This game keeps coming up with new things to keep it fresh, even after
something like eight years playing it. A few recent bits:
- started an Ernalda worshipping clan. In my starting ring, got a
combination Ernalda/Uralda worshipper, with very good or better in all
of leadership, animals, and plants. In one leader I covered chief
worships main god (+1magic each year), an farming god (+1 available
crops magic), and an Uralda worshipper (+1 available herds magic), and
someone competent in both crops and herds. Once I'd run her through
the Ernalda quest to strengthen her she started getting quite good at
all of those things. Oh, and she was still under 30 initially, so was
my chief for the whole game (ended up renowned or heroic in her three
main skills, ensuring a happy and well fed clan)
- Most often when a couple comes to sell us a treasure we find out who
it was stolen from, and return it. But one recent game the treasure
on offer was the farwalk sandals, one of my favorite treasures, and we
could afford to buy it, so we did so. Shortly afterwards, priestesses
from the original owners showed up, having sniffed it on our tula. I
thought that was quite cool!
- For the first time I got a Vinga (other than Kallyr) who is a decent
leader, and have been able to make her chief. Great to have that
war-god requirement filled, and to have a good fighter on the ring
(It is a peace clan, so war god worshipers are not plentiful).
- For the second time I met the hand-mage in snake pipe hollow, and
now I think I know the condition that triggers it.
- We actually caught the cursing fox, and sacrificed it to Eurmal.
Urg, better than ignoring it, but not as good as being able to put up
with its demands.
- We formed a tribe in the first five years--mostly by accident. I
had a starting chief of extraordinary ability, but he started at 60
years old. Had run him through the O&A quest to strengthen our
fighters, then got one of the sacred time divinations that we should
heroquest. Sacrificed to Orlanth before questing, and learned the
basics of making the storm tribe. I didn't have another likely
looking Orlanth quester, so while this leader was still alive decided
to quest for the tribe making blessing. The next year the prophet
showed up to tell us make a tribe. For whatever reason, I guess our
reputation had gone up very quickly.
- Another clan ended up also in tribe making mode accidentally. The
prophet had not come yet, but at some event (cooking maybe?) was the
unusual option of 'sound out the other clans about making a tribe.'
We did so, and next up we were in tribe making mode. We had to
scramble to get the tribe making blessing, IIRC.
So yah, this incredible game still has lots of branches that I've not
found, after an awful lot of playing. It is a real shame that it
never became popular outside the converted, because it really is a
fantastic game.
--Bryan