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[Plato Play-Doh]

We were raised as a peasant. There would be a lot more sentimentality involved, since we would not be from a class that marries for power and such. A commoner noble isn't the same as a normal noble. Plus, we are role playing a character that seems to break a lot of norms of the time period, and it wasn't actually unheard of that there would be an occasional noble who cared about more than power. Remember, we're a commoner who ascended. I say our role (and I think that's been reflected in the past) is that of a benevolent leader, not a heartless overlord. We care about our people, our wife, and our son, even if most lords wouldn't, and this has been shown in the character's past actions in this game.

Also, I say we ask around to see if any other nobles have taken ill. We offer to pay for a healer for them, and then they owe us. Added bonus: we have a chance to find a good healer. If they manage to cure that noble, we take them under our wing, and have them work with our resident healer (don't want him to feel left out). I say we burn the bodies, and send anybody important (Marna, Isaac, rangers, etc.) to our hunting lodge, and we should go regularly as well, though we should stay in the city for the most part to keep citizen morale up. Also, send aid to the afflicted in the form of money, and make sure anybody unable to work is well fed from the food stores. They need it,and it will improve our image with minimal cost to us.

[Gotdamnmiracle]

We were raised as a peasant. There would be a lot more sentimentality involved, since we would not be from a class that marries for power and such.

Wow! Let me be the first to say we are counting our chickens. If our wife or son die, I'm sure Mal will tell us how our character feels, but whether elated or agonized, nobody has died yet but red shirts.

Let's send our veterans along with Marna and the bunch up to the cabin. Veteran soldiers and luther should keep everyone plenty safe and if not... That's life.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

send anybody important (Marna, Isaac, rangers, etc.) to our hunting lodge, and we should go regularly as well, though we should stay in the city for the most part to keep citizen morale up

This kinda defeats the purpose of having them in the hunting lodge. You're suggesting that we put them in the lodge to keep them away from the disease, but then we regularly come by and expose them to the disease we're living with.

[GreatWyrmGold]

That was entirely one-sided, let me point out. People always blame me, for some reason. I even gave an authentic medieval quote to show that I was thinking in the spirit of real medieval fatherhood here. Roleplaying, right?

That's the problem--we're not medieval fathers with a "Child deaths are sad but common" mentality, we're modern people with a "Children are important" attitude.
They called you names, but you have to admit that, from the modern perspective we all have, suggesting leaving one's wife and young son to die of plague is pretty heartless.
Oh, and the hunting lodge is Sir Stone's, not Gervassen's. Did you actually build it? Did you send the paperwork to Stone or send the gold? You might feel possessive of it, but claiming ownership of it is just petty.

send anybody important (Marna, Isaac, rangers, etc.) to our hunting lodge, and we should go regularly as well, though we should stay in the city for the most part to keep citizen morale up

This kinda defeats the purpose of having them in the hunting lodge. You're suggesting that we put them in the lodge to keep them away from the disease, but then we regularly come by and expose them to the disease we're living with.

Yeah, pretty much. You're suggesting that we eat our cake and use it as the cornerstone of a new house.


We really have two options per person: Keep them in town, or keep them away from the plague. Mixing the two obviates the need for quarantining that person from the disease and endangers the others being saved.
There's no major reason to keep Marna and Issac in town, so we should probably send them to the hunting lodge. Hypothetical and unsubstantiated risk of bandits is better than certain and lethal risk of plague. Send some of our good soldiers, too--in addition to their value as soldiers post-plague and the fact that they'd be good for defending the family in case of bandits, swords and arrows aren't much good against a plague.
I don't care much about where Luther goes, but Stone should stay in town. Not only does it maintain his image, it also means we don't need to try and figure out who is trustworthy and competent to run the town in our absence and--more importantly--prevents panic among the citizens. If the mayor and mighty knight flees, why would the common citizen think he has a better chance?

[Origami_Psycho]

No arguing you two.
I say burn the bodies, since it wont pollute the ground.  Apart from that, let's keep 'em in town but well away from teh plague.  Maybe we ought ot set up shop in one of the official offices outside of our manor.
Also, boot this dumb ass physician and start separating the diseased and infected, and quarentine the people used for seperating for one week afterwards.  If the disease continues to spread after that we know that it isn't transmitted by contact.  Further we may want to do an investigation of the food stocks in order to see if bad food is the root cause, if there is anything with fungal growths or maggots or mold etc on it, burn it.

[10ebbor10]

Also, boot this dumb ass physician and start separating the diseased and infected, and quarentine the people used for seperating for one week afterwards.  If the disease continues to spread after that we know that it isn't transmitted by contact.  Further we may want to do an investigation of the food stocks in order to see if bad food is the root cause, if there is anything with fungal growths or maggots or mold etc on it, burn it.

The 1 roll resulted in us, as uneducated farmer, completely believing the physician. I'm afraid we can't just press for modern day quarantine.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Yeah, until we have proof that bloodletting--historically a common enough medical practice--doesn't help, no kicking him out for that. Wait until there's a legitimate reason to do so.

[Gervassen]

That's the problem--we're not medieval fathers with a "Child deaths are sad but common" mentality, we're modern people with a "Children are important" attitude.
They called you names, but you have to admit that, from the modern perspective we all have, suggesting leaving one's wife and young son to die of plague is pretty heartless.
Oh, and the hunting lodge is Sir Stone's, not Gervassen's. Did you actually build it? Did you send the paperwork to Stone or send the gold? You might feel possessive of it, but claiming ownership of it is just petty.

I'm not terribly interested in Modern Guy: A Suggestion Game, and this opportunity to call attention to medieval parenting attitudes has been successful far beyond my initial expectations. I never even suggested that the wife and child should actually be left behind. If you check again, you'll see that I did plan for them to be safe in the lodge with the soldiers. I was just challenging the sentiment that Marna and child are irreplaceable and more important than loyal and experienced followers. Our loyal troops are the reason that we remain a medieval lord at the end of the day. That was the realpolitik of the era. We're playing a game while exploring aspects of medieval life. That's the fun. If this becomes entirely about modern perspective imposing a condescending narrative upon the past, then the game loses something important.

Also, I disagree a little. If Ebbor told me, "I planned those ice cellars for something other than ice cream" then I'd have given him the chance to implement his original vision. The initial suggester sometimes has a much more coherent plan in mind for a suggestion than other people, and while claiming ownership over an suggestion is definitely too possessive, nevertheless the original plan for something should be respected and taken into account on some level.

As it is, the soldiers and rangers were originally to protect the wife and child while hunting game for them, with the added advantage of saving some skilled followers. Then someone suggested the soldiers stay home, then someone suggested the forest was too dangerous for a woman and child alone, so everyone should stay home. If you don't see how that idea became neutered into oblivion with each new suggestion, then I'm at a loss here.

The 1 roll resulted in us, as uneducated farmer, completely believing the physician. I'm afraid we can't just press for modern day quarantine.

Even medieval people knew well enough to keep away from sick people. Scrap the scientific stuff, sure, but removing the sick from the healthy is an idea within the limits of the period.

[tryrar]

Agreed. A quarantine wouldn't be out of place in a medieval setting. However, any real knowledge of treating diseases beyond that was pretty much non-existent IIRC, so we're stuck with whatever "folk" remedies our healer of dubious repute our naive self will believe. I do support quarantine, I don't support kicking out our healer unless he proves grossly incompetent with what we "know" from standard medical practices of the time.

[GreatWyrmGold]

That's the problem--we're not medieval fathers with a "Child deaths are sad but common" mentality, we're modern people with a "Children are important" attitude.
They called you names, but you have to admit that, from the modern perspective we all have, suggesting leaving one's wife and young son to die of plague is pretty heartless.
Oh, and the hunting lodge is Sir Stone's, not Gervassen's. Did you actually build it? Did you send the paperwork to Stone or send the gold? You might feel possessive of it, but claiming ownership of it is just petty.

I'm not terribly interested in Modern Guy: A Suggestion Game

Neither am I, but you need to act as though you're discussing what to do with Modern Guys, because you are. Never forget that.

I never even suggested that the wife and child should actually be left behind. If you check again, you'll see that I did plan for them to be safe in the lodge with the soldiers. I was just challenging the sentiment that Marna and child are irreplaceable and more important than loyal and experienced followers.

You implied it, and again there. Saying that Marna and the child aren't that important.
Stone may have lived in medieval times, but he's still a father. If you're a parent, imagine how you would react. If not...ask someone who is, I guess. I'm not, but I listened to my parents enough to know that my father would put his son and wife above two soldiers.
And, frankly, this isn't modern; this is basic instinct going back as long as it conceivably could, because people who didn't do so naturally were selected for removal from the gene pool. It's something that can't be overcome by much of anything except pure logic, which is frankly something humans suck at in real-world situations.

Our loyal troops are the reason that we remain a medieval lord at the end of the day. That was the realpolitik of the era. We're playing a game while exploring aspects of medieval life. That's the fun. If this becomes entirely about modern perspective imposing a condescending narrative upon the past, then the game loses something important.

It's for a modern audience, however. If half the people reading this turn angrily away because we wouldn't let Marna and Issac in--or even if they didn't, but instead gained more hatred for you for suggesting it--would the game be more or less fun?

Also, I disagree a little. If Ebbor told me, "I planned those ice cellars for something other than ice cream" then I'd have given him the chance to implement his original vision. The initial suggester sometimes has a much more coherent plan in mind for a suggestion than other people, and while claiming ownership over an suggestion is definitely too possessive, nevertheless the original plan for something should be respected and taken into account on some level.

Was the hunting lodge planned for housing troops?

As it is, the soldiers and rangers were originally to protect the wife and child while hunting game for them, with the added advantage of saving some skilled followers. Then someone suggested the soldiers stay home, then someone suggested the forest was too dangerous for a woman and child alone, so everyone should stay home. If you don't see how that idea became neutered into oblivion with each new suggestion, then I'm at a loss here.

I see it, I just don't see why you argued your point the way you did. That seemed to make things worse.

The 1 roll resulted in us, as uneducated farmer, completely believing the physician. I'm afraid we can't just press for modern day quarantine.

Even medieval people knew well enough to keep away from sick people. Scrap the scientific stuff, sure, but removing the sick from the healthy is an idea within the limits of the period.

I suppose a major issue is defining "modern day quarantine". Something as simple as "avoid the guy with the plague" is fine, but is that a "modern day quarantine"?

[Gervassen]

Stone may have lived in medieval times, but he's still a father. If you're a parent, imagine how you would react.

lol. "if you play the game a certain way, you're a bad father" hilarious.

i could point out that "i have the hammer and anvils with which to forge better sons" is an actual quote that a medieval lord gave to king stephen when his captive son was threatened with being catapulted into his besieged castle. it's clear that fatherhood meant something quite different to medieval minds, but since this is becoming dangerously meta, I'll just say "point taken" 

[GreatWyrmGold]

Stone may have lived in medieval times, but he's still a father. If you're a parent, imagine how you would react.

lol. "if you play the game a certain way, you're a bad father" hilarious.

No, "If you play the game a certain way, you're an unrealistic father." I'm not trying to call you a bad father.

i could point out that "i have the hammer and anvils with which to forge better sons" is an actual quote that a medieval lord gave to king stephen when his captive son was threatened with being catapulted into his besieged castle. it's clear that fatherhood meant something quite different to medieval minds, but since this is becoming dangerously meta, I'll just say "point taken" 

Some believed that, some didn't. Certainly, they had plenty of good reasons if they were to throw away the life of their son and wife...especially if, looking at it from a pragmatic standpoint, said wife happens to be a major political connection.

[Origami_Psycho]

Okay, I'm pretty sure most of us want to save Marna and Issac.  I'm pretty sure most of us want a quarantine. 
So I propose we have our militia build temporary housing for them outside the walls, and have them move there.  Make housing a plague victim outside of designated areas punishable with everything we've got, and attempt to ascertain how the plague started, beginning with food supplies, and later try to find if there has been any foreigners in the area recently whom could've carried the plague with them.  We should also make separate quarters for the doctors nearby the infected housing by not directly connected.
Next, query all available physicians about the history of diseases the land has suffered from, specifically symptoms, time until death, and generally how it spread, and do try to get contacts outside of our one.
After that we divide the infected into groups and test various treatments on them.  The ones that succeed get tested on more infected, the ones that don't get culled.  Have the doctors attempt to find other possible causes.  Concurrently with this we should be organising the burning of the deceased so as to eliminate the possibility of them spreading the disease.  If possible, have those already infected perform this task so as to limit the spread of infection.
Have our philosopher think on how disease spreads and what causes it, and have the doctors make observations about the symptoms of the plague, how it seems to spread, the number and type of parasites on the victims (if such a count is possible), and the amount of time from contact with infected to developing symptoms, and time from developing symptoms to death, as well as an estimate in the population groups it targets.
None of this is modern, so you can't argue that we can't do it for those reasons.

EDIT: Also quarentine the family members of the infected in similar, separate housing blocks, and monitor them with separate doctors, and as the become infected transfer them.  Impose a curfew on the town and ban public gatherings.  And burn the households and belongings of the deceased.  Reimburse their family members for the destruction of their property.  We should also barricade the roads in and out, letting no one enter or leave our lands until the epidemic has quieted down.  We must maintain constant vigilance until all traces of the plague have vanished.

[10ebbor10]

Burning things in a medieval town is a bad thing. Before you know, the whole town's on fire.

Besides, your quarantaine is going to be quite ineffective. To much moving people around and such.

[Maldevious]

Acting quickly, you send word to Marna, Isaac, any visiting nobles, and some of your most elite soldiers to take a "hunting trip" in the northern forests. You are sure that they will be safer there than in town. Despite some reservations, you decide to stay in Feroshire, lest the people think you are fleeing from a simple plague.

Marna and Isaac are away that very afternoon, and you set up waystations on the roads: no one out, no one in. You send your regrets to merchants travelling here for the fair, few though they may be, and offer to recoup their travel costs if they return next year.

The plague, unfortunately, is very much established in Feroshire at this point. Despite your best efforts to contain the sickness from spreading, and treating it when it does occur as best as the healer knows how, more and more fall ill. You send riders to the next towns over looking for doctors, but they return empty-handed, saying that other towns are similarly locked down at the moment.

People die. Many people die. Bodies are hauled away to be buried in a mass grave, the sick are separated, but still, people die. By your best count, nearly 35 people perish in May. Most are peasants of little note or travelers trapped by the quarantine, although a few of your soldiers do succumb. Thankfully, despite your presence in town, which does calm the people somewhat, you do not fall sick.

The month is over. The sickness still has its roots deeply in Feroshire, and you are cut off from all other help, it seems. Work stops on the towers and wall; life practically grinds to a halt, with the only business being the hauling of the dead and the frantic letting of the sick's blood. What will you do in this next grim month?