Experimentation Phase II: Separation Anxiety (Roll: 2)
Mourning Dew has always maintained a curious property of never drifting out of some invisible, undetectable barrier surrounding every instance of the misty material. The Wardens of the Lake have long interacted with Mourning Dew at this point, but never before had they tried to remove it from the source.
Stone bowls were carefully carved and smoothed, and used by Attuned to gather Dew drifting at the side of the Misty Chamber. The first Attuned to pull Dew from the Chamber noticed the still silence explode into screams of terror and fear piercing into their minds. The Dew and the spirits of the dead Whatever essences of various spirits they extracted were unwilling or unable (or both) to communicate or cooperate with the Attuned in any way. As a result of the violent assault on the minds of the Attuned gathered, most of the removed Dew was returned to the Chamber which silenced it. One bowl remained within the hands of an Attuned, and they were determined to see their task completed.
With the very limited amount of Mourning Dew available in the single bowl, the Attuned decided to bring the offering to the Hairy Lichen in
16-M. The journey was slow, as the Attuned was careful not to lose any of the precious (psychically screaming) Dew. The trip was excessively easy to navigate, but the temptation to cast the Dew aside and flee the endless sounds of terror proved to be a constant presence. Still, the Attuned made journey and baptized the Hairy Lichen Walls with Mourning Dew.
The Hairy Lichen reacted in a wide variety of ways and not all at once. The screaming from the Dew subsided as it soaked into the lichen as if it understood what the Attuned intended, and soft white glow began to spread throughout the growth. While the screaming wasn't there to batter the minds of Attuned, the Hairy Lichen itself seemed to cause a sense of unease deep within their psyche. As time passed and the Attuned made repeated journeys to feed the lichen, it's standard growth patterns dramatically adjusted. Instead of spreading outward, the lichen had begun to creep in one specific direction - toward
17-N. The Dew feedings continued as the creeping hairs continued to travel and wind through tunnels until after a very, very slow journey the cluster stopped outside of the Misty Chamber. From there it returned to a more normal cycle of growth beyond the fact that it needed no further caring for from the Wardens.
The tribesfolk harvesting and utilizing the lichen noticed some of the changes made to the mossy material as it migrated. The fibrous lichen had become tougher and denser, and not only had the people found themselves less and less "satisfied" when eating the increasingly difficult to chew glowing lichen, but they also noticed a strong increase in fear and anxiety when ingesting it up to, in extreme cases, hallucinations involving violent and graphic death. Needless to say, the tribe stopped using the lichen as a source of food. The lichen continues to be useful for rope-making, and the strength it has gained from the changes it incurred in transit has actually improved the quality of the ropes available. The
Strong Glowrope produced from
Glowing White Lichen provides a source of illumination in the underground requiring much less maintenance (and producing much less smoke) than the admittedly more effective
Torchbowls, better identifying routes that rope have been used to cut off, or lighting up pitfalls to see to the bottom, among other uses. Some members of the tribe take to hanging them from lower ceilings to light their homes.
The tribe was predictably angered at the loss of a food source, and what the Wardens had learned of the spirits residing beneath them filled everyone with unease
(Quarque -2I). The experiment would not be repeated again until the tribe had considered what they'd learned of the Dew.
As if life hadn't been interesting enough, the bears living at the entrance of the cave got extremely rowdy one day as a small gang from another tribe came into the cave with long pointed sticks while attempting to grab the cubs. This did not go well for them, as a bear had been outside the cave foraging and trapped the other tribals between two walls of angry claws, teeth, and fur. The bears have won the day, but this negative interaction with humans has agitated them. There are increasing concerns that the bears may finally decide to turn inward and check out all the noise and smells the Wardens are producing.
NEW DISCOVERIESTerrorforming: A very early attempt at agricultural advancement using Mourning Dew sourced from The Misty Chamber. Terrorformed plants will "flee" toward the Misty Chamber with each rapidly breeding generation until they arrive at the Chamber. Rapid breeding results in unstable mutations, with greater distances covered resulting in drastically dramatic and usually outright worse alterations. Terrorformed plants will emit a glow and pass on the strong fear and memories of death held within the Dew (usually when ingested, although other means of transference are possible). The Misty Chamber seems to provide sustenance for Terrorformed plants upon arrival. Requires access to
The Misty Chamber, and
1 Mourning Dew for upkeep.
Strong Glowropemaking: A strong, faintly glowing rope made from Glowing White Lichen. Provides low light with low maintenance in addition to the standard uses of a sturdy rope. Requires access to
Glowing White Lichen, and
1 Textile for upkeep. Replaces Primitive Ropemaking.
RESOURCES MODIFIEDCave Bear Family (??) [17-N] ->
Agitated Cave Bears (?!) [17-N]
Hairy Lichen Walls (Food+Textile) [16-M] ->
Glowing White Lichen (Textile x2) [17-N]
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It is now the Exploration Phase. You may choose to make a proposal to develop for your people that could aid them in exploration in some way, or you can propose a route to explore. Thanks to Stonebreakers, you may choose to explore up to two tiles. These tiles must neighbor an already explored tile, and must connect to one another as well. Due to Soul-Scouts you may also choose to scout another tile neighboring a previously explored tile independent of any other action you take during the phase. When proposing exploration plans, be sure to include whether or not you will be deploying Soul-Scouts. Remember that diagonal zones are considered neighboring.
For the duration of this Age, all proposals related to Mourning Dew reroll until they result in a 1, 2, 8, 9, or 10. All proposals that do not use or otherwise revolve around Mourning Dew will be rerolled until they result in a 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.
Advanced Cave Adaptation: A slowly growing percentage of the population has never seen the surface - or the sky. The tribe has greatly heightened senses, although sensitive eyes make the surface less than desirable during the day, and the lack of a ceiling overhead might be extremely unsettling at any time of day.
Subterranean Migrations: Your people can find underground routes through any Land tile.
Stone Tools: Provides basic tools for basic tasks. Requires access to Stone.
Stonebreakers: Your tribe is intimately familiar with various properties of stone, and have a chance to identify an additional stone (or "stone") based resource when exploring or settling a new area. The digging out, smoothing, and marking of tunnels for regular usage also makes all forms of travel easier. Scouts also benefit from the ability to dig around/through obstacles. Exploration Range +1. Exploitation Range extends +1 beyond borders. Only applicable to underground actions.
Attuned: Members of the tribe who are more sensitive to Mourning Dew. Requires access to Mourning Dew.
-Lake-Attuned: An Attuned who has more specifically attuned to The Whispering Lake. Lake-Attuned allow the tribe to make requests of and utilize the spirits of the dead passing through the Lake without much complication. Only one Lake-Attuned exists at a time, acting as both messenger and spirit guide until they die of old age. Lake-Attuned choose which Attuned will inherit the position based on how closely their lifestyle aligns with The Whispering Lake's denizens - generally the more unremarkable the lifestyle, the better the fit. The tribe sees the Lake-Attuned as a sort of absentee leader who speaks to them through the Attuned. Requires access to The Whispering Lake.
Lake Spirits: Spirits from The Whispering Lake are fairly passive as they likely were in life, and eagerly await their turn to pass into the afterlife (whatever that may be). Lake Spirits are relatively simple, and work best on simple or fairly easy tasks (such as exploration). Their passivity can erode rapidly if overworked, especially without a Lake-Attuned in the tribe. There is no direct cost for Lake Spirits, as any upkeep is reflected in the discoveries that utilize them.
-Soul-Scouts: Spirits from the Whispering Lake who have answered the tribe's call to aid in exploration. They provide very accurate data to the tribe through the Lake-Attuned. Soul-Scouts allow Exploration of a tile neighboring a previously Explored tile independent of any other Exploration action, and have a chance to discover additional resources. While Lake-Attuned is properly funded, Soul-Scouts have no downside. However, if access to The Whispering Lake is lost, Soul-Scouts will provide areas they Explore with the (Lethal Spirits) modifier and hamper any actions in the area unless Lake-Attuned is properly refunded or the spirits are otherwise dealt with. Requires 1 Mourning Dew Upkeep.
Terrorforming: A very early attempt at agricultural advancement using Mourning Dew sourced from The Misty Chamber. Terrorformed plants will "flee" toward the Misty Chamber with each rapidly breeding generation until they arrive at the Chamber. Rapid breeding results in unstable mutations, with greater distances covered resulting in drastically dramatic and usually outright worse alterations. Terrorformed plants will emit a glow and pass on the strong fear and memories of death held within the Dew (usually when ingested, although other means of transference are possible). The Misty Chamber seems to provide sustenance for Terrorformed plants. Requires access to The Misty Chamber, and 1 Mourning Dew for upkeep.
Warm Fires: Fires using a dedicated fuel resource. While it does not necessarily provide any major direct bonuses or maluses, Warm Fires act as a solid foundational development for further advancements. Requires access to a Fuel resource. Replaced Early Firemaking.
-Lignite Torchbowls: Bowls carved into walls by Stonebreakers made to house lignite for fires. Provides sufficient light and keeps away cave creatures unaccustomed to the light, smoke, or smell. Underground areas with hostile creatures are less likely to have negative events from human interference. Requires 1 Lignite Resource for Upkeep.
Strong Glowropemaking: A strong, faintly glowing rope made from Glowing White Lichen. Provides low light with low maintenance in addition to the standard uses of a sturdy rope. Requires access to Glowing White Lichen, and 1 Textile for upkeep. Replaced Primitive Ropemaking.
Cave Homes: The most basic form of housing - caves carved out by nature ages ago.
Key: Resource: Available/Total
Food: 2/2
Stone: 3/4 (-1 Lignite Torchbowls)
Textile: 1/2 (-1 Strong Glowrope)
Fuel: 1/2 (-1 Lignite Torchbowls)
Mourning Dew: 1/3 (-1 Soul-Scouts; -1 Terrorforming)
15-L: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland
15-M: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range
15-N: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland
16-L: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range
16-M: Rocky Wasteland (Explored)
16-N: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range, Interconnected Caverns (Explored)
16-O: Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland
17-L: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range
17-M: Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range, Underground Lake (Explored)
17-N: TRIBAL INTERSECTION Rocky Wasteland, Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland, The Tunnel Pass (Explored)
17-O: Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland, Deciduous Forest, Mountain-Fed Streams
18-M: Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland
18-N: Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland
18-O: UNKNOWN TRIBE Mountain Range, Hilly Grassland, Deciduous Forest, Lake-Fed Streams
Key: Identified, Identified but Inaccessible or Useless, Exploited
16-M: Food x1 (Cave Crayfish), Stone x5 (Surface Granite x2,Granite Stalactites, Granite Stalagmites, Native Silver Vein), Mourning Dew x3 (The Depths)
16-N: Food x1 (Glowing Mushroom Clusters), Stone x3 (Granite Caverns x2, Casserite Veins), Mourning Dew x2 (Mourning Dew Pool), ?? (Poisonous Centipede Colonies)
17-M: Food x2 (Hearty Anasazi Bean Poles), Clay x1 (Clay Soil Deposits), Mourning Dew x5 (The Whispering Lake), ?? (Mud-caked Wasp Nests), ?? (Gray Bat Swarm)
17-N: Food x2 (Haircap Moss Growths x2), Stone x4 (Granite Mountains x2, Lignite Beds x2 [SP]), Textile x2 (Glowing White Lichen [SP]), Fuel x2 (Lignite Beds x2 [SP]), Mourning Dew x3 (The Misty Chamber), ?! (Agitated Cave Bears)
Major Families
Maximum Spin - 0I/1P
Powder Miner - 0I/1P
Crystalizedmire - 0I/1P
Minor Families
Quarque - 0I/0P
The Canadian kitten - 0I/0P
NUKE9.13 - 0I/0P
A_Curious_Cat - 0I/0P
chubby2man - 0I/0P
m1895 - -/-
Author
Topic: Founding Families - A Semicompetitive Civ Building Game [Explore IV] (Read 11107 times)