((1.5% of a NaNoWriMo goal with this update. I could sooo hit 50,000 words in a month with 2-3 forum games on daily updates.))
Edna arrives in the new world following a platoon from the first company and cackling. The soldiers give her a wide berth as she runs towards the river, followed by Flow. They look at their platoon leader uncertainly. {2} - After a few hours of trying, Edna determines that the aquatic fauna are fishlike and terrified of everything that moves.
{4} She abruptly stands and runs to the trees, which she decides are similar to normal trees. She sees no evidence of any species she's familiar with, but wood seems to still be wood. It acts like wood, and, after one branch that wasn't there two seconds ago somehow catches her hair while there's no wind, she notes that it burns like wood, without any signs of toxicity. When the nearest captain realizes that she's using one of his men for testing, he begins yelling in a thick accent, much to the victim's relief. She cackles and runs back towards the forest, Flow in tow.
{3} - Most of the animals are even more skittish than the fish. Even with Flow's help, they have serious trouble doing more than catching sight of a few deer-like creatures at long range or finding lots of fluffy and brightly colored bunny-like creatures. The bunnies are friendlier than those back home.
{2} - Ari leaves uneventfully. She considers turning loose wood from the forest into improvised tools, but decides that it wouldn't be worth the effort to make them durable enough to survive storage until the real tools run out. She asks about making a silo, but Construction Organizer Herbert is still planning and shoots her down. She instead helps to oversee the zeppelin's launch.
{3} - After it launches without incident, she decides to double-check that the soldiers' powder barrels are properly sealed. She patches up a few aging storage enchantments.
{2} - Unen spends the morning trying to recruit soldiers for his construction project, but the company leader refuses to llisten to logic, and instead wastes time setting up a perimeter and patrols.
{4} - Eventually, he manages to get an off-duty platoon to help with his construction project, by promising them a favor in the future. The civic organizer suggests he build his testing area off in the forest somewhere, so he does. His ground-to-sand transformation goes well, and the soldiers only mildly complain about digging sand for wizards not being in their contract. The bunker consists of one main room with four cells and a ramp spiraling to the surface. It needs doors and furniture, and is roughly made.
{3} - He returns to find Carrie regaling off-duty soldiers with tales about fighting the undead. She has not thought of any new toys for him to make in the past eight hours.
{2} - Milly immediately sets to work divining the river. She has trouble noticing much, but the water is fresh slightly upriver.
{4} - Gordon spends his time checking the ground. It's mostly solid stone underneath a thick layer of soil. At Organizer Herbert's direction, he begins the slow process of creating a quarry some distance upriver.
{6} - He spends the evening planning an irrigation system with one of Organizer Herbert's underlings. The engineer platoon is busy planning a temporary palisade.
{5} - Zedas immediately sets to work trying to identify plants. He doesn't see any familiar species of flora, but his magic lets his identify deadly plants. He collects several samples of each, as well as some samples of non-toxic and potentially edible plants.
{2} - Nobody is willing to be a test subject, no matter how many times he assures the soldiers that, at worst, the samples don't have a point.
{4} - He does set up a few displays near the portal with warning signs about deadly plants. (Carrie wrote the signs after seeing his attempt at one and telling a nearby soldier to watch him.)
The military sets up a patrol schedule and a watchful perimeter around the portal. Under Organizer Herbert's guidance, flags are set-up marking stockpiles, work areas, and temporary residential areas. The zeppelin begins exploring the immediate area, and will return in a few days.
The patrols report no threats, but the woods are eerily quiet. There are signs of animals large and small, but they see nothing other than the brightly colored rabbit creatures Edna noticed.
Tomorrow will see the first settlers arrive, carrying a mix of tools, food, and tents. The wizards will also arrive, along with the soil enrichment crystals.
Players:
IronyOwl's Edna Black, the Mutationist
Fniff's Zedas Piek, the Thanaturge
Tiruin's "Ari" Eloam, the Artificer
Draignean's Gordon Neider, the Geomancer
Lenglon's Unen the Entropist
Civilian Population: 4500
Government: Pioneer Despotism
Governor Jaegar (Old War Vet, Alcoholic, Demotivating)
Construction Organizer Herbert (Zealot, Slacker, Depressed)
Farmers: 35%
Fishermen: 10%
Lumberjacks: 20%
Construction Workers: 10%
Shipwrights: 10%
Blacksmiths: 5%
Miners: 5%
Wizards: 1%
Government: 4%
20 golem workers
No settlement
Food will last for 6 months.
Tools will last for 24 months.
1st Battalion
1st Infantry - 100 veteran musketmen
2nd Infantry - 125 regular musketmen
3rd Infantry - 125 green musketmen
4th support - 35 veteran engineers
10th Cavalry - 40 regular light cavalry
20th Artillery - 75 regular gunners (15 light guns)
Munitions predicted to last for 20 light engagements, 10 moderate engagements, or 5 heavy engagements.
Trailsapper, scout zeppelin
Full repair
Crew: 8/8
2x ballista
Carries standard operating supplies of 1 month
Full load cargo: 2
Capable of landing anywhere.
2x Giant Scorpions
Soil Enrichment Crystals (Consumable, enough to render the initial fields suitable for imported crops)
10km of rope
Six crates of assorted mechanisms
I'm cutting this down to two actions per player.
The "antagonists" are still recruiting. They're having fun in there. It will be even more fun if more people join.