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[Gamerlord]

Nah, but how about introducing Communism? It will truly be the ultimate hardmode!

[LordSlowpoke]

Nah, but how about introducing Communism? It will truly be the ultimate hardmode!

+1

i'd say "all of my +1" but i have to keep my +1 reserves for the time this goes downhill enough for someone to have to roll for ana*cough* an angel to come down and slap things into order

[10ebbor10]

Well, things we can do with marshes.

-> Large scale drainage --> Fertile ground (Maybe another time)
-> Exploit local benefits --> Eel pits, pitch/tar if available, Fishing ground, charging passerby's

Anyway, explore the local surroundings

[evilcherry]

Guys, really need to sleep. Discussion is much appreciated for what Sir Dominic Soan is to do next, and for how he is going to survive a month. He would certainly try to explore his land, though.

[Maldevious]

"When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England."

Now that I've gotten that out of my system... maybe follow the old man and have him teach us how people live around here. And see if there is an abandoned shack to sleep in. If not, we either have to kick someone out, room with someone, or build our own. I guess I'd lean to the third option.

[escaped lurker]

Well, things we can do with marshes.
-> Exploit local benefits --> Eel pits, pitch/tar if available, Fishing ground, charging passerby's

Good thinking. I would like to add "Look for Bog Iron" to the list. Sure, it is a limited supply,wich will refill around every 20 years at fastest (depending on iron-richness of the ground, I hear) but for a good starting boost it will do.
Also, Peat. Lots and lots of peat, depending on the swamp.

Nah, but how about introducing Communism? It will truly be the ultimate hardmode!

I would think it to be "The Recipe for Certain Failure", instead of my "Plan of Unnecessary Hardships and Bloodshed" but we will see. It is not the time yet to decide such matters.

[Maldevious]

As an additional point, Communism would be difficult to implement as a member of the nobility.

[GreatWyrmGold]

"When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England."

This is a Marsh, in Not-England.

As an additional point, Communism would be difficult to implement as a member of the nobility.

But: The irony would be worth it!


So. We have all that a marsh ecology and geology has to offer (read: Not much, except some fishing, hunting, and perhaps collecting peat/tar/bog iron/etc depending on type), plus a road, plus a bit of marginal agriculture. Did I miss anything?
First priority, don't starve. Locate someone with a bit of respect for authority and ask to stay in their house for the time being. Help them out some in exchange for room and board if we must--it's not like the other nobles can see us! When we have time, travel along the length and breadth of our fief, talking with any locals we see about settlements, neighbors, resources, dangers, wildlife, etc. I have a few potential business models in mind, but each is dependent on certain variables being right--climate and wildlife, or where the road leads, or the kinds of crops we have, or something.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

As an additional point, Communism would be difficult to implement as a member of the nobility.

That depends, are we talking about actual, Marx-style Communism? Or Stalin flavor? Because we could do Stalinist Communism pretty easily, its really not all that different from Feudalism in practice!

[escaped lurker]

As an additional point, Communism would be difficult to implement as a member of the nobility.

That depends, are we talking about actual, Marx-style Communism? Or Stalin flavor? Because we could do Stalinist Communism pretty easily, its really not all that different from Feudalism in practice!

Reserving that as my B-Plan for Tyrancy. Good Work, Urist. 

On a slightly more serious note; Rent out the horse to plow fields
A work animal is the difference between an extremely poor, and a quite less poor farmer. Take note to supervise the work. We do not want it overworked, or "disappearing" into a cooking pot. Caus thats a big slice of meat. Make sure to let them know that in such a case, you "would be forced to use" your rights as a noble. And since they pretty much have none, well.... you get the picture.

[FritzPL]

I'm just going to post to watch and wait until a certain group of people change this into a flamewar-y medieval military inventions thread.

[Gervassen]

In that case, we'll try to get there sooner than usual, just for you, Fritz!

The marsh would not have been my choice. Let's make an honest go of it, guys. That Monty Python bit was exactly what ran through my head.

In a marsh, it's possible there might be peat-mining opportunities. Let's assess our workers and our local resources, and not commit treason by installing communism overtop feudal ownership of the land and people by our liege lord.

[Gamerlord]

COMMUNISM MUST RULE.

[evilcherry]

March, Year 1

You were used to build your own home, you thought for a moment. However, you noticed that it was the start of growing season, and while there are no large scale farms, you decide to rent out your horse for the fields, in return for lodging, some food, and help on your own shack. Within a month you have already finished a wooden hut, while not better than anyone else's, but you decided that it would do for the moment.

In your spare time, you tried to tour the land, but with your horse exhausted after her daily workout, you decide to do it on foot. The terrain is pretty much similar on both sides of the river and the road, which is dominated by waterlogged marshes, and dotted by a few uplands which apparently is good enough for wood to grow on. One of them, in the middle of the river, seemed to be large enough for a castle, but you found it uninhabited.

Meanwhile, while you have never ventured too far from the road or the river, as the place is unmarked, you are pretty sure that you have visited most of your subjects within half a day's walk. You were told that your fief is much larger than that but you couldn't get any sense out of your deed.

Within a month, you have gathered a great deal of information of the area. Unlike most of the country which feeds on wheat, the only stable crop this part of land would reliably grow is a kind of tuber, and even then it would be only barely enough to feed everyone, and is supplanted by berry and vegetable cultivation. There is also some fishing and hunting, and while you heard of a few pelt-producing animals, it is not very promising for the moment and moreover it is soon off-season.

You also asked about the road, and about the areas further from the road. The roads, as told by an elderly man, leads towards the seaside port city of Consenato - which is ruled by another Marquess, and is about at least a week's walk. This road had its prosperous times but lack of maintenance means most traffic has now diverted from the area. Meanwhile, you heard that there are very different people as you ventured from the road, but he did not provide any details.

How will you go on from here, Baron Dominic Soan?

Spoiler: Known Nobility (click to show/hide)

Amedeo, Duke of Prainia - Cordial
Count Mario of Daleston - Liege of Amedeo, Lord of Dominic, Unknown

Spoiler: Known Commoners (click to show/hide)

Simone, Scribe of Amedeo
Augusto, Quartermaster of Amedeo

Spoiler: Dominic Soan, Baron (click to show/hide)

Adequate Farmer
Adequate Slinger
Illiterate
Dabbling Rider
Dabbling Carpenter

Spoiler: Your personal belongings (click to show/hide)

Poor Arming Sword
Poor Chain Shirt
Poor Padded Cloth
Poor Horse
Instrument of Appointment

Spoiler: Your unnamed holdings (click to show/hide)

crumbling shack

Dominic Soan do not understand Communism(in a Marxist sense), nor his mental faculties is advanced enough to conjure such an idea overnight or over 20 years. He is, after all, no better than anyone in his society in this very regard, and to quote Marx in the German Ideology, "as they operate, produce materially, and hence as they work under definite material limits, presuppositions and conditions independent of their will".

[Gamerlord]

Go hunting for pelts in spare time; use a sling.