Let's play King of Dragon Pass, just as our ancestors did

I'm going to split the difference and pick 4.

Year 1342, part 3

What, indeed, is the worst that could happen?



How about we lose all of our magic and the heroquest still fails? I mean, that's a pretty terrible outcome.

Dark 1



As our yearly omen heavily suggested, we will be sacrificing to our ancestors.



They give us the game's booby prize. I still don't know why you would use this.



Our expedition has returned. We've discovered the Praxians. The clan seems happy enough about this. I'm not. It just means we'll start getting raided by the Praxians with no upside.



Our embassy has also returned, and while our friends appreciate the gifts, they don't appreciate them to the tune of forgiving a favor.

Dark 2



Anyway, our ancestors gave us their highly valuable and much coveted Summons of Evil blessing, and we'd look like jerks if we didn't use it, right?

This is a good idea.



We perform the ancient ritual, and... nothing happens.

Let's do this again sometime!

Something happens

Yerestia: A Spirit Fetch is a magical item that replenishes our magic after we use it up. Recommends #3.
Harvar: We can certainly afford to pay them for their services. Recommends #3.
Insterid: Spirit-talkers aren't sorcerers or anything bad like that. They talk to spirits, including our own ancestral spirits. No recommendation.
Iskalli: They are not quite like normal people, and not quite foreigners. We still owe them courtesy and hospitality. Recommends #4.
Valensta: They are not quite like normal people, and not quite foreigners. Recommends #1.
Arene: Whatever the rest of you decide. No recommendation.
Heortarl: These mangy tomcats aren't worthy of our time, much less our silver. Recommends #1.
Mogri: Arene is a natural-born leader.

I'm going to skip the vote on this one, too. Spirit fetches can refund some magic to us, and that's worth 15 goods by itself, but they also count as treasures. Other clans won't value them as full treasures, so we can't use them in trades, but they're great for giving away in events that demand a treasure.



Unless you don't have the money or you have some ridiculous undead problems, there's no reason not to buy both fetches.



We're swimming in goods, and our treasury is going to get more ridiculous as time goes on.



Oh hey! Here's the beastmen. Despite the fact that we summoned them and knew they were coming, they still slip by our patrols. You guys are killing me here.



Here's something you don't see every day: both sides picked Maneuver.

There's a slight rock-paper-scissors relationship between Charge, Skirmish, and Maneuver, respectively -- at least, that's what the manual indicates. Since Charge is the default and by far the most common tactic, Skirmish would seem to be the best one for you to pick. But if both teams pick Skirmish, then the battle never progresses to close combat (as we saw when the Horse-Spawn raided us earlier). Complicating matters further, Maneuver gets an unspecified bonus in your home lands. Somehow, they managed to outmaneuver us anyway, but since we won, I can't complain.

Storm 1



Some sources indicate that defeating your ancient enemy after a Summons of Evil rewards your clan with a morale and magic boost. I didn't check morale, but magic has clearly not improved. Verdict: Never use Summons of Evil unless you're terminally bored.

Anyway, our return-a-favor mission to the Orlmarth failed, so we're going to try the Oak Trees again, since we'll definitely be able to complete the trip before the year (and our Diplomacy investment) ends.

Consequently



But you raided us!

Yerestia: A war with the beastfolk will bring ruination on our land. That doesn't mean we must consider ourselves beneath them. Recommends #1 or #2.
Harvar: If we want to avoid a war with a foe of unknown power, I'd offer sixty to eighty cows, or better yet, a treasure or two. Recommends #3.
Insterid: This Ironhoof is a legendary warrior. We don't want to invoke his wrath. Recommends #2, #3, or #4.
Iskalli: The ducks are Orlanthi, and follow a version of our laws. The other Beastfolk are complete strangers to our ways. Recommends #3 or #4.
Valensta: Our neighbors are unlikely to aid us if we start a war with the beastfolk. Recommends #1, #2, #3, or #4.
Arene: We must make a gesture of peace, or die. A genuine, sincere gesture. Recommends #3.
Heortarl: From the day that Ukkar Gra the Bassmoli King first attacked our clan, the beastfolk have been our foes. Recommends #5.
Mogri: Verdict: Never use the Summons of Evil.

The presence of this event is another compelling reason to choose someone other than the beastmen for your ancient enemy. If relations don't improve, we're sitting on a one-way ticket to game over. Among our options for improving relations:

• Generosity in this event is a good first step.
• The Issaries the Conciliator quest (as yet unknown to us) can do this as one of its options. Since we quested just this year, this is probably not a short-term option.
• The ducks are paying us tribute. We can send an embassy to cancel the ducks' tribute. Since they're only giving us food, this would be relatively painless.

Oh, and Windows Update is breathing down my neck... so decide today.

So there is no way to defeat the beastmen?

Dragon Pass is full of things that there is no way to defeat. We've already met Cragspider, queen of the trolls; angering the trolls incurs her wrath. The beastmen outnumber humans in Dragon Pass, and the centaur leader Ironhoof is a legendarily heroic warrior even in the eyes of our own heroic warrior. The dragons can no more be defeated now than they could in the Battle of Dragon Pass.

And while we haven't met them yet, the dwarves possess advanced technology that can wipe us off the map. The dwarves are generally friendly people, and I can't imagine why you would do anything to anger them.

I'm really disappointed that we can't just take them hostage. For once, Heortarl gives the sanest advice.

Send an embassy to revoke the Cabbage Ducks' tribute.

We can take them hostage. It's just going to end the LP prematurely. (Is that your vote, by the way?)

And now that I think about it, in the larger sense, I'm not sure it's possible to defeat anybody in this game. Sure, we can crush our opponents beneath our heels, steal their wealth, take their land, and drive them off, but they'll just put down roots somewhere else. Conquest is not an achievable long-term goal. You can't sustain a clan much past 1000 population (a limit we're already pushing), so you can't hold onto a giant tract of land. The game mechanics very much push you towards the goal of the game. This isn't a 4X; while the story is malleable, there's only one victory condition.

The bolded one is the vote. I don't want to end the game.

Oh wait, that doesn't count for the event. I guess 3.

Release the ducks from their obligation. Then make friends with them. Really good friends.

Also, slide Ironhoof some money under the table just to sweeten the pot.

quite

That is not the event decision

4

unnecessary text here

sorry

3

3 for me.

Year 1342, part 4

You've decided not to end the LP. Well, if that's what you want...



It'd be really cool if we had something that wasn't particularly valuable that we could give to these guys.

Like, if we could fetch them something useless that would raise their spirits.

Like a spirit fetch, say.



The ancestors are royally pissed that we are mollifying the beastmen. Rock and a hard place, I tell you.



In better news, the Oak Trees have forgiven the favor we owed them. Hopefully, it's the last one. I forgot to check.



In these circumstances, the Herani decide to raid us with an army that wouldn't have been impressive ten years ago. But with -3 Magic, I don't want to take chances, so we're going Skirmish tactics.



Blegh. What should have been an easy battle ends up looking more like an even trade. We're going through weaponthanes at a faster rate than I'd like.

Storm 1



Our clan's mood has taken a sharp turn for the better, because I don't know. The farmers are even relatively happy.



Time to replace our lost weaponthanes.

Also

Yerestia: Whoever left these meant them as a gift. We can do whatever we want with them. No recommendation.
Harvar: At best, we could get 10 cows worth of goods for them. Recommends #1 or #5.
Insterid: If we are to understand this omen, we should look for clues as to who left them. No recommendation.
Iskalli: Whoever left these meant them as a gift. We can do whatever we want with them. No recommendation.
Valensta: We don't know if these are safe to eat or not. Recommends #1 or #5.
Arene: The carls could use a gesture of respect about now. Recommends #2.
Heortarl: Mmm, I can taste them already. Recommends #3.
Mogri: Who do we know that visited us recently and might leave giant eggs on our doorstep?

I'm out of here for a week, so mull this one over.

I imagine eating the eggs of Dragon people is probably not a good idea...

1

I thought they might be giant duck eggs. Presumably man-sized ducks have big eggs too.

Regardless, let's not eat them. 1

Why would anyone ever pick anything besides 1?

I want to adopt a bunch of baby dragons yes I do.

Raise them. 1.

But I would prefer Cabbage Duck eggs to Dragon eggs. Then we can put them to work as thralls!

Hatch dose eggs.

Oh boy, definitely 1

Year 1342, part 5



CONFESSION TIME

I forgot to save after the last event, so I ran into this one with Windows Update breathing down my neck. I made this decision concurrently with the previous update, because I magically knew how the vote would land. I suspect several of you know what will come of this already.



Our other spirit fetch is gone now, returning a single point of magic. This might seem like a waste -- and it probably is -- but I would pay 15 goods for a magic point as often as the game let me, so I can't really complain.

Sacred Time



This screen doesn't show the direction of the wind, so it's hard to say whether our shrine to Urox (the cattle skull appropriately positioned behind the words "head of") is upwind or downwind.



Our omen for the year is par for the course. We'd be allocating as much magic as possible to war in any case. The real eyebrow-raiser here is that we've hit the top of the reputation meter. This means that the second phase of our world domination plan will kick off very soon.

How will we prepare? 3 points of magic remain after allocating to Crops, Herds, and War.

1 for diplomacy (will we need it to progress our domination?)
1 for Quests, or 2 if we need both.
1 for Mystery

We definitely will, but I have no idea if we'll need it this year.

Don't we need to send Yerestia questing before we can conquer the land? Can we do that so soon after the last one? If not, can we just hang on to the last 3 points for the year and start building our buffer again?

2 for Quests! 1 for Mystery!

(if this is a bad idea, do whatever you want)

Yerestia quests for free if the event comes up. (It doesn't have to be Yerestia, but it will because it should.) It's unnecessary to boost Quests this year, since she automatically succeeds at entering the god-realm when that happens.

1 for Diplomacy, 2 for reserve, just in case

Put a point each in diplomacy and mysteries, and save the last for a rainy day.

Year 1343, part 1



I go with Healy's suggestion. Keeping magic in reserve is a Good Thing, since your magic pool is essentially your luck stat. I could easily have gone with Rebelfire's suggestion of holding back on Mysteries, but I like Mysteries.

Sea 1



Who?



Well, that was quick.

The Short game is neatly divided into three parts. The first part is getting your reputation up to King. Now that we've done that, we're in part 2: organizing a tribe. Part 3 will be keeping that tribe together for ten years and performing any three different heroquests in that span of time. If we were playing the Long game, part 3 would involve no fewer than seven different heroquests (i.e. nearly all of them) plus a lengthy endgame sequence wherein your king/queen courts the queen/king of the Horse-spawn, culminating in their marriage, which brings the human and demihuman species of Dragon Pass together under a united crown. Good thing we're not doing that!

Yerestia: You heard the prophet! It is our destiny to lead! Recommends #4.
Harvar: I am confident that I can make the deals needed to form a tribe. Recommends #1, #4, or #6.
Insterid: We have many enemies. It would be good to have many allies. Recommends #1 or #3.
Iskalli: Long have I studied the laws governing tribal obligations, in preparation for this day. Recommends #4 or #6.
Valensta: We are wealthy enough to sponsor a tribe. Recommends #4 or #6.
Arene: Bravery we have; wit is another question. Recommends #2, #3, #4, or #6.
Heortarl: Peace means weddings. Weddings mean feasts. Feasts mean meat and ale. I like this Einarth fellow already! Recommends #2.

There's no reason for me to pick anything else. I don't want to fart around while we wait for Einarth to come back so that we can get this thing started. On the other hand, I was expecting him to prompt us to undertake The Making of the Storm Tribe at this point. I save the game and start up the quest to check -- no, I haven't forgotten: we really haven't obtained Orlanth's blessing to form a tribe. I'm about 95% sure that he will give us the opportunity at some point, but I don't want to screw this up.



"But Mogri!" you say. "We quested last year."

You are correct. We will quest again against our ring's advice.



And we'll send Yerestia, even though Insterid is more compatible with this quest as a Vinga worshipper.

Heroquest go

The great risk of questing in quick succession is that it's hard to enter the god-realm. We succeed in that, so the rest is up to Yerestia.



The first stage of the heroquest may or may not check the quester's skills. It's very low-risk, since many of these options can work, and few of them can cause you to fail. Capturing the Doubting Wheel is the canonical choice.



Talking the plants to death is not the canonical choice, but Yerestia is no combatant. Still, I'm surprised that this worked.



With the cube, you again have several options. Hitting it will work, but Yerestia is better off singing to it. I skipped an intermediate choice that asks you what kind of poem to recite. The other types are ineffective.

The first option will let you skip this stage, but this is a very easy stage, and skipping it will make the last stage much harder.



Having recruited Yinkin, we now seek to recruit his enemy, who heads the incredible Hurt Everything clan. The most appropriate answer is to challenge him to a contest of strength, but again, Yerestia would rather talk her way through.

As before, we can opt to leave the Hurt Everything clan out of our tribe. This is a more difficult stage than the last (although only the contest of strength carries any risk), so you may find yourself forced to do this. I imagine that skipping both Vadrus and Lhankor Mhy causes the quest to fail, but I haven't tested this. Certainly, if your quester can't manage to get either of them to join, you're not likely to succeed anyway.



Keep this scene in mind, since we'll be replaying it in the mortal realm soon enough. This is the only option you want to pick in this stage.



After spending the entire heroquest dodging combat, Yerestia must now lead her tribe to victory, which she does with aplomb. (Yerestia does have a Combat score, if I remember correctly, so it's not as if she's totally unequipped to do this.) The other options might look tempting, but this is the battle that solidifies the Storm Tribe as a tribe and Orlanth as its king. You need to be out there at the front for this tribe to work.



Hooray! Everyone is happy.

Besides the benefit you selected upon embarking on this quest, The Making of the Storm Tribe also grants improved negotiations to a successful clan. Given that we are about to negotiate the everloving crap out of the neighboring clans, this is a good thing.

But first



Hey, remember those eggs that we decided last time we were going to keep? Time for another decision.

Yerestia: These creatures are called Earthshakers, and are holy to Ernalda's sister, Maran Gor. Recommends #2.
Harvar: These creatures are a novelty at the very least. Perhaps they are valuable. Recommends #5.
Insterid: Look at their teeth. They eat plants, just like cows. Recommends #3.
Iskalli: These things could be connected to the dragons. No recommendation.
Valensta: Look at their teeth. They eat plants, just like cows. Recommends #3.
Arene: How big do you think these get? How much pasture land will they require? No recommendation.
Heortarl: Those things are revolting! What fool recommended we keep the eggs? No recommendation.
Mogri: This is the stupidest thing Insterid has ever said (not Valensta, though). Yerestia is technically correct, although I'm not sure why that means they should be sacrificed to Ernalda instead of Maran Gor.

Don't screw up!