Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

Engineer a new magma forge near the surface

5 (38.5%)

Build some obsidian traps

2 (15.4%)

Build lava pump weapons on a tower/walls

3 (23.1%)

Make some minecart weapons

1 (7.7%)

Bah, who needs it?  We have axes, don't we?

2 (15.4%)

Total Members Voted: 13

[smakemupagus]

Journal of Thrakha'zaguul. Obsidian, 250.
Chapter 1: Exile

It will not be with many regrets that I leave the great clan-holding.  It is time for new lands, and new traditions.  I told the council this, and if I am not wrong, one of the wise old orcs smiled behind his wolf-mask.  The clan chief did not smile.

The only regret is to take leave of my brothers.  Ashaash has led several warbands, and he said this:  "The enemy will track you closely as soon as you leave our borders.  Elvish assassins will strike before 18 new-moons have passed.  Trade for gear with our clan caravan when it arrives in fall, but never fail to prepare your own tribe for battle.  There are other third sons planning to immigrate to your stronghold when their terms in infantry are done.  Named Broken and Dohon, they are brave Uruk warriors and serve with honor."   

Yagduum has wisdom at council, and he said this: "Value your Snaga settlers, for they can match the quickness of elves with a bow.  You should know that several young artisians such as Gamerlord plan to join your expedition next season, after their term of apprenticeship." 

I soon met the rest of my traveling-companions.  That is, I should say, my new clan mates.

*** Orcs of <<Ghoshash Snazaga>>, Cleaver of Ignorance ***
Thrakha the Orc, clan-leader, mason, mechanic (m)
Firehawk the Snaga, Chief of Hunters (m)
Keita the Corsair, Scribe and Speaker (f)
Gwathlobal the Dreamwalker, Shaman (f)
Demonbutter the Orc, Wood, bone and leather Crafter (f)
2 other snaga, a Woodcutter and a Miner

The first business was to borrow a map and pick a site for our new home.  We chose a dry and mineral rich mountainside, with many trees for fuel, and untamed wilds full of beasts and game.  Dreamwalker Gwathlobal spoke: the omens were poor for this place, that even a weak elf or human could settle this land, and it was unworthy of an orc.  But: the clan has spoken with its voice, and I will listen.  Perhaps when our clan grows strong, we will send our own expiditions to tame other lands.

Map

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It is lucky to have a Corsair and a Dreamwalker in the party.  A corsair already have the skill in appraisal needed to be Speaker: who barters with outsiders.  And a Dreamwalker excels in medical skills needed to be Shaman: who heals the injured and calms the angry.  Keita also has a little training in bookkeeping and organising, so she will also be Scribe.

Firehawk speaks: if we keep him equipped with bow and arrow for the hunt, he will keep us well stocked with food.  Therefore, I take a small risk with the embark gear.  I order less food and drink, remembering although Orcs do love a good drink, they can get by fine with water.  We don't take a trained brewer or cook, although Meph has some skill as a grower.  With the extra handful of coins I buy raw materials for bronze-crafting instead and tree-acorns for fuel.  Since the soil is thin here we are sure to take some surface seeds.  In order for this to work out well we will have to make sure to get a well and water source early; to keep Firehawk well equipped to hunt; and to get crops started in time for a fall harvest.

Goods

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

With planning complete, we set out, to rend the earth!

The site is not nearly as mountainous as I had been imagining.  Although the map calls it "mountain," we are actually in some nice gently rolling foothills.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[smakemupagus]

Chapter 2: Survivor
Journal of Thrakha'zaguul.

Granite, 251.
The clan works hard on the basic stuff of survival.  I order the clan to first prepare the patch for strawberries and say this:  Plant strawberries only in Spring, because in this part of the world plants take more than a season to grow, so they must be planted early in the year.  Plants will still continue grow in a field set to fallow.  [ooc: re: HARDER FARMING].  We also quickly butcher one goose for a leather quiver, train a direwolf to hunt, and set Firehawk up with a basic recurve bow and wooden arrows.

Spoiler: hunting and gathering (click to show/hide)

Slate, 251.
Miners and mechanics prepare a reservoir that taps our local brook.  Exploratory mine shafts strike shallow veins of sphalerite and tetrahedrite.  Idlers are put to work making crafts, blocks, or helping to finish the planting.  Firehawk and his wolf hunt rattlesnakes, then continue to patrol and clear the area of dangerous Giant Weasels.  The crafts-orc Demonbutter makes totems from the snakes and weasels, but rather than trade them, we will keep them put aside for now.  Totems are too valuable to trade away to the caravan: they can be cashed in for good coin at the Freelancer's Guild.

Spoiler: wild game (click to show/hide)

Felsite, 251.
The temporary quarters and the underground farms are complete.  We set up a woodburner and smelter to begin processing Anthracite.  We also set up the advanced leather shop, consisting of an extra Tannery, a Tribal Warcrafter, and a Fletcher.  For now the Warcrafter will work on hardening leather with tallow, and then laminating the harder leather with scale or wood.  Soon the lamellar leather will be used to make advanced leather armor, or a few weapons instead.  We also pierce the brook to fill cistern. 

Spoiler: tribal crafts floor setup (click to show/hide)

Centaurs!  These monsters are very dangerous; they can kill an orc with a blow from their hooves.  A few Uruks with proper weapons and a bit of armor could handle them easily enough, but we have none of this.  I put all the clan on a burrows alert, so that noone wanders too far from the wolf-pen to hunt or gather plants.  Yet, I am not ready to abandon the above ground workshops to savage beasts. 

Spoiler: savage wilds (click to show/hide)

[mavj96]

Hey pagus I was wondering if you thought it better to take two hunters and a farmer or vice versa?

I was thinking with our reliance on bone/fleshy stuff that it'd make for a better early game to hunt.

Great story so far!

[Gamerlord]

Awesome so far. But remember: first male smith, uruk or ronin is mine! Mwahahahah!

[BFEL]

Just wanted to say I saw the fort name as "The CLEAVAGE of Ignorance" when I saw on the Community page.

That is all

[Demonbutter]

How truly exciting!

[Firehawk45]

A hunting direwolf, how fitting. Wait, you can harden leather with tallow? How? I always wondered if you wanted me to plant quarry bushes to get lamellar leather!

[gwathlobal]

A hunting direwolf, how fitting. Wait, you can harden leather with tallow? How? I always wondered if you wanted me to plant quarry bushes to get lamellar leather!

Tribal Wargear workshop. Harden with tallow, laminate with wood, hooves or shell.

[smakemupagus]

Hey pagus I was wondering if you thought it better to take two hunters and a farmer or vice versa?

Interesting question, but I don't think I usually spend embark points on more than 1 of each.  Here in untamed wilds it might be a little dangerous, but usually I'd just give any random idle snaga the hunting skill and he'll do OK & level up pretty fast.

[Gamerlord]

Hey mupagus, I was thinking about running a succession Orc Fort, just wanted to ask, are there any updates I should wait for first?

[smakemupagus]

Cool!  ... There are not really anything to wait for, the only unposted changes so far are really minor;

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

-----------
* Remove crate of muskets from Human loot tables (too powerful; also removes them from Orc homeland traders)
   * Add bars of brass and lead to Human loot table
* Remove crate of cannon from Human traders reaction   
* Increased material value of boreal seeds to match the value of plants/drinks/etc. (it will be harder to embark with them)

[Gamerlord]

Awesome. So now I just need an embark with a forest surrounded by mountains...

[smakemupagus]

###############

Chapter 3: Tribal Warcrafter
Journal of Thrakha'zaguul.

Hematite, 251

The trained hunting wolves keep the centaurs at bay, keeping us safe in the above ground workshops as long as we stay close.  Demonbutter speaks: let us be safe for now, and let our wolves enforce the Zone of Terror against centaurs - But if you give me a season reign upon the workshops, the tribe will become strong.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It is true, Demonbutter worked like one possessed all Summer.  The rest of us take up the slack in other crafts: carpentering and in trinkets for export. 

At another time I might have asked our Tribal Crafter to put aside some of the lamellar leather for macuahuitl swords.  These are large flatbladed wooden clubs studded with razor sharp ironbone or bloodsteel shards.  However they have a large striking surface and so require great strength to use effectively.  Instead, Orcish jagged spears are a fine choice for our simple militia.  They have both a piercing tip for slaying giant creatures, and a serrated edge for lopping hands off of elves.

For our archers: bronze mail over a suit of lamellar armor, and upgrading to Composite Bows from the Fletcher.  Composite bows require leather in their construction, but they provide enough power to punch even the broad head of an Orcish jagged arrow through elf-mail.  Remember to craft some gloves, backpacks, and waterskins at the regular leather shop to finish the kit.

Malachite, 251

The centaurs are gone, in their stead, giant weasels and giant grasshoppers.  From now on everyone idler becomes a mason and we work on a stone pallisade.

Migrants!  But not yet the grim Uruk-veterans that my brothers spoke of.  Here: A simple fisherorc/miller named Buurgolg and a snaga farmer named Ashduuk.  Ashduuk speaks: it is foolishness that you still lack underground crops.   Buurgolg speaks: let us breed geese, I will catch fish for food in the meantime.  I reply: Fine, there are some plumphelmet spores, and a brook full of fish.   

Urb and Meph head a little deeper to dig a Great Hall and rooms for the officers, and strike more sphalerite and tetrahetride.  We will look forward to having plenty of brass, for valuable crafting.  If someday we manage to recruit a goblin tinkerer:  brass is for guns too.

Orcish officers like to have some nice things, so we have to go out of the way to build them some boxes and cabinets.  But, unlike a lazy dwarf-noble, our Scribe both keeps the books and manages production.  If she gets too overwhelmed we can add more Scribes later. Likewise our Shaman looks after both physical and spiritual health.  Currently, our *specific* Shaman also makes annoying demands not to export rings.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Galena, 251

Good news!  The brook is full of mussels.  Shells have many uses.  The craftsman can make shell crafts of course, and the tanner can process them into shellplate leather.  Best of all, the tribal warcrafter can use them as a composite for his lamellar leather, giving him another option besides wood and horn.

[tomio175]

I'd like the next Dreamwalker, if possible. Name her Tomia175 or name him tomio175

[smakemupagus]

Sure thing!  Hopefully we will get some Uruks and Dreamwalkers when ever the big migration wave happens.