Kingdom issues (after Darro ir'Lain's visit)

So is the above what you're going with? If so, let me know which grassland hex you want to claim.

Since we decided what you are doing, someone please give me 4 Economy checks to wrap up the month and see what you made.

Fun session!

NO WAMMIES!

EDIT: WAM BAM THANK YOU MRS OFFICER!

The member 'Leonis' has done the following action : Dice roller

#1 'd20' : 14

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#2 'd20' : 16

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#3 'd20' : 14

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#4 'd20' : 13

Leonis wrote:

Fun session!

NO WAMMIES!

EDIT: WAM BAM THANK YOU MRS OFFICER!

Nice rolling! You successfully sell a medium item and 2 minor items thanks to your three settlements (which nets you 12 BP) and get a 48 on your regular money-generating Economy check and get another 9 BP, so you end the month with 21 BP.

I just noticed that we didn't handle all the kingdom development stuff for the month of Rhaan, during which you left for Varnhold (you left midway through the month and will return the next month). So I'd like to wrap up as much of it as possible before we play on Sunday.

Somebody please roll me a Stability check (with a +28 vs. DC 35).

NO WAMMIES


Mulligan? Do-over?
its the rain

The member 'Leonis' has done the following action : Dice roller

'd20' : 5

Leonis wrote:

Mulligan? Do-over?
its the rain

Heh! You had to fail sooner or later, esp. as the kingdom gets significantly larger and thus more unwieldy. But you don't take any negatives for this failure. If you fail by 5 or more your Unrest increases, but you only failed by 2, so it doesn't. And since Unrest was already 0, the fact that you failed to lower it has no effect.

Now the major choice - what two hexes are you expanding into? You have a lot of options:

1 - Claim the hex with the hot springs where you fought the giant frogs (in-game over a year ago!). Being a landmark, it gives you +1 to Loyalty.

2 - Claim the hex with the overgrown statue of Balinor. It's also a landmark, giving you the +1 to Loyalty.

3 - Claim the hex where Melianse's pool is. There's enough valuable timber in the area that it'll give you a +1 to Economy (without bothering her). The hex is two away from Lakeshore, so you'll have to take the intervening forest hex too.

4 - Claim a plains hex on your border with Varnhold, so you can build farmland there

5 - Claim a plains hex near the border with Drelev, so you can build farmland there

Besides these, there are a number of forest and hill hexes available too. The forest ones don't benefit you much beyond increasing the kingdom's size, but the hill ones can have farmland in them (costs 4 BP, as opposed to the 2 BP on plains hexes).

Let me know what you think.

Whoops! I was double-checking stuff and realized that I hadn't actually made the original error I thought I had time-wise. So the kingdom-building stuff I started above actually occurs once you get back to your kingdom. So we'll actually handle this at the table on Sunday.

I'm guessing that when it comes to claiming hexes, the main priority will now be to get 2 hexes so you can get close enough to Varnhold, which will then join your kingdom. You'll be gaining a LOT of territory and an additional city, so your PCs are rapidly becoming more important/influential/dangerous (depending on perspective). Things are about to get very interesting.

Can those 2 hexes be plains, so we can make farmland?

Rowan wrote:

Can those 2 hexes be plains, so we can make farmland?

Taking the most direct route to Varnhold, which has the best long-term benefits for you (since then you can claim the big chunk of territory and have an easier time sending people and supplies back and forth), you'd get 1 plains hex and 1 hill.

You can make farmland on hill hexes too, but with a larger initial investment (4 BP), and once you have all that area you'll be large enough that you can convert 2 hexes to farmland each month (and will need to, since you'll be gaining a big jump in population).

I still think we should take the one hex for the shrine (since we had plans for that) and then make a bee line towards varnhold.

Leonis wrote:

I still think we should take the one hex for the shrine (since we had plans for that) and then make a bee line towards varnhold.

What shrine?

The main issue you have now is that you essentially have a free small town, chock full of buildings, and with a significant populace available for joining you, but you need to get them ASAP because their infrastructure is damaged and their leaders are gone, so things will go to pot there very soon. Hence joining their land to yours right now makes sense, but it'll be difficult in the short term since you're taking on a lot more responsibility and more than doubling your land. But it's definitely worth it in the long term.

Then let's do that. How long does it look like it will take us to get there?
Also can we make another deal with the house that built us roads? Maybe they can help by starting at Varnhold and working their way down. Or we leave Varnhold with instructions to claim hexes directly to our lands and we meet in the "middle."

Leonis wrote:

Then let's do that. How long does it look like it will take us to get there?
Also can we make another deal with the house that built us roads? Maybe they can help by starting at Varnhold and working their way down. Or we leave Varnhold with instructions to claim hexes directly to our lands and we meet in the "middle."

Actually, you can reach the Varnhold area this month (the one we began working on) if you claim two hexes heading right toward them, so you can claim it right now.

Make it so number 2

Admin wrote:

You can make farmland on hill hexes too, but with a larger initial investment (4 BP), and once you have all that area you'll be large enough that you can convert 2 hexes to farmland each month (and will need to, since you'll be gaining a big jump in population).

Will we get the benefit of the land that the Varnholders already converted to farmland?

We should also build roads to Varnhold City. Who's taking over the administration of Varnhold until we have more settled arrangements? The only one on the ruling council that survived was the gnome, right? Is he an appropriate governor?

Our original plans were to move toward restoring the castle in the north end of the castle. I suspect that'll have to wait a while until we restore Varnhold. It would probably also be worthwhile to build better fortifications in Olegton, since it's our main trade linkage to Aundair. Does Varnhold have territory that would enable it to trade directly with Breland?

Edit: Is Varnhold City within 1000 miles of Lakeshore? How big are each of the hexes?

Rowan wrote:

Will we get the benefit of the land that the Varnholders already converted to farmland?

You'll get the benefit of the farmland and roads that the Varnholders have already made, as well as of the building structures in Varnhold City, since you are linking up with them this month. If you let more time pass before doing so, some of those lands/structures would become useless.

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We should also build roads to Varnhold City. Who's taking over the administration of Varnhold until we have more settled arrangements? The only one on the ruling council that survived was the gnome, right? Is he an appropriate governor?

You haven't actually popped them out of the jars, so this is advance information, but...

The gnome, Youma Sivis (she's not a member of the House, a la Kara), was actually not on the ruling council but functioned as an advisor, so nobody on the council is alive. The highest ranking other person alive Fluin Tullier (whom you hadn't met previously), who was the garrison commander under Helas Gunter. The two of them can hold things together until you claim Varnhold since you're doing so this month.

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Our original plans were to move toward restoring the castle in the north end of the castle. I suspect that'll have to wait a while until we restore Varnhold.

Definitely. BTW, that wasn't actually a castle but more like a fortified barracks.

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It would probably also be worthwhile to build better fortifications in Olegton, since it's our main trade linkage to Aundair. Does Varnhold have territory that would enable it to trade directly with Breland?

Not really. The land to their south, after passing through the Nomen territory, ends on the borders of Lake Galifar (which is huge), which provides a big natural barrier. If you had a very solid infrastructure in the Varnhold area and could create a settlement with piers from which trade would sail across the lake, it could work, but that could take years. As long as you have the option for sending trade through/to Aundair, that ends up much cheaper.

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Edit: Is Varnhold City within 1000 miles of Lakeshore? How big are each of the hexes?

More like 100+ miles, actually. Each hex is 12 miles across.