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

I thought our clan was supposed to have a positive attitude towards dragons? Apparently no one on the clan ring got the memo.

4. Try to raise them.

Hey also by the way: If you own an Android device, you can grab King of Dragon Pass as part of the current Humble Mobile Bundle. GOOD DEAL.

Th-those aren't dragons!

...Those are so much better than dragons.

Can we keep them? Please please please?

Raise them! 4. Soon we can have our very own pet triceratops.

4!

Meat and some damn tough leather! And those horns could have some uses!

I redub this King of Dino Pass!

ditto!

Let's raise us some dinosaurs!

You raise those beautiful dodongos!

If they get out of hand we know their weakness!

Year 1343, part 2

In a move that almost certainly can't backfire on us, we've decided to raise a herd of triceratops...es? Triceratopes? I don't know. Earthshakers.

Incidentally, "earthshakers" and dragons are related somehow, although the exact nature of the relationship escapes me at the moment. In any case, the ancestors would be proud :usa:



Our carls are real fuddy-duddies about the whole deal, surprising no one.

Make sure to vote in your local primaries



It's time to name our clan! I don't think this choice makes any difference whatsoever. At the very least, it makes little enough difference that we should feel free to choose whatever name we like.

Yerestia: A good name will make a good tribe. Let the gods decide. Recommends #2.
Harvar: Maybe the scrolls will tell us how to name our tribe. No recommendation, no idea what he's talking about.
Insterid: We should find a name that brings all the clans together in a new way. Recommends #2 or #3.
Iskalli: Many tribes are named after their founder, but there is no requirement to do so. No recommendation.
Valensta: Just make up a name. Recommends #2, with a slight hint of exasperation in her tone.
Arene: Bad King Urgrain named his tribe after himself, incurring the jealousy and anger of his tribe-mates. Recommends #2 or #3.
Heortarl: Me! Me! Name it after me! Recommends #3.
Mogri: Divination will cost us a point of magic. Luckily, our emergency quest bumped us up to the point where we can afford it if we want. I get the feeling that doing so would provide a nominal bonus to forming the tribe, but then we'd be stuck with whatever crappy name our ancestors think up for us.

No one on the ring is willing to say it out loud, but they're all thinking that "Yerestiai" is a terrible name. We can do better.

ALSO PLEASE READ THIS: The next choice in this chain will ask us which clan we want to approach first about joining our tribe. We must choose a neighboring clan. Our neighbors include the Oak Trees, Cabbage Ducks, Rangdani, Orlundi, Blue Jays, and the hated Osgosi. There are probably a couple more; it's hard to tell from the map. Please choose our first victims along with your vote for a tribe name.

The Rangdani and Orlundi are our allies. We are of course feuding with the hated Osgosi, and the Cabbage Ducks have never been big fans of us, nor we of them.

Name it after Heortarl. 3.

Approach the Cabbage Ducks because they have the best name.

Use magic to find a name!

Even Yerestia thinks naming the tribe "Yerestiai" is a bad idea.

3 (and also Heortarl's suggestion)

Of the Rangdani and Orlundi which clan has helped us the most and dicked us over the least? I say go with that clan first.

Name the tribe Dinolandia, and, I dunno, approach Rangdani and/or Orlundi to tribe with us.

I can't argue with any of this.

This sounds like a good idea to me!

Facepunchers.

I missed a few days' worth of this thread, but I'm glad to see that you all voted to raise the dinosaurs in my absence. As for the tribe, can we have a tribe called Quest?

I also vote to name the Tribe after Heortarl, the man who tricked the Trickster.

Year 1343, part 3



The masses have spoken, and I'm sure we won't come to regret this at all.

Yerestia: We must seek allies who are attuned to the powers of Earth.
Harvar: No point in dealing with those too stubborn to know a good bargain when they see it.
Insterid: Be careful; joining our tribe won't turn our enemies into our friends.
Iskalli: The best allies are those who respect the rule of law.
Valensta: We must seek allies dedicated to peace.
Arene: First, look to our friends and allies.
Heortarl: We must find dim-witted clans, who lose at gambling and often misplace valuable items.

Cabbage Ducks are not an option, and the ancestors would be displeased anyway. It's possible for the ducks to join later on through an event, but it slipped my mind that they weren't available initially. Of the options...



...I opt for the Rangdani.

Fire 1



We've got time on our hands, so let's loot and plunder. We're still feuding with the Herani and the hated Osgosi, but we have the hated Osgosi by the horns: they're paying us tribute, and while they do, the Herani are our one-stop shop for bonus goods.



We vastly outnumber them. This is a good thing. I decide to sacrifice a cow to Orlanth for good luck.

As a reminder, the mechanics for sacrifice are opaque at best, but the manual tells us that Orlanth helps in the initial skirmish, wherein one party tries to close with the other, and Humakt helps decide the victor once you've closed. In this case, I figure that as long as we can get in there, we can let our numbers do the work.



A battle event approaches! Harvar is a competent combatant, but far from our best, and it would be disastrous to have him out of commission in the coming months.



So Harvar fails to distinguish himself in battle, but that's not why we keep him around.



We win anyway, and we get some nice spoils for our troubles. Notice that we were out-magicked. This is going to be a trend. I don't usually spend magic on combat beyond our War allocation at Sacred Time.

Arene pops up at this point to remind me that there are too many hunters for the small woodlands we own. Whatever.



And then these chumps make a move. We don't have the numerical advantage that I like to see, so I opt for Skirmish and again sacrifice to Orlanth, this time to keep them out of our hair instead of getting into theirs.



They hurt one of our farmers! This will not stand.

Oh and we wiped out most of their army I guess. I hope this isn't a sore spot when we go to them for tribal negotiations.

Troublingly



Border disputes with the guys we're about to invite into our exclusive club! Oh dear.

Yerestia: Once there was a boundary dispute between Barntar and Elmal. Eurmal solved the problem by getting them drunk and then moving all the boundary stones in the valley. No recommendation.
Harvar: There is much personal animosity in this dispute. Each party is more interested in being proved right than in winning clear title to the land. No recommendation.
Insterid: Violence is always an option. Recommends #5.
Iskalli: It is difficult for me to say for certain, but something tells me Hend's claim is just. Recommends #5.
Valensta: Perhaps there is another way for the two men to compete. Recommends #4.
Arene: The amount of pasture in question means much to Hend and Robasart, but means little to the prosperity of the clan. No recommendation.
Heortarl: Hend is clearly in the wrong here. Recommends #3.
Mogri: What our ring isn't considering is that we're going to enter tribal negotiations with the Rangdani probably immediately following this event.

As Arene implies, the outcome of this event won't change the size of our land, but it will affect the mood of our carls and the Rangdani. There's a case to be made for all five of the options, which is rare. What'll it be?

make 'em wrassle!

Heortarl's suggestion actually strikes me as the most sensible. I... I don't know how to feel. In any case, one carl's border dispute isn't worth jeopardizing the prosperity of our new venture, so #3. Just give him some cows to shut him up if he gets upset. We have plenty to spare.

Yep, 3 sounds the best.

I think 4 is the best option, but in light of other circumstances I'm going to have to agree to go with 3 here.

Year 1343, part 4



For the second time in as many updates, we're going with the trickster. We've decided to give Hend the business.

I'm honestly surprised. My own choice here would have been #1. If he's willing to take one of our thousand-plus cows in exchange for losing the war, then everyone's a winner. Our farmers are still in good spirits after this event, so it wasn't a real setback, at least.

Fire 2



In response to their raid on us, we'll steal some cows from the Peluski.



I'd call it revenge, but really, they got their just desserts when they raided us. This is just insult to their injuries.

Dishearteningly



You know, the funny thing is I just checked our crops, and everyone told me we were doing fine.

Yerestia: Our allies the Eagles are far away, and may not be hurt by this drought. They will help us. Recommends #4.
Harvar: Once we end this crisis, we should sacrifice to Orlanth to learn the secrets of his quest against Aroka. No recommendation.
Insterid: The drought will have the bellies of the Blue Jay weaponthanes grumbling. If we strike before our own men are weakened, we will triumph. Recommends #2.
Iskalli: There is no law against raiding other clans when times are dire, but we'll also bring home the long-lasting curses of our victims if we do. No recommendation.
Valensta: If the drought lasts too long, we could lose a lot of our herd. No recommendation.
Arene: We must petition to Heler, God of Rain, to end our misery. Recommends #3.
Heortarl: I guess we'll have a cursing contest when we get flooded next Storm season. No recommendation.
Mogri: I didn't realize that we don't know Orlanth and Aroka. If we did, we'd have the option to perform the heroquest, in which Orlanth rescues Heler from the belly of the dragon Aroka.

This is, once again, not the best time for this.

Sacrifice to Heler, 3

I guess 3 or 5? We don't want to make any new enemies as we're trying to unite the clans together and we probably don't want to go begging, since that wouldn't be very kingly.

I agree: 3.

Year 1343, part 5



We've decided to sacrifice to Heler. The gauge doesn't allow for cow-precise selection. 13 seems good. (I also take this opportunity to show off Yerestia's skillset. Outside of her Leadership skill, it's thoroughly unimpressive.)



But it's not. But that food penalty really isn't threatening, either. Maybe a larger number of cattle would have worked, but then again, we could just slaughter that many cattle and come out ahead.

And so

The Rangdani clan is known for its long-range planning, and for a tavern it maintains as part of its market. Its chief, Engarna was expecting you and has a list of tribal demands prepared. She wants the tribal hall to be built on Rangdani land. She wants to host the confederation moot. She wants to the right to build taverns in other tulas (sic). She wants the new tribe to make peace with the trolls.

Yerestia: The notion of peace with the trolls will make many of the other clan leaders uneasy. Recommends #3, #4, and #5.
Harvar: The things they ask for are more important than they seem. Recommends #2 and #4.
Insterid: If a struggle ever breaks out within the tribe, the Rangdani would control the hallowed tribal hall. Recommends #4 and #5... and maybe #6, but I can't tell because the text box is covering that option.
Iskalli: It is very unusual to allow one clan to earn wealth on another clan's land. Recommends #2, #3, and #4.
Valensta: Quit with them. Recommends #1.
Arene: How can we make peace with the trolls when we promised never to visit their lands again? Are the Rangdani willing to risk their own necks for this? Recommends #3, #4, and #6.
Heortarl: Their beer is good with me. Recommends #5 and #6.
Mogri: This is fairly typical. The more concessions we make now, the harder it will be to form the tribe when the clans come together, but if we don't make concessions, we won't have any clans to form a tribe. We need at least three other clans to join us.

Here's how this is going to work. You choose as many of these as you're willing to promise, and specify a number of goods we're willing to part with. As soon as the Rangdani are satisfied, they'll cut off negotiations and agree to our terms. If that doesn't happen, then we'll have to abandon our negotiations for now. Any goods we gift to them will be gone regardless of whether they join us.

The Rangdani have made the following requests:

• Make peace with the trolls. We don't care about the trolls one way or another, but Yerestia thinks this is trouble, and Arene rightly points out that we've promised never to set foot in their land.
• Build the tribal hall in their land. This should be our right, but maybe we're willing to forfeit it. Insterid points out that in the event of intertribal strife, the Rangdani would have an advantage, though we can avoid that if we're careful.
• Host the confederation moot in their land. The moot is a meeting where the tribe convenes to resolve problems between clans. No one strongly opposes this measure.
• Build taverns on other tulas. Frankly, the other clans should thank them for this, although Iskalli thinks it's a problem.

What will we compromise?

Let's let them franchise the taverns, and maybe give them the moot. I'm not sure on any of the others.

4, 5, 6. Let's give them 30 goods.