The survivors of the
Ceridwen, colonists of
Namtar, settlers of New Hearth, or whatever they'd refer to themselves in any given context, were doing well, all things considered. Pseudofamilial units developed, a loose social structure formed, and people, generally, were starting to act like people. This included a desire to see, do, and experience more, and an urge to lay down a claim on a plot of land one could call their own. There wasn't really much in the way of personal land claims in New Hearth. The colonists developed more of a mutual respect for one another's privacy, but that didn't mean there wasn't demand for
more personal space. That's practically the core idea of any colonial endeavor, after all. It was this wanderlust and craving for more living space that saw a group of Hearthlings band together, pick up their scraps, and take a trip to find a new home South-West of New Hearth
[-1,-1]. They were abandoning the permalights and furnace warmth that the Trash Converter provided, but replacing it with something just as inspiring: potential.
At least that's how the group leading the little expedition sold it to their volunteers. Travel into the Plain of [-1,-1] wasn't very demanding by itself, but with a cargo capacity of "these hands" the colonists had to make do with the absolute bare minimum for provisions and materials. This turned out not to be so much of a problem in this Plain regardless. Fields of wheat dominated the region and helped to provide cover for the many wild sheep that grazed on shorter grasses (and would prove easy prey for Ripperwhip Traps). The mostly flat landscape held a single large elevated rise that exposed steep shale slopes and was ringed and topped by a dense forest of elm.
The party planted their flag at the edge of the woods, and it wasn't long before colonists were regularly traveling between the developing outpost and New Hearth. New work opportunities presented themselves to the colonists, and soon the settlement was practically an extension of New Hearth itself. A distant extension with a tenuous connection, sure, but that wouldn't matter unless some sort of unexpected threat reared it's head.
As the expansion of Hearthling land fell into a daily rhythm, more and more colonists found themselves at the edges of Hearthling territory. The Swamp we'd already grown accustomed to decorating our borders stretched out further to [-2,0], and the south of [-1,-2] gave way to even more Ocean.
Then multiple unexpected (potential) threats and revelations reared their ugly heads.
The most apparently threatening, but least existentially worrying threat sat in the Plains that continue South-West in [-2,-2]. Reports of missing colonists were significantly higher than average closer to this region, and it didn't take too long to figure out why. Creatures as high as an adult's waist with four legs and two forearms on raptor-like bodies, topped with a raptor-like head, swarmed patches of grass and trees they'd claimed as their own - claims made obvious with the dense blankets of web that the creatures produced from their rears.
Arachtors (arachnid+raptor - so clever!) don't seem to regularly range too far from their own territory, but they creep in and take away colonists while alone or in the night often enough to be a clear problem. Some bodies are found mangled beyond recognition, but most victims disappear with little trace other than some blood. We've managed to score a couple kills of our own thanks to Ripperwhip Traps, but the Arachtors don't seem to fall prey to them too easily.
This was not an entirely unexpected issue according to some of the Hearthlings. A few of them could recall issues some of Earth's great machines could have when it came to remanufacturing life. Abominations such as the Arachtor occurred as a result of corruption of a great Earth machine - the Terraformers that made this very planet inhabitable. Enough damage or a pool of contaminated resources could result in wild and unpredictable outcomes, and it seems like this resulted in something viable. Unfortunately.
While the Arachtors were certainly a problem, looking to the West in [-2,-1] and South-East in [0,-2] were profoundly upsetting for the Hearthlings. The dirt and trees of [-2,-1] gave way to rock and stone, and further on, ruins. Structures organized into somewhat neat blocks separated by wide roads had made up this area at one point, laid out disturbingly similarly to the preplanned Colonial layouts provided by SEC agents. This was irrefutably, at some point, a Residential District. But who built it, how, when, and why, and when, and why it had fallen to ruin were questions one wouldn't be able to answer from afar. Perhaps they weren't even questions one wouldn't
want to answer.
[0,-2] brought forward the same questions, but perhaps with a different order of priority. While homes and apartment blocks were evident within the ruins almost exclusively because of the layout of decayed roads, one didn't need colonial familiarity to identify Earth's Industrial footprint. Gargantuan factories and warehouses long left to the elements were packed tightly between the open pits dug deep into the soil and rock. Decrepit oil derricks were arranged uniformly anywhere else they could be, marking the landscape like steel tombstones. They'd cast an eerie shadow too, if you could pick their shadows apart from the rest. While whatever events led to this Industrial Ruin aren't clear, the everpresent darkness that looms over [0,-2] is. The factories and smokestacks have lain dead for ages, but the inky black film that separated the surface from the sky hung there regardless, brought there or at least maintained by forces beyond Hearthling comprehension.
Region Colonized:[-1,-1]
Resources Identified:
[-1,-1]-
Food x2 (Wheat x1, Wild Sheep x1)
-
Wood x1 (Elm Trees x1)
-
Stone x1 (Shale Rise x1)
Regions Identified:[-2,-2]: PLAIN,
Arachtor Infestation[-2,-1]: RESIDENTIAL RUIN
[-2,0]: SWAMP
[-1,-2]: OCEAN
[0,-2]: INDUSTRIAL RUIN,
Endless NightTURN 5: Decider Tutorial
With a number of obstacles at your doorstep, you now have a wide range of approaches you can take for your
Decider Action. Decider Actions are where you can engage in diplomatic efforts (when/if possible), but more importantly are also the actions where you develop the tools to tame those borders! Surprise surprise, this makes them the External (mostly) Material quarter of the alignment chart. Weapons, equipment, tactics, doctrines, and other means of establishing dominion beyond your borders are
probably valid for Decider Actions. As always, feel free to ask if you need help or clarification regarding written proposals and validity.
PILLAR SHIFT!Kashyyk gains
Do+1 for proposing the winning order and becomes the supreme Doer! All supporters of the expansion gain
Do+0.1.
Basic Scrap Tools: Simple handheld tools made out of scavenged plastic and steel. Foundational Tech - No Resource Cost.
Trap Hunting: An efficient means of hunting utilizing handcrafted traps as opposed to common but more physically taxing methods. Provides +1 Food in regions where created and funded traps have applicable targets. Food bonuses for multiple trapping options across a single area are not additive, representing sustainable practices meant to maintain the health of the ecosystem. Other bonuses do stack unless stated otherwise. Funded traps affect all occupied zones and will not scale in cost as the colony grows. Hearthling Trappers are particularly keen of mind and studious of their prey.
-Small Snarepits: Lightly covered pitfalls designed to ensnare small prey in a tangle of wires and strings. Provides a very small increase to passive Colony defenses in addition to the Trap Hunting bonus. Deployed in areas with small ground-based animals. Costs 1 Scrap.
-Ripperwhip Traps: Traps triggered by tripwire that whip a scrap-adorned object under high tension at prey with painful results. Injuries caused by ripperwhips are severe, often debilitating and almost always bleeding extensively. Provides a large increase to passive Colony defenses in addition to the Trap Hunting bonus. Deployed in areas with large ground-based animals. Costs 1 Scrap.
Firemaking: The ability to use basic principles of friction to start fires. Foundational Tech - No Resource Cost.
Scrap Housing: Protection from the elements and a place to keep ones' belongings made out of scavenged plastic and steel. Foundational Tech - No Resource Cost.
Basic Electrical Power: A rudimentary understanding of how to utilize PreTech power sources. Ultimately represents knowing how to flip a switch and pull a plug, but a foundation for advancement nonetheless. Foundational Tech - No Resource Cost.
Communal Ethos - Reclaim The Old: Sets Colonial society down a path that identifies them in part as diligent, focused Scavengers. Controlled regions capable of producing Scrap will produce +1 Scrap. No Resource Cost.
-Mandate of The Universe: A belief that the colony is predetermined to bring about another utopia for humanity comparable to Earth. Unless something is done as deterrence, this belief will become more deeply ingrained over time. No Resource Cost.
Trash Converter: A recycling plant that used to provide power as well as a chemical stew of gases that could be repurposed by various elements of the station. Now functions as a massive incinerator powering some emergency lighting that somehow survived the crash. Severely reduces resource requirements related to power consumption within the Colony, while reducing squalor thanks to refuse (and anything else that burns) being a fuel source. A thick black plume of acrid exhaust billows out of the smokestacks as it operates - which is constantly. PreTech.
AVAILABLE/TOTAL (Upkeep Modifier):
FOOD 5/6 (-1 (We Live In A Society))
WOOD 2/2
SCRAP 2/4 (-1 (Small Snarepits,), -1 (Ripperwhip Traps))
STONE 1/1
BY REGION:
-1,-1: FOOD x3 (Wheat x1, Sheep x1, Trap Hunting x1), WOOD x1 (Elm Trees x1), STONE x1 (Shale Rise x1)
0,0: FOOD x3 (Bison x1, Rabbit x1, Trap Hunting x1), WOOD x1 (Ash Trees x1), SCRAP x4 (Maint. Module x3, Reclaim the Old x1)
Pink Border: New Hearth Control
Red&Green Dino Icon: Arachtor Infestation
White&Black Icon: Permanent Darkness
Blue: Ocean
Brick Red: Residential Ruin
Brown: Badland
Green: Plain
Grey: Mountain
Ochre: Desert
Pea Green: Swamp
Yellowish: Industrial Ruin
"What is this, a map for ants?"
No, it's just got the potential to grow real big real fast and in unbalanced directions. If you have a problem seeing things, you can hold Control and use the scroll wheel to adjust the zoom on your browser window! Neat!
GREEN=New Hearth Territory
-2,-2: PLAIN, Arachtor Infestation
-2,-1: RESIDENTIAL RUIN
-2,0: SWAMP
-1,-2: OCEAN
-1,-1: PLAIN
-1,0: SWAMP
-1,1: OCEAN
0,-2: INDUSTRIAL RUIN, Endless Night
0,-1: BADLAND
0,0: PLAIN, Ceridwen Crash Site, Trash Converter
0,1: SWAMP
1,-1: DESERT
1,0: MOUNTAIN
1,1: OCEAN
FiveBalesOfHay: Th0.0; Cr0.1; Do0.0; De0.0
IronyOwl: Th0.1; Cr0.0; Do0.1; De0.0
Kashyyk: Th0.1; Cr0.1; Do1.1; De0.0
Nirur Torir: Th1.1; Cr0.0; Do0.0; De0.0
Powder Miner: Th0.1; Cr0.0; Do0.1; De0.0
The Canadian kitten: Th0.0; Cr0.1; Do0.0; De0.0
TricMagic: Th0.1; Cr0.0; Do0.1; De0.0
VermillionSkies: Th0.1; Cr0.0; Do0.0; De0.0
ZBridges: Th0.1; Cr1.1; Do0.1; De0.0
Author
Topic: Colonial Conquest [Turn 6: The End Of The Beginning] (Read 4485 times)