signs of pregnancy, and you notice hard glares and grumbling from not a few of the men as you pass by the fires. Ankhegs. All good ideas. The Orcs. I should have 100 population by this year. All my population should be able to live inside my walls. Food and all. Because my Fortress is hidden among the trees, it should be less likely to be spotted. The Orcs should not be able to pass my walls and all farms are kept on the inside. At first I offer peace by providing the most beautiful women for the chief and his largest men. Meals shall be provided for the chosen Orcs. I want all my women back alive. Im hoping to produce half orc offspring for my army. I will not reveal this to the Orcs. A very large portion of your men are close to rebellion. Fights are breaking out among the armed citizens. If I can establish trust. Once I have 50 half Orc babies. I'd say you have about thirty confirmed pregnancies when a general insurrection breaks out. (I take it from your goal of 50 half-orc babies there are 50 women and 50 men at this point) 10 enraged men attempt to overthrow you one night, 10 defend you, and the rest mill about seeing what will happen. After a bloody and brutal struggle all the mutineers are dead or captured, and four of your loyalists have been killed. You have a population of 86 now. I will invite the Chief Orc and his 10 best men inside my walls for a feast. Once they are drunk, they are slaughtered except for the Chief. He is locked up. Chained tightly. His teeth pulled out. Tounge cut, Arms chopped off. He will be fed and kept alive. Used for breeding purposesDuring the Feast, the Orc tribe outside the walls will be asked to celebrate as well. Given lots of food (some poisened) and drink. They get drunk, and they are slaughtered. Every single one. The remains of the Orcs will be shown to the Dwarven and Elven Kingdoms as an honorable ties for deeper alliance. Orc bodies will be chopped up and used to feed the Ankhegs. If we do not gain the Orcs trust. I will have to resort to Ambush tactics when they come at night. And attack their camp during the day, they get minuses during the day.. You've headed off another insurrection by slaughtering the Orcs. The massacre is unbelievably bloody and the Orc's bodies are mutilated and hung up in the trees by your warriors. Dwarves- likely will now have some idea of your breeding program and, fearing a large kingdom full of half-orcs at their doorstep, withdraw access to their mines pending further developments. Eating Orc Brains- New Guinea cannibals contract a disease similar to spongiform encephalopathy- Mad Cow Disease from eating human brains with the disorder, yet how one would determine the risk % of contracting such a disease from an Orc brain is beyond my reckoning. On the same subject, I would wonder about the likelihood of transmitting various disease and parasites during intercourse with an Orc- DMG describes their equipment as "dirty and unkempt" and I would guess that applies to the rest of them, too!:yuck: Hobs n' Elves- You receive a message from the Hobgoblin tribe said to be located in a cavern system a league away, congratulating you on your victory over the Orcs. They warn you that elven rangers are watching your settlement closely, and that they, the Hobgobs, are willing to send some troops to guard the outposts by night in exchange for meat and grain. They are also apprised of the Dwarves reluctance to allow you access to mining rights, and offer to open up their territory to your miners. An exchange of hostages can be arranged if there are issues of trust to overcome. The Elves officially acknowledge your victory, but remain essentially invisible.
PhilipR 08-14-07, 03:07 PM	Bump for Capt. Mulling it over, I think some of the backlashes from your "breeding program" can be avoided if: 1. You reserve some females for common access by all the males in your community: like camp followers in Medieval armies. 2. You role a successful Mendacity check and explain to the dwarves and elves that you were coerced into the arrangement by the orcs, from whom you felt you had no defense otherwise. Later on, when your numbers swell, you won't be subject to the whims of other races nor will there be such an obvious shortage of suitable partners for your males, so I think the initial tensions will be lessened considerably and your halforc corps will become a valuable praetorian guard of sorts, insulating you from assassins displeased with your policies and so forth. If you choose to work with Hobgoblins that might-nay will, provoke some degree of hostility from the elves, I would think, which you could either resolve through diplomacy or force of arms, your choice. Another concern- in the forest environ I'm not sure you'd be able to grow sufficient crops for your growing community- especially inside your defensive walls. However, considering that you are located near a salmon or (less beneficially) shad spawning river abundant protein would be annually available and could be preserved for overwintering. The elves could provide information on how to obtain edible herbs and vitamin-rich tree cambium and leaves to supplement your crop output.
Label 08-15-07, 01:50 AM	Sorry I havn't come to the boards for a week, had no opportunity. But i'm back! And I'll teach those orcs... So year 2, the orc ambush. I now have a population of 700, so this means I now have 7 "permanent" guards/soldiers and a possibility of 35 levies. And there is this tribe of 60 orc, and 24 of them are fighters. I have number advantage. But their 24 guys are experienced, I have 35 peasant noobs... I'll keep the same weaponry I had with the ankhegs (masterwork heavy crossbows and glaives). All 1d10. But just for the case, I'll equip my mens and womens with warhammers, for the case they get in close-combat. That way I have piercing, slashing and bludge; ranged, reach and melee; weapons. All in leather armor. Before the battle, I'll make sure everyone understands that we'll only fight/kill the fighting males. This is a tribe, so they have children and women : we don't kill them. During the night, we sneak out of the town by the mountain side, not by the side doors where orcs wait for us, and we then move in their direction. I want to make a surprise attack, by first firing a coordinated shot with the crossbows (everyone firing a different target.) If the survivors want to counter-attack we switch to the glaives and we'll wait in total defense to get them with an attack of opportunity. If they stay where they are in the hope we'll come closer, we'll just reload crossbows and fire again on the fighters. We'll then "capture" the women, children and slaves if they try to flee... but only to offer them something they have never dreamed of before : Freedom. Freedom and Citizenship in my town, for all orc women, children and whatever slaves they had. They can learn to read and write, start their own businesses, etc. (Because in the orc tribes, womens are objects, and nothing more that a measure of power for the males : the more women you have, the more you are power. I now offer them to be real people.) I they acept, that's nice, becauze it wasn't a lie. (And thus the concept of half-orcs is born) If they don't, it's up to them, they are free now. For the improvements of my town, I'll order the construction of an aqueduct, to bring fresh water from the top of the mountain to irrigate my rice fields, and offer fresh water to the population. Since we are growing in number, I have to take actions to prevent bad things and to improve the living. So with the aqueduct I'll open public baths, build latrines and build a nice fountain in the middle of the marketplace. For all used waters, they will be dumped in the river but in the outside of the town, downstream (so that all the trash won't come back in the town/port.) Unless the elves have a better idea to suggest (they have trash too). To keep the mood up, I'll start an annual festival. But not just for human, halfling and orc artists... I'll invite elven, dwarven and goblin artists to it, to create a festival for sharing culture and a tribute to "openmindedness". I'll also reinforce commerce with my neighboors. I'll invite them to discuss a standard trade unit and currency, to facilitate trade between our different civilizations. (And thus the concept of CP SP GP and PP appears :P) I'll also standardize the size of a wagon and other things with wheels (for future devlopment of roads).
ToKeLu 09-20-07, 12:24 PM	If you could excuse my english in advance ;-) The desert Thorp: Skyreach Pop: 20 Terrain: Desert/Mountain Alignment: LN Government: Tribal ... for the time being. Women have equal rights and responsibilities At this time theres no districts or other races Slaves are not present but that is a possibility later on. Laws are very simple, the Nomads Elders decides innosence or guilt by Tribunal A community of nomads has found a large "Table top" mountain, located in the desert, the top of the mountain is flat enough to be used for habitation, the monntain is crescent shaped and the flat top is roughly 3 miles long and 1.8 miles wide providing 5.4 square miles suitable for the Nomads to settle on, while this is a rare find it is not impossible ( Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa) it has been decided that the Nomads will settle on the top of this mountain henceforth calles "Skyreach". The Nomads sets up camp at a large oasis located at the base at northeastern part of Skyreach, which happens to be in the "enclosure" of the crescent, until it is easy to access the top. The water supply for the oasis, comes mostly from an underground river, but some comes from a big stream from the top, this stream is also going to be the watersupply for the Nomads. Water will be a concern as the tribe grows. After some scouting a cave is found to have connection to the top, though it takes some work to clear the caves of stone and debris, the caves are large enough for even camels to fit through. A system of lifts on the cliff face are planned for easier access, but this is not a priority right now. Since it is a desert wood is scarce, the only wood is probably comming from the Oasis, so great care is taken not to take too much wood from there. Stone is no problem, but it is heavy and cumbersome. sand is abundant and together with mucus from patches of slime/funghi from the caves it makes for a rather strong building material, easy to work with and complementing the stonework nicely. I have never heard of desert dwarfs, but i woulden't be surprised ... your call :-) Same with elves. Food and drink: Meat and milk will come from goats and camels, tho the camels are more used as a beast of burden and as mounts. Hunting in the oasis/desert and underground will provide a bit of meat as well. With irrigation it is possible to farm some types of hardy corn and grain. This will have to be done wery carefully tho, as too much water taken from the oasis will destroy its balance. Plans to tap into the underground river has to be thought up and implemented, so that the watersupply can be increased. The scarce crops will be acompanied by fruits, nuts and certain cacti from the Oasis and the desert and mushrooms from the caves. The caves/tunnels go very deep and there is even some small caverns, one such is deemed suitable for housing a Schroom farm, the nourishment for this comming from plant matter (stalks from corn and pealings and so forth) and waste from humans and animals - a dirty job ... but somebody gotta do it. This will take some time to get started so this is a priority. Alcohol and spirits could be made from several sources. It is possible that blind cavefish and Crayfish lives in the deep caves as well. I Think i got a stable continous supply of food and water for now, but this has to be monitored closly as theese things are very hard to control in this kind of enviroment. Defence: The placement of the Thorp is quite clever, the only access to the top is via the tunnels from below, these can easily be defended and/or trapped, a way to close the entrance at ground and top level could also be devised. Flying threats is not yet a problem, but i'm thinking about some air-defence. The lifts will be up at nights and in times of trouble (when implemented) A small cave near the top could easily be used as food storage, is is cool and thanks to the desert enviroment it would be mostly dry - perfect for food storing. so when needed the tribe could live of this supply for a time. Leather from various creatures will be used for armor, If Ankhegs are present, their chitin shells can be made into good armor as well, but only if the Ankhegs can be captured/killed safely (traps) or with calculated risk. Acid would also be available if this is the case. Jobs: (1) A Scout to find threats and to find the occational prey (1) A Druid will be needed to increase the food supply (1) A healer/herbalist/spiritual (Cleric) might come in handy (1) A Stone cutter will also be needed but only to a degree, he/she would double as a Carpenter (1) A "Mason" to help the building process along (2) A Team of Hunters to provide meat (2) A Team of Gatheres to provide fruits, nuts, mushrooms (2) A couple of farmers to tend the fields and mushroom-cave probably with help from the Druid (5) A Team of "dedicated" guards/soldiers (Warriors) (1?) The smartest of theese are given the tasks of finding solutions to specific problems, how to get more water, how to make the lift system and so on he/she will work closely with the specialists (?) One or more are going to prospect for metals in the mountain (1) If Metals are found a Blacksmith is needed as well. In the begining all people will need to help with building, farming and so forth, and everyone will need to train a bit of fighting so as to be able to help fighting when needed. If possible all people will rotate in the duties, this might help with "boredom", but more importantly in case a specialist is hurt or dies, another of the Nomads, knows the basics and is able to take over. More will be added when i think of it. First challenge: Since Ankheg live in Warm Plains i dont think they will bother my Nomads here in the desert, even tho the waste the beast leaves could indeed improve farming conditions. If Ankhegs are to be found here anyways, the tribe would train people to be "Thumpers" - learning how to spot the Ankhegs before they are a real threat, Using logs to "Thump" and thereby lure the creature away from the fields when needed, using the bedrock and cliffs to get out of harms way when needed. Since the beasts have an INT of 1 I'm relying on them to follow their instincts. The start of this settlement is probably going to be difficult and slow due to the harsh enviroment, but i think it is feasible. Crituique and suggestions are welcome :-)
tripleee69 09-20-07, 07:03 PM	I'm new at this so go easy on me... all class levels are 2, 3 rangers 2 wizards(my character is one of them level 4) 3 sorecers 2 bards 3 rouges(2 alchemist,1 diplomat) 3 druids 4 clerics the communite is council ran by 1 of each class and me since im leading this party. i would start with my people dividing into parties looking for a wooded moutain with a small lake and/or stream controlled by neather the elves or dwarves. once found we would then start by setting camps up in the moutain and begin diging into the near top and work our way down building 3 entrances 4/10 the way down to make clearing rubble easier Any Material found will be ether used,stored,or traded. A 1/2 month in it will start to be used as a storage room the mine will later be made into the main living quarter and then when complete a hidden fortress. Those not working in the moutains use the rubble to build shelves on the moutain sides to farm on and roads connecting them but never going more than 5/10 the way down the moutain and never connects to the serrounding flat land to keep the communite hidden and hard to get to for hostile forces. The druids will be set to work on rearanging the trees and wild growth to keep the camps and excavation sites and shelve hidden from onlookers once done they will start on redirecting the streams to feed the farms and make more small lakes to which can be populated with fish later to firtalize them and increase the wild life in the serounding area. Rangers are on watch for spies and game, wizard and sorcerers set alarm spell all around the moutain to alert the council of intruders. Garbage will be first passed to wizards and sorcerers for spell componets and the to the druids for mulch piles. I would start communcations in 4 months with any nearby communites that are willing to show themselves using the material found and harvested to trade for medicine,tools and class schooling (preferibly druids and rangers from elves and smith and fighter from dwarves). thats it i think , i will edit this if i miss read anything in the opening post.
tripleee69 09-22-07, 06:31 PM	Bump for a response
Label 09-23-07, 03:04 AM	Bump for a response It's been about a month (maybe more) that this thread lays dead... We had a lot of fun but... meh.
ArchmageOmega 09-23-07, 01:31 PM	Ah, that's too bad. I was going to join in too. Does anyone feel like restarting this in a new thread? (I don't think I could. :P)
tripleee69 09-23-07, 05:57 PM	:weep: good bye poor thread