"We are the Grass, and these are our lands, and we teach you because you are now our dearest children - as long as you and your descendants live, the Grass itself will watch over you, bring you health, knowledge, wealth and success. Honor us and honor our lands by following our directives, and we shall help you tread the path of the future. Work now in our name, and we shall speak again in the years to come - amass wealth and power with the facts provided, for your family shall need them if you are to be the shining beacon we have envisioned. But speak nothing of your intended future to the rest - merely make our presence understood, and follow the methods outlined, and be productive above all."
Modnir nods and takes this in. When he wakes, he speaks of the full dream only to his children, but to the other grasslanders he brings word of the Grass that guides those who follow its creed. Already respected for his family's keen intellect, Modnir manages to spin this into even more influence for himself, and he and his take charge over the implementation of the crop rotation, carefully ensuring the best plots of land go to his kin. In time, this too shall bear fruit.
((I'm tempted to grow the hill people into savage barbarians who take what they want from the soft people of the valley. Of course, if you cooperate, the raids can be turned away from the valley, to the even softer people who must dwell outside. If.
I'm kidding. I wouldn't try that on my fellow spirits. I'm friendly and cooperative, I am. Whisper whisper.))
Narrow Focus GUIDE [-4 NAT] the grazers with the people to be more docile and human-friendly.
Broad Focus ALTER [-13 GEN, -7 NAT = -20] the people of the hills. Make them more hardy, tough enough to withstand hunger, cold, pain more than other men.
You guide the herds of goats, gently encouraging them to be less willful, less aggressive. [-4 NAT] The human-bred goats become much more docile, allowing the hillfolk to successfully domesticate them much earlier than if they had continued to select for the more passive goats on their own. Although this effect is not genetic, the learned behaviour of successive generations will be influenced by this, and so will have a lasting effect once the guidance wears off. With tame goats, the human herds can be expected to increase accordingly, as less attention is needed on the herd.
Having made the goats softer, you decide to make the hillfolk harder. You spread your power through the four families that live in the hills [-13 GEN, -7 NAT] and subtly change their nature. Their skin becomes a little thicker, they gain more resistance to cold and pain, and while they eat as much as other men, they are able to subsist on less when times grow harsh. It will take some time for them to fully become aware of the effects, but you have made the hillfolk that much harder than those who live below. This manifests in part as a slight increase in overall health.
((Don't you have 33 power? Not 54? Also, between you and the giants, I think you guys have 63 power that can be put into a natural actions, and a maxed strength harm takes 64 power, I'd being willing to loan you guys the single other power if you guys decide to put a hit out on it, although I don't think I could swing five.))
[You indeed have only 33 power; 18 GEN, 15 CUL.]
((Don't you have 33 power? Not 54? Also, between you and the giants, I think you guys have 63 power that can be put into a natural actions, and a maxed strength harm takes 64 power, I'd being willing to loan you guys the single other power if you guys decide to put a hit out on it, although I don't think I could swing five.))
33, +15 from last turn, and then i get 1/5 of every culturepoint in the valley outside of Narsis!
Actually, I changed the rules but I haven't gotten around to altering them. You get the same +12 General Strength as everybody, but in fact you are now getting
bonus culture equal to half the total culture strength of the entire valley (broadly, the system uses square roots for diminishing returns on population size). 15+18 is however the correct amount, yes.
The ancestors obviously were disappointed that several of its kin has stopped to pay its respect to the dead. While most of the spirits tolerated the worship of other spirits, they didn't take kindly to neglection. They are dead humans after all, and pride donīt dissepear after death.
View the Cairn sites- Narrow focus, try to find who is the most devoted worshippers of the ancestors.
You try to view the cairn sites up close, settling for a narrow focus. [-4 GEN] You don't really have the resolution to pick out individual people at this level, but after watching the cairn sites you do determine that the most devoted worshippers are those of the grasslands. The foresters are becoming more interested in the sightings of the Golden Bear, while the fisherfolk give more lip service to the ancestors than honest prayer. You are even able to pick out the specific family, one of the three enhanced grasslander families; the kin of the elder named Ersa. There was some sort of connection between Ersa and the original cairns, but you don't have enough resolution to pick that sort of detail out - you can hear gists, but not specifics.
Inhabitants: 108 (106 Fishermen, 2 Clay-workers)
Health: Below Average
Happiness: Optimistic
Ecology: Stable
Natural Health: Fairly Good
Biodiversity: Moderate
Biomass: Above Average
General Strength: 19
Natural Strength: 27
Cultural Strength: 8
Inhabitants: 40 (34 Farmers, 6 Craftsmen)
Health: Moderate
Happiness: Average
Primitive Agriculture
Basic Crop Management
3 Families: Intelligence Enhancement
Ecology: Stable
Natural Health: Fine
Biodiversity: Moderate
Biomass: Moderate
General Strength: 23
Natural Strength: 1
Cultural Strength: 0
Inhabitants: 22 (Foresters)
Health: Moderate
Happiness: Optimistic
Cairn Sites
Ecology: Stable
Natural Health: Fine
Biodiversity: Moderate
Biomass: Moderate
General Strength: 16
Natural Strength: 29
Cultural Strength: 9
Inhabitants: 18 (16 Herders, 2 Felters/Clothiers)
Health: Below Average
Happiness: Fine
Ecology: Stable
Natural Health: Fine
Biodiversity: Moderate
Biomass: Above Average
Whispergrass
Growth-favoured Climate
Domesticated Goats
4 Families: Enhanced toughness
General Strength: 0
Natural Strength: 0
Cultural Strength: 5
Inhabitants: 4 (Swampfolk)
Health: Moderate
Happiness: Optimistic
Ecology: Wavering
Natural Health: Good
Biodiversity: Below Average
Biomass: Moderate
General Strength: 23
Natural Strength: 13
Cultural Strength: 1
Inhabitants: 192
Health: Below Average
Happiness: Fine
Ecology: None
Natural Health: -
Biodiversity: Nil
Biomass: Nil
General Strength: 18
Natural Strength: 0
Cultural Strength: 15