Re: Early game procedure

From: Bryan Thexton <bethexton_at_...>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2014 13:58:25 -0700


My procedure varied somewhat with my major god and peace or balanced (for whatever reason, despite the very many clans I created, I’ve never done war).  First few seasons are pretty much fixed, however.
 
First action is to adjust field/pasture sizes and crop mix, and save while still on that screen.  That is a small exploit (at least on the windows version) that keeps it from consuming an action.  In the first year I’m willing to bend the spirit of the game a little bit to get things going faster.  Then I build a watch-tower, then recruit max weaponthanes. (all of that in Sea Season).  
In fire season I’ll generally sacrifice to Odayla (I’m aiming for Sureshot, but will take tracking), and either max out my hunters (for population/available forest) or mount a cattle raid, or re-organize the ring (depending on expected harvest, military strength, quality of current war leader…).
 
In earth  I send a
reasonably strong exploration team to the Dragon newt wilds, and add hunters or reorganize the ring, if I haven’t done those yet.  Assuming the exploration team finds the dragon newt statue I send them back with the leader who has high animals, with the best mix of combat and magic, along with 3 warriors and 3 farmers (this might be superstition, but that balanced team seems to me to succeed more often, I think animals helps when dealing with dragon newts, magic may, and combat helps if they have to fight their way out).  I like the treasure that helps in many small ways.
 
In Dark I explore the tula with a few warriors and max farmers.  If my old enemy is winter I’ll cattle raid for the (hopefully) point of magic you get for doing that.  If that isn’t my ancient enemy I’ll fix up my crafters.
 
Storm in the first year is the catch-up season.  Fixing the ring, recruiting more weapon-thanes or farmers, building a shrine to Odayla, occasionally another attempt at a blessing…  
Second year is key, because that is when I try to do my first heroquest!  (assuming a plausible quester of my main god—by far easiest for Ernalda).  Yep, that early, so assign magic appropriately.  In sea season send a
party to explore Kero Finn.  Assuming the usual result of finding the wind spirits, tell a nearby clan that I want to get along with, and they’ll reward us with quite a bit of magic.   
In fire usually make sure patrols are strong, and sacrifice to my main god.  Learning a new blessing is good, but mostly I always sacrifice to them before questing.  In earth explore in the Quivin mountains, where they will find a mighty Wyrm. 
Attack it, or send trickster to get its treasure (depending if I’m hostile of friendly to dragons).  This
one is so key, really changing how the early game flows—if successful you get a pile of goods, allowing a couple of fortification builds in the next couple of years and easing the pressure on getting Issaries blessings and trade routes up.  Also get some magic.
 
In Dark season do a cattle raid if enemy of winter, else explore the tula.  Then heroquest
time.  Odds are by far the best if
Ernalda is our main god, but it is possible with a good quester on the others.  Also Ernalda is the best early game quest to complete, as the general effect increases food and cattle for a few years, and usually I go for cattle fertility as the specific benefit (occasionally crops if food is looking grim).  Succeeding at this generally helps the early game economy, since after a couple of years I can typically start trading food for goods and cattle, and gives a big boost to magic that makes everything easier for a while.  For Elmal will look for help when we are attacked, for Orlanth to either strengthen the quester or strengthen our warriors.  
After that, priorities are to
-          build up fortifications (reduces disasters),
-          get Odayla’s Sureshot and Orlanth’s Thunderstone
blessings up, after which focussing on skirmishing/kill as many as possible will let us win the war of attrition with anyone we are feuding with. 
-          Which makes getting Earthblood up a good idea,
too.
-          Generally building up the magical part of our
military (quests to strengthen leaders or warriors, getting a humakt blessing or two up, etc)
-          If I can get the Ernalda quest (if I didn’t
start with it) and have a good quester for it, I’ll aim to run it every 3-4 years, circumstances permitting, to keep crops and cattle fertility high and keep up our magic.  Can use to make the farmers happy, really boost cattle fertility, makes the elves happy (they give you some goods in response, at least in my experience), so it really does help address a lot of possible early game problems.
-          Learn blessings. 

Curing and healing, Protection, Issaries, LM, Sense Chaos, and Uralda’s cow blessing are generally my priorities (beyond a baseline of war and crop magic).
-    Get Market locked in with a shrine, and get the extra trade routes up and running.  More trade is even better, but that is the top priority.
-          Learn heroquests!  Look for opportunities to do them :)  Especially learn Making the Storm Tribe, which
is another relatively easy one with a decent quester.  Use it to strengthen Leadership, and to help relationships with neighbors, and again to help magic.  As I have more variety, aim to do one every years, ideally.
-          Choose my preferred tribe mates, and put on a
charm offensive.  Send gifts, propose
alliances, build trade routes, do things I think they’ll like (build a temple to their god, for instance).
-          Each year explore the tula once and explore a
new space once.
-          Typically around the time that tribe making is
getting close, I try to seize lands from the feuding clan that I’ve been picking away at.  It may take a while to make it stick, so I start before the land situation is too dire. -   Also around that time, I may build a great temple (an extra magic point each year, and impresses people)

It has been a while since I've played, so I may have forgotten something



 From: "Meredith Dixon dixonm_at_... [KingOfDragonPass]" <KingOfDragonPass_at_yahoogroups.com> To: KingOfDragonPass_at_yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, August 7, 2014 12:04:24 PM Subject: Re: [KoDP] Early game procedure  

 
Personally, I put max initial magic into Mysteries and Health.  My first action is always to reorganize my ring.  Then I readjust the amount planted until the amount to be harvested stops going up, even though that makes the farmers complain that they're being overworked.   After that I build a watch tower and hire max weaponthanes (even if I'm a Peace Clan).  Then I readjust crafting to give me a surplus of goods (for sacrificing for mysteries) and send out as many hunters as my land will support (I always begin with Huge Tracts, Much More Than Needed, so that's a lot).

After that I start learning mysteries.  My first one is always Pathfinder.  My second is one of Uralda's blessings; I prefer Calf Blessing but I'll take Milk Blessing.  I can learn about three mysteries a year as long as I put full magic into it at Sacred Time, so I do that.  Once I have Pathfinder, I alternate sacrificing for mysteries and exploring, but I never send out my Bargainers; I know they're the best explorers but they're also the most valuable ring members I have.  I send out the elderly and those with lower skills.

-- 
Meredith Dixon <dixonm_at_...> 

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