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[Man of Paper]

Exploitation II: An Undesirable Foodstuffs (Roll: 1)
TURNTURNTURN

It was at the suggestion of one of the Major Founders (NUKE9.13 -1I) that the People of the Baobab sought to capture more lions in an effort to promote some level of cooperation, or at least nonaggression, between the two species. Parties of Baobabi hunters were sent out with the goal of capturing some lions to bring home and attempt to tame to some degree. Unfortunately, the lions no longer hunting the tribe did not mean they weren't abundantly cautious about them. The hunters found themselves getting regularly ambushed as they traveled into lion territory, and the beasts had learned to utilize their agility to avoid the bolas once they started flying.

The lions were more numerous now than before, and seemed to be learning how to avoid or best their greatest foes (humans) very quickly.

One hunting party was (relatively) successful in their endeavors as one hunter was able to ensnare a cub and escape the lion's den at the cost of every other hunter in the party. They managed to get the cub back to the settlement at 48-C, where it was bound to a tree on the outskirts of the village. This decision led to a number of issues for the long-term survival of the settlement. The abduction of a cub only increased the aggression of the lion pride, and with the tribe's guard lowered they found it quite easy to begin utilizing the Baobabi as a food resource once again. The cub was not rescued by the pride, however.

Lions? in 49-C have become The Maneater Pride, are no longer exploitable, and have resumed aggression against your tribe. 1 Stone is used once more to arm enough tribesfolk to keep the settlement from being overrun.

The cub's demise did not come at the hands of the Baobabi, either. On the second night of it's short time in the tribe your people were haunted by a chorus of otherworldly laughter and shadows darting through the village. Your people were cowed and frightened by these things they perceived to be angered spirits of the land. The cub was descended upon first, it's helpless yelps and death rattle providing a brief moment for the lucky Baobabi to flee into the relative safety of their homes. The unlucky were dragged to the ground in flashes of glistening teeth held within foaming, spittle-covered mouths. The few who witnessed the demons as they darted by firelight could only tell that these four-legged creatures were covered in patches of matted fur. Your people were caught entirely off-guard and were kept from being wiped out of the area thanks only to the hit-and-run nature of the monsters' attack.

A new threat has appeared somewhere near 48-C.

The Baobabi living within 48-C believe the land may be cursed or otherwise haunted by creatures most foul. Steps should be taken soon to mitigate the issues caused by both The Maneater Pride and the new unidentified threat before your people decide it is necessary to abandon the area.

It is now the Experimentation Phase. Remember that these proposals are meant to be your larger steps into or creation of new fields of research and industry, and that the person responsible for a successful proposal in this phase gets 2 Influence.

Spoiler: Technology and Knowledge (click to show/hide)

Improved Stone Tools: Provides durable tools for basic tasks, doubling Wood and Stone Exploitation, requires access to Stone, Wood, Textile.
-Stone Spear: Allows Exploitation of larger beasts for Food, requires access to Stone.

Bolas: Stones bound by rope used to ensnare and capture or cripple prey at range, requires access to Stone and costs 1 Textile in upkeep.

Primitive Rope: Dried, braided reeds that let the tribe secure and bundle objects. Allows for Wood Exploitation 1 square outside of the civilization's borders, requires access to Textiles.

Primitive Firemaking: A base tech vital for survival.

Persistence Hunting: Allows for Food Exploitation 1 square outside of the civilization's borders.
-Efficient Hunting: Smarter tactics allow your hunters to gain +1 Food from hunted resources.

Early Animal Domestication: With a very basic understanding of how to pacify animals, your people are capable of attempting domestication.

Animal Bone Accessories: Jewelry, wards, and charms made of bone that provide a positive impact on tribal morale, requires access to a living (nonhuman) animal.

Subsistence Foraging: Allows for the bare minimum of passive Food collection for low populations in plentiful regions.
-Societal Herbalism: Your people as a whole have a basic familiarity with how to utilize the plant life around them. They are beginning to understand the life cycle of plants.
--Guarri Bark Paste: A bark and water mash that can be spread over open injuries to provide a level of pain relief and infection resistance.
-Primitive Dendrology: The tribe can identify the useful parts of trees better, providing Food or Chemicals in addition to Wood.
--Seedkeepers: Tribal collectors of seeds who spread them as they travel. They also keep track of tribal folklore using local trees as reference points for certain events.

Hide Tents: Provides basic shelter.
-Pit House: A semiburied wood and grass structure that provides good environmental protection, improves quality of life, and sets the stage for further enhancements to bolster a more sedentary lifestyle, requires 1 Wood per Settlement for upkeep.

The Baobab: A tree used to mark tribal deaths due to lions. The deceased are left as offerings at its base. Is not a health hazard thanks to local scavengers stealing away with corpses in the night.

Spoiler: Available Resources (click to show/hide)

Food: 3/3
Wood: 0/2 (Pit Houses(-2))
Stone: 1/2 (The Maneater Pride(-1))
Magnetofumes: 0/0
Chemical: 0/0
Textile: 0/1 (Bolas(-1))
Sand: 0/0

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Known Regions (click to show/hide)

46-C: Savannah, Desert
46-D: Savannah, Desert, Beach
46-E: Desert, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
47-B: Savannah, Freshwater Spring, Freshwater Stream, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
47-C: Savannah, Freshwater Stream
47-D: SETTLEMENT, Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
47-E: Shallow Water
48-B: Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
48-C: SETTLEMENT, Savannah, Freshwater Stream, Freshwater Lake
48-D: Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
48-E: Shallow Water
49-B: Shallow Water
49-C: The Maneater Pride, Savannah, Plateaus, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
49-D: Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water

Spoiler: Resources By Region (click to show/hide)

Identified, Identified but Currently Useless and Exploited
47-D: Food x3 (Wildebeest Herd(+1), Acacia Grove), Wood x2 (Acacia Grove), Stone x2 (Granite Inselberg), Magnetofumes (Fumic Geyser)
48-C: Food x2 (Antelope Herd, Elephant Herd), Ivory (Elephant Herd), Clay (Lakeside Red Clay Deposit), Textiles (Lakeside Reeds)
49-C: Stone (Limestone Chimneys), Magnetofumes x2 (Fumic Plateau), Sand (White Quartz Beach)

Spoiler: Tokens (click to show/hide)

+Wood Resource(x2)

Spoiler: The Master List (click to show/hide)

Major Founders:
m1895 - (2I/1P)
Nuke9.13 - (2I/0P)
Powder Miner - (3I/0P)
Minor Founders:
a1s - (1I/1P)
Taricus - (1I/1P)
Fluffe1199 - (0I/0P)
Light forger - (0I/0P)
Doomblade187 - (0I/0P)
sketchykeeps - (0I/0P)
Kashyyk - (0I/0P)
Quarque - (0I/0P)
Knightwing64 - (0I/0P)
chubby2man - (0I/0P)

[Doomblade187]

Atlatls:

We need defenses, and fast. In our rope experiments, we discovered the power of leverage, and now aim to use it to simply spear better. As such, we aim to develop throwing sticks to improve the power and range of our weapons. Additionally,  since we won't be throwing by hand anymore, it's relatively easy to attach an anchored rope to the base of spears to help limit the movements of the prey.

Atlatls: (1.1) MINORS

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade

[Powder Miner]

If we go the route of “we need solid weaponry with which to deal with enemies, as an absolute minimum baseline”, then especially as it’s the experimentation phase archery would be more worthwhile. I go back and forth on how naturally I think archery lends itself to further technology; some of that probably depends on the roll. In any event, however, I think that this is the best bang for a “low risk” option, in that it is clearly military focused but is still aiming for something ambitious enough for an experimentation phase.

With the return of the lions (now the Maneater Pride) as an existential threat, and with a second existential threat on top of that, finding a means to combat these threats becomes critical. With our would-be animal commuters flailing to deal with the solution, we fell back on a more time-tested form of specialist - our woodshapers. With the tools and technology available to them, a tool was created that could fire deadly, spear-like implements (and accurately) many meters out, far beyond the range that any spear could ever be thrown.

Although the creation of a bow is not an easy task, it isn't something that really requires any new technologies from our woodshapers beyond that of thw bow itself. An appropriately-shaped thin log is split (and then repeatedly split or chipped off at the corners until any twists or bends in the wood are no longer present) and then shaped through tapering and carving until it has been turned into a, well, bow shape (plus or minus ergonomic details such as a thicker and thus stiffer handle). Creating the bowstring involved taking fibers from split reeds or peeled bark (depending on the location of the bowmaker) and twisting it into cordage, creating a strong string that could withstand being used within a weapon such as a bow.

Perhaps the most awkward piece involved (although by no means an overwhelmingly difficult task) was in the creation of arrows - assembling arrowheads and shafts themselves was trivially simple given the processes and infrastructure that already existed for wood, stone, and tools created through the fusion of the above, but with no history of hunting birds (perhaps it is a chicken-and-arrow problem), feathers did have to be found where fallen or otherwise scavengeable, at which point they could be trimmed with stone tools to be attached to the arrows as fletchings.

All of this work expanded the repertoire of our tribesmen significantly; scouts and hunters could engage with deadly threats or large animals with much less worry of seeing themselves maimed or killed, groups of tribespeople can work together to slay most any known beast, and patrolmen around the villages (or opportunely-armed, would-be ambush targets) can deter animal attackers before they ever actually strike.

Atlatls: (1.1) MINORS
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (0)

[Quarque]

Before the turn rolled around, I was planning to propose the invention of nets this phase. It could serve a double purpose: setting up non-lethal traps and to start a fishing industry. After all, we're on a relatively small island and will have to explore the seas eventually. What better way to get started than fishing?

But, alas. After reading the details of current events I can only conclude that it will have to wait. We need a better weapon and we need it now. Honestly, I can't bring myself to vote on anything else than bows and arrows at this moment.

Atlatls: (0)
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (1) Quarque

[Kashyyk]

The sun hangs low to the sky, staining the clouds an evening red. Beneath, a lone figure hurries through the underbrush. A string-tied bundle of Redroot tumbles to the dirt, and the figure stops, turns back and carefully returns it to the pile of similar packages in their arms. Again they start running, more carefully this time. A glance over one shoulder sees the sun touching the trees, and caution is abandoned in favour of speed.

A wide pit house sits only a short distance from the Boabab. Bone and grass trinkets surround the entrance, itself a cascade of reed fibres bearing coloured stones. Inside, a woman stokes the fire, waves a rod in the air and chants something. In the shadows, a Boy is grinding Guarri and Demon's Paw into a paste. The wind whistles against the walls and shakes the totems like a cackle. The rhythm is broken by a Girl.

"You're late," says the Woman, "and those Redroots look bruised."

"I'm sorry Elder, the Haspur had little to offer, I needed to look for more." The Girl replied, as she carefully placed the many string-bound bundles next to the Boy.

"That doesn't excuse the bruising." The Elder remarked, thinly.

"I think I can still get enough, Elder", the Boy interjected
 He cut the string with a piece of flint, before quickly slicing out the damaged sections. "But, we won't have any spare."

"Saved once more, Girl. Now get over here and take over."

The Girl and the Woman swapped positions. The chanting resumed as the Elder picked up a small bag and a much larger rod, this one with multiple bone charms. The Elder began a chant of her own, thrust her hand in the bag and then cast a cloud of powder into the flames.

This continued, as the shadows grew longer and the light beyond the entryway grew dim. The wind picked up to a wicked howl as about the village the tribe huddled close to their fires and dared hope they would be spared for another night.

The Boy brought forth a red paste and offered it to the Elder. She took a handful, daubed marks of the of the Boabab on herself and her apprentices, and then breathed deep of the smoke. The Boy and the Girl grasped hands with the Woman around the fire and started chanting in unison as the Elder convulsed. Her eyes opened, and white fire was within.

======

The Speakers of the Boabab are a Shamanic Tradition who use the local resources to illicit an astral state that allows them to commune with and repel evil spirits and thus protect the tribe. Whether or not this is a tale magic depends on GM whim.

Atlatls: (0)
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner
Speakers of the Boabab: (0)

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (1) Quarque
Speakers of the Boabab: (1) Kashyyk

[hector13]

((I’d like to join if possible, after this phase so I don’t have to read 11 pages of stuff))

[Man of Paper]

You're free to join whenever you want. I'll add your name to the list now, but don't feel obligated to jump in just because I do.

[hector13]

I mean, if I can join now…

Walls!

Wooden or stone structures encircling our settlements to keep the bad things out, with zero risk to our people. We could even have gaps in the structure to poke spears through to subtly encourage the bad things to go away.

Alternatives to gaps are to put logs with pointy ends at the bottom to discourage climbing, or (eventually) dig holes in front of them.

Further, walls denote particular areas as belonging to us, should we happen to meet humans that are not us at some point, or want to have particular areas closed off within our tribe.

Atlatls: (0)
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner
Speakers of the Boabab: (0)
Walls: (0)

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (1) Quarque
Speakers of the Boabab: (1) Kashyyk
Walls: (1) hector13

[/quote]

[Quarque]

Omg, of course. Sorry to bows and arrows then, I believe we need those badly as well. But walling off would provide even more immediate protection, because it works at night.

By the way I'm sorry about the atlatl, it is an interesting alternative to bows, but I believe it is more appropriate for hunting large game and less effective against lions, because of limited ammunition and easier to dodge.

Atlatls: (0)
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner
Speakers of the Boabab: (0)
Walls: (1.1) Minors

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (0)
Speakers of the Boabab: (1) Kashyyk
Walls: (2) hector13, Quarque

[m1895]

Atlatls have a good bit more stopping power than bows

Atlatls: (1) m1895
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner
Walls: ()

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (1) Quarque
Walls: (1) hector13

[Quarque]

Fixing the crosspost

Atlatls: (1) m1895
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner
Speakers of the Boabab: (0)
Walls: (1.1) Minors

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (0)
Speakers of the Boabab: (1) Kashyyk
Walls: (2) hector13, Quarque

[chubby2man]

Atlatls: (1) m1895
Bow and Arrow: (1) Powder Miner
Speakers of the Boabab: (0)
Walls: (1.1) Minors

Atlatls: (1) Doomblade
Bow and Arrow: (0)
Speakers of the Boabab: (1) Kashyyk
Walls: (3) hector13, Quarque, C2M

The lions have won this round, let’s put some walls between us and them.

[Powder Miner]

Walls would probably be something for the Expansion Phase, which can include infrastructural advancements like that - it really should be noted that the Experimentation phases explicitly are capable of doing more than our other phases. When we rolled particularly well with woodworking, we got multiple technologies, an additional resource type, AND extra tokens to boost our expansions - and while we can't guarantee a good roll, what we can do is make sure that any proposal we put out is providing grounds for any decent or good roll to give us real benefits.

Simple revisions upwards of technology we already have (such as walls with regards to our pit houses and woodworking and stoneworking, and atlatls with regards to our spears) are not really those kinds of proposals, and are better suited to smaller phases like the expansion phase or the exploitation phase which are smaller in "size" but still specialized to those types of task.

It is also worth noting that because the Experimentation Phase is such a phase of major change, the things we create have more social and symbolic resonance, and it's really worth thinking about what that means for walls. If we're spending the greatest effort of an era to wall ourselves off from the world, that runs the strong risk of creating a society whose default solution is to hunker down behind isolated cloister cities - which I don't really think is the best solution to our current issues or potential future ones.

[hector13]

The same could be said of bows and arrows. It’s a combination of woodworking and rope, with a bit of knowledge in physics.

Building a suitable wall requires a great deal of engineering skill so that it doesn’t fall down at the first stiff breeze, or under its own weight. It will also mean that we can have permanent settlements that don’t need to abandon because of local wildlife.

Engineering has a lot of potential here.

[Powder Miner]

Bows and arrows certainly are an expansion off of our current technology and one that could probably be doable in another phase, but they're a relatively complex pair of devices that would benefit strongly from the increased time, especially because the closest techs there are just literally working with the materials. In the case of walls, we've already built permanently walled buildings, and can almost certainly extend that out to a somewhat different construction technique with a smaller action easily.

Creating walls with this larger action doesn't even successfully leave us hiding behind the walls - we are a hunter-gatherer society and simply don't have the option to be gathering our food from a stationary source; as of now, we are moving in numbers to gather our food from a larger area than just our settlement buildings themselves, which is what has been creating vulnerability to animals in the first place; the lions have primarily been attacking isolated villagers on the outskirts, something the walls are not capable of helping us with. Spending our experimentation action on walls leaves us continuingly vulnerable to that threat or others outside of the walls, while leaving us no options to boost any other direct Exploration or Expansion actions outside of the walls, or give any other alternative to weaken or handle the multiple threats outside of the walls, leaving them to build strength. Spending this action on walls and scrambling to do something else later provides limited benefits, leaves several wide vulnerabilities, and places us in a weaker position relative to our current enemies. However, spending this action on weapons and then doing walls with another phase's action works on some of our primary vulnerabilities, allows us to pair walls with capabilities for acting outside of them, while also ensuring the threats outside of the walls aren't just left to build in strength. Even when using walls, the order of actions and phases used matters to the extreme, especially given our current status as a Neolithic hunter-gatherer society.