Well, empires generally involve more than one person (or at least an army of automatons for looser definitions of the word). Any idea of where to get those?

What kind of useful properties? And what would you like to build?

You have a any useful skill or abilities of your own?

>>531031
And he's right. Empires of one ain't really empires. You'll need allies, subjects, and/or conquests.

>>531031
If DF has taught me anything (that doesn't involve fire) it's that you can start an empire with one person. You just make enough mountains out of tortoise-shell trumpets and thousands of people will immigrate in.

That said, copying DF may not be the best plan in the world.

>>531028
What exactly is this "fount", and what does it do?

Well you got water so you have access to mud and there seems to be lot of trees around so there should be lots of sticks available.
Now build your empires first mud hut and go sit in it you crazy crazy man... bunny... thing.

I hope you have friends, son, cause' an empire needs more than one guy sitting in a log hut with a stick as your military might, whatever you have on you as your economy, and a few goddamn trinkets and books for what could pass as culture.

make a thing to channel the fount's energy better. something that marks it as YOURS.

Food and shelter are a good start.

First start would be surveying the area. If you can, make a map of all known(and suspected) resources as you walk around. Second would be to clear a section of land for you to make somewhere to sleep. What is a Fount? Is it an item, an area type, or a resource? Is it magic or mundane?

Slay the wraith king with weapons you made and control his army of undead minions.

gain followers, build a village, expand your village and land while gain more followers still, build a few more villages here and there to help keep a solid foothold on your land, continue until you are large enough to be called an empire

Thessel Suggestion 2013/08/03(Sat)14:14 No. 531137 ID: 99be55
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>Well, empires generally involve more than one person (or at least an army of automatons for looser definitions of the word). Any idea of where to get those?
Hummm...It is true that a proper empire requires people for it to rule over, thankfully the wraithlands may supply the raw materials to get the ball rolling on that point. With any luck I'll be able to find some of the lost spirits known as whisps which can be embodied through use of the fount.
As for other useful properties, Founts are primarily known for their capability to emulate their user's efforts in a condensed period of time. So an average untrained person could use one to construct a building which would have taken them a week to do in a single day. Of course, it would still be the same quality as if that person actually built it. Same goes true with other objects.
The other thing they are known for is bringing stability to the mercurial wraithlands, whose landscape can change on a daily basis. You can make camp in a foggy flat plain and when you wake up the place might be a rocky volcanic wasteland (plus fog of course) or a heavily forested place of cliffs and steep hills. You haven't moved over the night, thats just the way the wraithlands are. That and they're always covered in fog. Founts however lock things into place.
The fount itself is a sort've nexus of creative magical forces. While it is localized somewhat most require a large population of creative minds to manifest as anything more than an ambient pattern in the area.

Thessel Suggestion 2013/08/03(Sat)14:15 No. 531138 ID: 99be55
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Taking a little while to examine the clearing, a couple of useful points are found. Most importantly near the center is what appears to be the nexus of the fount, a rough rock formation sticking out from the crest of a hill. Also, there is a pond in which you strongly suspect are a fair number of fish that you could catch.

With regards to your own abilities, your skills as an orator are nearly unmatched in the towns you've been through, as well you are competent when it comes to organization, basic combat and conjuration. They have served you well during your travels.


>Slay the wraith king with weapons you made and control his army of undead minions.

Yesss....the Wraith King will fall to my hand one day! First however, I must bide my time and gather strength so that I can properly challenge his shifting abode!

>allows you to build things faster, but at the same quality you could have otherwise.
Well. Then the obvious question is what sort of things are you good at building?

I suppose the first order of business is setting up a more permanent encampment. You've got foundations to work with, and fount multipliers to get the job done. Build a shelter of some kind.

would say to start working on making the formation less rough. seems to be part of a square wall, so continue it along those lines, make a square building with the door facing the creek.

Get to work on the foundation if you have a pick or enough rocks. If you don't have a pick, see if you can conjure one and an axe up.

>>531138
Do we need materials to build things? First thing's first, you'll want some shelter. If you don't have a tent, the rubble around here could be utilized along with lumber and vegetation to make a decent house. Without nails you can't make any good flooring though.
We've got food and water covered apparently. Shouldn't be hard to get a fire going... Harvesting some extra lumber and storing it in the house would be good.

After all that I suppose we should see if we can find some whisps. Hang on, if this place is stable, but the outside can change drastically, where does that stream come from? Does the nexus just make water and fish for it out of nowhere, as if this spot were part of a larger ecosystem?

What makes you special enough to build a kingdom with two hands, anyway?

>>531229
He was determined enough to wander the wraithlands long enough to find his own Fount.

Maybe this fount was abandoned in the past?
It's so very defined, unlike a wild Fount.

well the first thing you should get is some kind of shelter going and then we can work from there.

>>531138
Looks like there used to be a building at the top of the hill. Let's rebuild those walls so we have somewhere safe to sleep tonight.

A proper shelter is good, but I'd rather not make it without tools.
Lets start with a fire, and a basic place to sleep.

Thessel 2013/08/04(Sun)14:42 No. 531460 ID: 99be55
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>>531045

Thessel sets about gathering some fallen branches from the woods to assemble a very basic channeling circle. It takes a while to get it all right but eventually it is completed.

There we go, all ready to use. Perhaps not the best job ever done but it should work until something better can be built.

>Do we need materials to build things?

Sadly, Founts generally are not capable of outright generating matter. At least, none that I've encountered. Though I have heard that ones with a sufficiently large population living about them can do so on a limited scale. In this case however, raw materials do need to be collected for it to do its thing. Tools are also needed, though occasionally the Fount will simply use some extra available materials to construct the necessary tools if they are not present.

>Hang on, if this place is stable, but the outside can change drastically, where does that stream come from? Does the nexus just make water and fish for it out of nowhere, as if this spot were part of a larger ecosystem?

Pretty much just that, some major features will persist a ways out of the Fount's immediate domain of influence. That said, they will vary in their details a fair bit outside that influence. So the forest and stream outside will continue to be present but the path of the stream and the positions of the trees may change on a daily basis.

As for things coming in, the Fount seems to just treat it as though there was some larger ecosystem. So fish can come down the river and forest critters can wander in and out from the forest but they just sort've dissapear when they leave the Fount's influence. The wraithlands are just weird like that.

>Build a shelter of some kind.
Well, I do have a tent that I've been using for a while yet. Another night in it wouldn't hurt. Also, putting together a proper building without extra help will probably take all night even with the help of the Fount. Though, if I manage to get all of the raw materials ahead of time then the fount could just be left to do its thing while I'm sleeping. Or less time could be spent on that and I could get it to make a lean-to and make something better later?

neat. well, set up that tent and, i am guessing it's safe to go up to a random tree outside and cut it down as long as you don't sleep out there. and the circle will help you come back if you do get lost somehow.

Tent will likely be fine for the night.

Use the tent, for now. Take the time needed to do the job properly.

>>531460
Alright, you have a tent. That'll be fine for tonight. Have it assemble a stone-encircled campfire but don't light it just yet. Maybe have it construct a forge or something to process ore, too. Hey, can you get the Fount to gather materials, like wood, stone or ore, without having the proper tools set aside for it? Meanwhile, let's go out and see if we can find a whisp.

Hmm. If we are to build anything of consequence here we'll need to expand the Fount's influence. Can't exactly fit a castle in the space we have! How would we go about doing that?

Oh, you could have the Fount fish out some fish for you right now, and set up a smoking rack to preserve them. Having a stock of traveling rations would be nice.

Thessel 2013/08/09(Fri)08:26 No. 532906 ID: bb1862
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Well, looks like it'll be the tent for tonight.

>can you get the Fount to gather materials, like wood, stone or ore, without having the proper tools set aside for it?

Unfortunately, thats not how the fount works. Its a nexus of creative energies, raw harvesting is far more a destructive act than a creative one. It can use materials in the nearby area but doing things that way forfits any control the user might have as to what gets used. So you might decide to construct a house, thinking it will make things out of the nearby rocks only to discover that instead it constructed the whole thing out of a nearby pile of metal shavings and all the sap from the nearby trees. The end results are almost universially bizzare and often have unintended issues with them. Really, its just better to harvest materials manually and have the fount work with that.

That said, the fire pit is an excellent idea!


>expand the Fount's influence

Now thats simple, the more sentient entities living near its nexus the larger its influence will be. Further, this will also enhance the nexus itself, both enlarging and further empowering it.


>Catching wisps

Well....they can be caught with one's bare hands though it would be very difficult. Alternatively, it might be possible to instead make a trap for them. Either way, with the activation of the Fount they should start to be drawn towards it on their own. Just have to catch them or at least hold them in place long enough for the Fount to do its job and embody them.

The other minor catch is that they generally only show up at night. On the up side, it does make them easier to see as they tend to glow.


Thessel sets about gathering materials and by nightfall has the Fount working away at constructing his new residence.

>wisps
Uh, what is a wisp, exactly? What danger to they pose, and what use can they be put towards?

You seem to have two incoming right now, actually.

they must have felt the fount was claimed and came to investigate.

>>532912
I count three, (or four if the glowy spot in the pond counts,) Two from the, um, front left and front right, and one from the central back. Speaking of directions is there a north and south here? Maybe "fountwards" and "wraithward or something?

The art in this quest is 10/10.

>>532906
Oh dear, we'd better get started on that trap, then.

so how does one go about trapping a wisp?

Thessel 2013/08/09(Fri)16:08 No. 533009 ID: c044b7
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>Uh, what is a wisp, exactly? What danger to they pose, and what use can they be put towards?
What wisps are is something that has been debated between scholars for quite some time and mostly beyond anything I would know. What I do know is they are considered to be mostly harmless and more importantly an excellent source of recruits.

>Speaking of directions is there a north and south here?
Well, the stream would be in roughly the western end of the clearing while the the pond is more the north-eastern end

>so how does one go about trapping a wisp?
Just watch and see....

Thessel 2013/08/09(Fri)16:09 No. 533011 ID: c044b7
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Ok, that didn't work quite how I imagined it.....

Any ideas on catching these things? They're awfully quick though they do seem to be making a beeline towards the fount still. Of course, there's always the option of waiting until tomorrow night and putting together a proper trap for them as I'm sure they'll probably return so long as the Fount continues to get used.

well what kind of traps have you hard of working in the past? As for how to catch one now, other then cornering one you probably have a better idea then me on how to do it. But still might as well give it a try, think you could try to lore one into you tent and try and catch in there where it can't move around to much.

Make a net out of things.

>Any ideas on catching these things?
...I don't suppose you can ask them to stay? Or maybe they like singing?

>an excellent source of recruits.
The wisps turn into recruits? Or they just serve as a beacon to make the fount easier to locate?

>>533018
well a guiding light in the mist would help people find it.

anyway, so they ARE solid, otherwise they could just go through the bag.

just get lead one into the corner of the building and leer over it so it doesn't try to fly over the wall.

Wiggle your abdomen to indicate food for the wisphive.

>>533011
You could take the canvas off the tent and throw it over one? A bigger bag, basically?

Thessel 2013/08/10(Sat)22:09 No. 533479 ID: c044b7
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A trap made out of the tent? Actually, I suppose it might work. Plus it'd be a good enough opportunity to practice singing...

Thessel attempts to lure the two wisps into his trap with his smooth, sonorous voice

Thessel 2013/08/10(Sat)22:09 No. 533480 ID: c044b7
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Ah-ha! I got them! Now I just need to keep them trapped until the morning when I can get the Fount to do its thing on them. Too bad I'm stuck without shelter for the rest of the night.

>The wisps turn into recruits?
That is essentially what happens. The Fount can transform them from sort've immaterial glowing things into people. Actually, some people say that wisps used to be people until they got lost for too long in the wraithlands while others claim that we all came from wisps. Honestly, I wouldn't know anything about that. What I do know is that they tend to have a personality and some skills upon embodiment and really are essentially identical to regular folks aside from lacking memory of a past.
Oh, also, the person initiating the whole process apparently can influence what form they take on. However, it is apparently tricky to do and requires a fair amount of practice to manage anything more than a general focus.

I'll run these two through the process in the morning, though I should probably pick some atribute to focus on. Something like sheer toughness or agility, maybe even mental capabilities, though I've got no clue how well that last one might work out.

good stamina, want a tree chopped down? this guy can chop all day long.

So basically, you're giving birth right now, and by tomorrow you're going to be a mommy!

>>533480
>Now I just need to keep them trapped until the morning when I can get the Fount to do its thing on them. Too bad I'm stuck without shelter for the rest of the night.
Sit by the sack and sing the wisps into calmness, so they may be less willing to escape.

Focus your song to help shape their forms in your mind!
>Sing of a man of clever wit and sharper mind, whose spirit yearned to uncover the secrets of the world.
>Sing of a woman of strong body and stronger heart, whose spirit yearned for a home of her own to nurture and defend.

Agree with stamina

well if we're building a kingdom I suggest we start off by trying to turn one of the wisp into an architect and the other into some kind of guard for the town. So for the architect, I'm guessing an eye for detail (dexterity?) or something along those lines and strength or speed for the guard depending on what kind of fighter you want that wisp to be.

>>533486
Seconding

I think we should get a physical laborer, someone tough.

So, now that you have some wisps soon to be people...
Is the fount now yours? or will it obey any person? Or does it form a sort of automatic democracy?

Best to start catching some fish, since there'll be more people to feed soon.

>>533815
maybe one of them can be made fisherman

1/2 Thessel 2013/08/13(Tue)11:03 No. 534075 ID: 7df50c
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Well, that was a long night. Still, there we go! A brand new start complete with my first building! Ok, its got some bits that are a little skewed but still pretty good for a first try.

>Is the fount now yours? or will it obey any person?
Anyone can use it, but it would only function if I gave them permission to use it.

Now then, lets deal with these two Wisps
>Make an architect and a fighter
Sounds like a good idea, a laborer/ fighter and an architect would be really useful.

>Focus your song to help shape their forms in your mind!
Eh, I can give it a go though I don't think it'll change the result much

>So basically, you're giving birth right now, and by tomorrow you're going to be a mommy!
ummmm.....nnnoooooo....thats something entirely different from this. This is more like using magic to hire a (hopefully) fanatically loyal amnesiac mercenary to do my bidding. Complete with the whole having to cross your fingers and hope that you don't get a truely psychopathic one.
...Or maybe you could compare it to summoning demons.

You know what? Lets go with the demons approach, I'm less skeeved by that option.

Alright lets do this....

2/2 Thessel 2013/08/13(Tue)11:11 No. 534078 ID: 7df50c
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A bit over an hour of work later

Huh, well that wasn't quite what I expected.
So...ahh...so do you two have names or memories or anything?
Short one: No, Sir.
Tall one: Hummm....nothing that I can recall.
Alright then! Welcome to the world my two new vassals! Lets get you both names and then we can get to work building this place into an empire! We can see what you two are good at while doing so, alright?

Yes'sir
Very well, what would you have us do?

Excellent, now what should I set these two to? Some proper workshops to build things in would be nice, as would looking into establishing a long term supply of food. Also, more housing might be an idea if we keep catching wisps. As would locating some sources of useful materials such as metals.
Can't forget, they do need actual names, no point in leaving them nameless afterall.

fount area of control grows as more people are living near it right? can you try and make the new area that the fount grabs on to be useful? like imagine a hill with a cave, and in that cave is an iron deposit.

Determine which of them has a better aptitude for spear or hand fishing, and send the other off to gather more wood.

Well, we could certainly use more wood, and setting up a drying rack or something to stockpile preserved food would be good too. Let's see... a place to do laundry would be good, as well as a place to bathe in private.

>fanatically loyal amnesiac mercenary to do my bidding
>skeeved
...well sex is right out, then.

Wisp people are persistent, right? We don't have to worry about them poofing back out of existence?

>names
Zuzka and Paulie.

Uh, short one can be Domino and the other one can be Pike.

Now as for what we can do with them... Well we need tools to work with things so I guess have them collect some sticks and rocks and hope the fount can craft them into axes, shovels, and whatever else we may need until we can find better building material. We should also see what exactly these 2 are good at so we know where to put them when trying to find jobs for them.

Let's see about getting a workshop set up, and possibly either a small farming area for crops or animals. Have one of them go about getting materials and the other setting up the areas.

... how would we go about getting animal farming going, anyway? Chickens would be nice for this.

Oh and let's name the weasel... Thrush, and the skunk Logan or something.

Hey look! A wild discussion thread: http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/75223.html

Fanatically loyal amnesiacs? Sounds like there's only one thing to do!

Rape

Tease the weasel one mercilessly, giving her compliments and sly suggestions, but not outright ordering her to do it. You're curious if they just follow orders, or if you can seduce her into jumping your bones.

Oh, or the skunk one if you swing that way.

>>534734
Lets not.

>>534734
I think it's best we not hit on our vassals. If they express romantic interest in us, maybe, but it would be quite immoral to take advantage of our position.

>>534741

There's nothing wrong with making objective statements about her beauty!

Hmmm if we can will a new plot of land to come to be(or what ever it dis) id go for a place for a farm or mine as housing space is good atm but as for names the dude can be tyrone and the chick seems like a chell:)

>>534734
Let's not be creepy.

1/2 Thessel 2013/08/17(Sat)20:43 No. 535261 ID: 7df50c
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"Alright, first you two should have names. You on the left I'm going to call Thrush, and you on the right get to be Pike. That fine?"

color=#9900CC]Thrush: Yes, sir. It will work well.[/color]
color=#339900]Pike: It will do for now I suppose[/color]

"Ok, with that out of the way we need to get down to work. Thrush, see about catching us something to eat. There should be some fish in the stream or pond, might even find some small animals wandering around nearby."

"Pike, you get to go chop us some wood so we have building materials to work with. Anything you find will do."

"There's a knife and hatchet in my pack over there. I'm going to see what sort of thing the fount's going to give us when it expands the area. Also, whatever you do, do not wander out of sight of the clearing. Last thing I need is one of you two getting lost out in the wraithlands. "

"Oh, and if does catch your curiosity then by all means do investiagte it as we still need to find out what you two are good at. Just don't wander off."

Ok, off to find out where this new space...oh...alright, there's a little path already made to it. Well, that is convenient.

Might as well answer a few questions on the way.

>Wisp people are persistent, right? We don't have to worry about them poofing back out of existence?

Yup, no need to worry about them dissipating. I guess they might if say, you ran them through with a sufficiently magical spear or something. Otherwise, they're just like everyone else.

>how would we go about getting animal farming going, anyway?
Well, occasionally animals just sort've appear in the wraithlands. So presumably we could just catch them and keep them in the areas stabilized by the Fount.

2/2 Thessel 2013/08/17(Sat)20:44 No. 535262 ID: 7df50c
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Huh, so apparently I just need to ask and the Fount delivers. Given the redness of the debris, I'm guessing that there's probably a fair bit of iron here. Though it does beg the question of what was being dug for in there if it wasn't iron.

Maybe there's something interesting in there, though right now its way too dark to explore properly. So the question becomes, what next? I could see about setting up some minor constructions with the Fount, or perhaps start planing out something a bit more significant. Another option would be to actually talk to Thrush or Pike and try to get to actually know them. Also, it'd be nice if there was an easier way to catch wisps. So, what shall it be?

yes, start on a wisp-trap. and you are going to need a kin of light, what kinds can you make? is there only fire or can you make magical fuel-less flames?

>>535262
A proper wisp-trap or traps would be good. We missed out on half the wisps that showed up last night. Perhaps some wooden cages near the Fount?

Some more advanced construction would be a general workshop and forge. A lumber mill would require some smelted iron. So would a blacksmith's workshop. Also the general amenities I described earlier.

>>535271
we can use stone tools to bang out crude iron ones, and use those to make finer iron ones.

Well we could check out the house as well to see how much space we have in there then get started on so proper wisp traps. Maybe when everybody comes back we can properly talk to them over diner and get to know them better. As for lights just start off with some simple torches for now just to explore the cave and then we can work a more permanent solution once we start mining it.

An odd question, do you know of, or perhaps have a map or knowledge any other local font kingdoms? Actually, a better question might be if all kingdoms and lands sprang from these fonts? How precisely are the wraithlands situated compared to... erh... non-wraithland... places?

Never ask what next. That's literary suicide! Anyway,

Why don't you describe how iron is extracted from your earth? Perhaps you can build a smelter? A smelter being a stone furnace that burns off impurities and makes solids molten and (I guess) separable. That can get alarmingly complicated once you introduce a two stage smelter the first chamber being heated by superheated air from several surrounding ovens, and the pig iron extracted from that fed into a second chamber where superheated air is forced through the molten iron, bubbling up through it and oxidizing the carbon in it until molten steel remains. But maybe you can just... make a circle of stone bricks, and it just sort of turns into a smelter?

>>535262
We should work on making traps for more wisps, we're gonna need plenty of manpower to make a glorious nation.

A wisp-trap sounds like the best idea for the moment, since the vassals already have food and materials going. Next priority should be the start of a garden for more food. Not worth worrying about the mine just yet.

Can you do a garden? I mean, do you need seeds or is this something the font can provide?

The basic priorities of a society are (in order):
1. Clean water - any risk of running out?
2. Food - For now we are catching fish, but our next project should be to set up proper farming ASAP
3. Shelter - We are chopping wood and we have an architect, so have the fount help in housing construction
4. Clothes - Tanner, tailor, etc. - take care of this later
5. Population - Catch more wisps nightly, we should try more trap designs, as well as perhaps a giant butterfly net. Also, take note of how many wisps enter and then manage to leave at night (caught X ouf of Y). So we could have extra people assigned to wisp catching if needed to ensure 100% of wisps that enter every night are caught.

Since leather (tent) seems to be effective in holding a caught wisp, we want to get on processing the skin of caught animals for wisp hunting sacks.
Ironworking is something for the future rather than a basic need.

I suggest you spend some time talking to pike and thresh. (still not sure which of them is supposed to be the architect... and whether it even worked or did we get something else entirely)

Thessel 2013/08/20(Tue)13:29 No. 536099 ID: 7df50c
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Well, here's a crude map of the surrounding area. Its kind've hard to be specific what with all of the wraithlands surrounding the place. Could be near or far, however the general direction should be about right. I came down from the north after a...disagreement.

Pretty much every kingdom is based on the presence of a Fount, however they are fairly sparse and Founts can only stabilize so much, depending on their innate strength. As far as I know, the wraithlands cover everything that isn't in the grounds of a Fount.

Getting more vassals seems like the priority right now, so I'll head back and see about preparing some traps. Not quite sure what to make them out of other than cannibalizing the tent for material. Maybe something can be woven or stitched together from some big leaves, though gathering those will take time. Especially since the local wraithlands are fairly sparse in terms of plants other than trees.

>The basic priorities
Well, water is pretty well taken care of so long as we don't mess up either the pond or the stream.

As for food, a bit of fishing and hunting along with whatever can be found in the surrounding forest should do the job. Setting up a little farm plot should also be pretty trivial, though we'll need to get seeds to grow anything there.

Shelter isn't going to be a problem at all, just need to keep gathering wood and rock and the Fount will put them up in no time. Food will be more of an issue then shelter once we start catching more wisps.

Things like clothing are going to have to wait until the materials to make them are available. However, we could probably set up workshops ahead of time and putting together a basic smelter is entirely doable.

There's no way that setting up what traps I've got materials for will take very long to set up though, so something else should probably be planned to make use of the Fount. Perhaps something such as preparing a field for the afternoon and another structure for overnight. Perhaps there's other things it can be used for, though I've got no idea how to find out other than trying random stuff.

Maybe once I've got the Fount doing its thing I'll go and see how Thrush or Pike is doing. Have a little chat

then is there enough room right by the mine area for a smelter? if so then put it there, minimize hauling.

well we should get something ready for us to build a smelter just to get that out of the way. Also when our 2 new friends come back we could ask them if they find any kind of plants that are useful to see if they can't collect the seeds from them if possible. Might as well try to start some farming now before it becomes a problem.

>Maybe once I've got the Fount doing its thing I'll go and see how Thrush or Pike is doing. Have a little chat
Sounds good to me. Might as well get to know them. Or... help them get to know themselves? Just created amnesia is kind of a weird thing.

>>536099
Oh! Flattening the land around the fount sounds like a good idea for the day's fount work. We could make some basic spears out of wood and stone, too. Go ahead and keep using the tent canvas for tonight's wisp trap since we don't have any other options really, but don't cut it up. We could still make use of it for when we go exploring in the wraithlands. Setting up trade routes is something we could do in the long term after all. Tonight's fount work should definitely be a workshop, if you ask me.

Wait a minute, do you know how people set up crab traps? Would that work for wisps? Make a special box where they want to get in it but can't figure out how to exit it?

Thessel 2013/08/26(Mon)18:39 No. 537838 ID: b58bab
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Alright, the plan is to have the Fount put up a simple smelter in the afternoon near the mine. Then afterwards have it flatten out a bunch of the nearby land and till some for farming.

Oh, hey, looks like Thrush is back already

"Welcome back Thush. Decent catch I see"

Yes, Sir. Spear fishing felt familiar, ss though I'd done it before. So I went with that. Also Sir, you're traps are absolutely awful. They're not going to be much good at catching anything.

"Oh? Well, I suppose I should let you do them next time then. Infact, how would you feel about taking charge of catching wisps tonight?"

Gladly, Sir.

"Also, you don't have to address me as Sir, Thrush. Just Thessel will do."

Yes, Sir.

Well then. I suspect its going to be something of a challenge to get her to treat me as anything other than a superior officer. Looks like she's definitely of the military persuasion.

Now then, I'm going to get Thrush to show me some better designs for wisp traps until Pike gets back.

>>537838
Sounds like a plan. Ask if she knows anything about cooking. We don't really have any spices yet but timing and heat control are important too. Do you know any folk songs? You could tell the two of them about the state of the world and various stories, get them some information to orient themselves around.

Oh hey I just realized she's got a dagger. Where'd that come from? Did she materialize with it in her possession?

>>537838
No objections to that plan. Having a vassal who's better than you at a certain kind of crafting is a learning opportunity. I mean, yes, delegation according to skills is important, but this is your fount, and if you're going to use it well, it behooves you to be the best crafter you can be.

>>537861
That or she made it. If the materials she needed were here, I wouldn't think it would take long to make a simple tool.

I say we're off to a good start but then again we still have a long ways to go.

and yes to the plan

>>537891
> this is your fount, and if you're going to use it well, it behooves you to be the best crafter you can be.
The Fount is the best crafter, limited only by the quality/quantity of the tools/materials provided.
>That or she made it. If the materials she needed were here, I wouldn't think it would take long to make a simple tool.
Perhaps Vassals can also use the Font's crafting power?


In any case, the situation feels listless. Let's take stock of what should be done to meet our current goals:
>Known goals: Survival, Establishment of Empire.
This is a piss-poor set of goals.
I suggest we add a few others?
For example:
>Research: Mastering the Fount's Abilities
>Research: Border Security
>Research: Wisp Trapping
>Construct: Communal Hall
>Construct: Bronze-Age Weaponry and Armor
>Research: Horticulture
>Train: Basic Martial Arts
>Train: Basic First Aid
>Construct: Workshop
>Research: Pike's Capacities
>Research: Thrush's Capacities

I can take this to the quest-dis if there is one!

>>537905 http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/75223.html
Yup, the quest-dis thread is right here

>>532906
It might be worth the time to do some experimentation with that later on, if for nothing else than to see just what will happen.
And as for thessel, mercenary or military experience seems to be

>>538174
-her thing.
(blasted keyboard...)

> Train: Sexually

(1/2) Thessel 2013/09/11(Wed)22:31 No. 540333 ID: b58bab
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>Oh hey I just realized she's got a dagger. Where'd that come from?

Nope, the dagger's from my pack. Same with the hatchet that Pike took.

>Perhaps Vassals can also use the Font's crafting power?

Absolutely, they just need to be given permission to use it beforehand.


Pike: Sir! Sir! I found someone while cutting wood!

???: Oh! Funtarstic! Civilization at last!

(2/2) Thessel 2013/09/11(Wed)22:34 No. 540334 ID: b58bab
File 137896409092.png - (96.83KB , 411x452 , Panel18.png )

???: "Gran' sir an' laird of dis 'umble settlement, Oi wish ter request asylum an' give warnin. There's a band av bandits rovin 'bout the area to the southwest."

???: "AH! Oi suppose Oi should introduce meself: Zivoi Pivo, alchemist an' artificer. Oi would gladly put my skills at yisser disposal if yer would but ensure me continued safety."

Zivoi: "So, what d' yer say?"

Well...It'd be really handy to have someone like this fellow around but I've got this niggling suspicion. It seems almost like he's got some sort of trouble chasing him and I wonder if letting him stay wouldn't bring that trouble down on everyone here.

ah ha, but you have someone who's skills include beating people up. so when the trouble appears she can stab it. ask what kind of things zivoi can make, and if he has like seeds for herbs.

There's a southwest?

>>540334
His cloak is made of stars. STARS. You should probably allow him in, but get weapon and armor production started ASAP.

Aren't there angry cannibal lizards to the southwest? Why would there be bandits that way, unless they're lizard bandits?

...skills are probably the most valuable thing you can acquire, here. He's probably worth it.

Get as much information as you can about the bandits or whatever he's fleeing from. Be nice to know how many, how far away, how well armed, etc.

Thush has a military mindset, which might help if we're attacked, but we don't have much in the way of fortifications or weapons.

might as well let him in but be wary.

Also weather you let him in or not, I'm sure if there are bandits around then they'll probably come across this place anyways and I'm sure it won't be any better if they come and we don't have this guy then if they come and we do.

He also looks like the type of guy you don't want piss off.

Is having three eyes a magic user thing, or a common trait, or is that unusual?

Well it doesn't seem likely that bandits (who are possibly also those cannibal lizards) will just leave us alone if this guy isn't here.

Best to let him in, since you'll have trouble with the bandits anyway... Subject to review if the "bandits" turn out to be lawmen with a reasonable argument for why this guy's a criminal.

GET THIS MAN A BEER.

Or a mead. Or whatever alcohol you can scrounge up.

1/3 Thessel 2013/09/20(Fri)18:20 No. 541372 ID: b58bab
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"Alright then, upon giving it proper though, I welcome you to my humble domain. We don't have much here yet but are well on our way to transforming the place into a proper settlment"

"Ah, excellent! Oi tanks you so very much! Yer are more than welcome ter what few supplies oi 'av wi' me. Mostly it involves de tools av me arte, 'owever oi do 'av some seeds whaich may be av use."

Zivoi rummages around in his pack for a minute before pulling out a large glass jar with a trio of small wisps within

"Speakin' av whaich, dees may be av value ter yer."

"Oh excellent! I'll get around to putting those to use in the morning along with anything we catch tonight. By the way, Thrush, would you go help Pike bring in the wood he gathered?"

"Yes, sir"

Thrush gives Zivoi a harsh look before heading out the door

"Mind yourself artificer, if harm comes to my lord I'll take out equal harm upon your hide."

Huh, wasn't expecting that from Thrush. Still, I suppose it is good to know she'll be keeping an eye on the newcomer.

"Anyways, come sit down by the fire. We can see about planning and preparing a proper place for you in the morning"


>>540647

Sadly, we've got nothing like that around currently. However, perhaps later some experiments with brewing could be made. It would be nice to have something other than water and fish to eat and drink afterall.

>>540461

No clue I'm affraid. I've never seen anyone with three eyes before but that doesn't mean that there couldn't be some isolated found somewhere where everyone does. Though, come to think of it, I'm not even sure if Zivoi actually has three eyes or any eyes at all really. Its rather hard to see past the reflective lenses in those goggles.

>>540343

Yeah, that cloak is really weird to look at. Its like peering through a slowly shifting window to someplace else and yet at the same time being a perfectly ordinary cloak.
As for the angry cannibal lizards, there's nothing stopping them from being angry cannibal lizard bandits. However, I suspect that the aforementioned bandits are actually another faction entirely. Perhaps even one that preys on the lizards. You never know though.

3/3 Thessel 2013/09/20(Fri)18:22 No. 541374 ID: b58bab
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Well, the night passed without event aside from some wary comments from Thrush. Pike seems to get along just fine with the newcomer however.

Its probably about as good a time as any to do a quick inventory of what we've got with regards to supplies

not counting easily foraged food, we've got the following at our disposal:

-1 knife, possibly steel?
-1 hatchet, again, possibly steel
-1 wooden fishing spear
-a rudimentary set of stone carpentry tools
-various seeds and roots
-Zivoi's tools and some books
-My somewhat abused but still servicable tent
-2 sets of basic traveling supplies
-various herbs and mushrooms that Pike collected while out woodcutting
-Enough cut wood to construct another building
-a small oil lantern, courtest of Zivoi


Further, in addition to the three wisps that Zivoi provided, Thrush was able to catch eight more. Of those, all but two seem to be somehow less substantial. As though I could shape their forms with relative ease. Though I suspect their actual mental capabilities and skills would not be significantly altered. I could probably enforce a pattern based on Pike or Thrush though there's the possibility of some unintended effects. Of course, there's also the option of just letting them take whatever form they may. However, they might not possess enough substance to properly form.

The remaining two seem to have a much more solid sense of form and possibly even identity, though I should still be able to influence their capabilities like I did with Pike and Thrush.

Aww she likes you

let the solid ones take on the form they desire. for the less substantial ones i suggest
2 farmers, 2 miners, 1 blacksmith, 1 fisherman, 1 woodcutter, 1 woodcarver(to turn logs to planks), 1 stonecutter (to make proper stone bricks), unless a solid one takes on one of those jobs, in which case sub job that could be done is gardener, similar to farmer but for more delicate plants/herbs.

As with any extended campaign for resources and land, your immediate concern is for your own personal safety, then to maximize resource aquisition, and only then can you start moving against retaliatory forces.

These lesser wisp, you make it sound like they may need someone watching over there shoulder to make sure they don't screw up, is that true? If so then I say we try and get it so that one of the stronger wisp can run the mine, with the the second either being a farmer or a smith or something. Then have 2 of the weaker wisp become solders under Thrush, 2 become miners under whoever becomes the mine's foreman/overseer/whatever we call them, and the last 2 can become assistants for whatever we turn the second wisp into and Pike

As for what to build, we made that smelter already right? If not make that, If so then lets focus on either trying to set up a farm or even some fortification around the fount just incase these bandits we heard about do stumble across us.

>>541374
We need a blacksmith, a carpenter or two, and a couple of farmers. Unless anybody else thinks of some other vital skill we need at the moment, the rest should just become woodcutters/miners/whatever.

And let the two strong wisps just sort of do their own thing.

>>541374
It sounds like we can choose an appearance for the 9 less-substantial ones, and influence the skills of all 11 of them.

So here: calico cat, cheetah, rat, mouse, mole, english mastiff, hare, ... are there any limitations in place for appearance? I steered clear of reptiles, because of the cannibal lizards, and I'm not sure birds are in the running. Could we make custom races?

A mason would be nice.
A miner or two, yes, but we need light sources of some sort to mine. Perhaps our new friend can help with that, but otherwise I suppose some intermittent firepits could provide light to mine by, at least until we find materials to make proper torches or lanterns.
Farmers are good, though they won't be working the fields constantly, so they should have a side job. Once we get some livestock they'll be a bit busier.
A carpenter's handy. Workshop is still in the building queue I assume.
Some military personnel would be nice. Right now we can only really manage stone spears, but we DO have some iron ore already mined, so if we smelt that down we can get some proper weapons. Oh! We could make some bows and arrows, those don't require much in the way of metal. Regular patrols and a guard tower are good for defense. It's best for guards to work in shifts so we should have a good number of them on hand. Let's have about half of our workforce capable of fighting. Five or six.
Speaking of metal, a blacksmith is a good idea, for all sorts of things.
How about a WIZARD? Can we get a wizard?

In addition to the skills/trades already mentioned, we might consider a potter, because we will need storage & crockery. (I'm sure there's clay somewhere, or there will be) We could maybe have a basketweaver or cooper instead, but I think a potter would be more versatile.

Seeing as there are bandits around I would like to see at least one or two of them having skills as more of a front-line fighter as Thrush's skills seem to be more scouting related and I would like to have some bruisers if we are not able to fall back and ambush attackers. Plus such people would likely be quite strong so they could assist with mining or construction.

I would like to place my vote that if we get one that, despite there being some worry about cannibal lizards, that it is Komodo dragonish for the dual reason of it would be rude not to trust lizards just because there are some bad apples and also because Komodo dragons are bad-ass.

With possible threats coming, now's a good time for defense. There's not much call for another building yet, so use the wood with the font to start building a stockade.

The new wisps should be two main types, headed preferably by the two strongest: burly miners with picks, and rangers who'll be able to hunt with bows (wildlife or otherwise), doubling as part-time gardeners. That way you've got useful job skills in people who can also hold their own in a fight.

Next steps beyond that should be a dedicated smithy building (including someone to work there) and a search for clay for pottery.

Thessel 2013/09/27(Fri)20:39 No. 542389 ID: b58bab
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>>541382
Yup, the smelter finished up last evening, though there isn't much point in going out to check on it yet since the addition of all these wisps is going to rather significantly rearrange the surrounding land.

>>541387

So here's the thing, the easiest thing to do is to enforce a known pattern onto a wisp (ok, easiest after getting one that's stable enough just be left to do its own thing) So for example, I'd easily be able to make them take on forms akin to Pike or Thrush.

Now, I CAN apply pretty much anything that can be thought up to these wisps, however there's a very good chance that things won't go quite as planned....speaking of which, the results of the two more substanital wisps....well, lets just say that if I didn't know better I would have said that they were examples of just such oddities.

"Well then, hello there you two and welcome to my little settlement. Still doesn't have a proper name, though I'm sure that'll be fixed soon enough."
'ello there.
Hey there, Sir. How can I be of help?

"Well, for the time being you'd be most helpful if you assisted the others, Pike, Thrush and Zivoi. I'll get back to you once I've got proper jobs for you."

Now then, for whatever reason (presumably since i'm getting a bit better at this wisp thing) I've got a vauge idea of the primary skills for these two. The little yellowish one is apparently both a skilled miner and to a lesser degree a whitesmith. He could probably work as a passable blacksmith as well, though with nowhere near the same level of skill.
Now, the other one, who honestly looks a bit like a cousin of mine if they'd been run through some sort of magical accident that subsequently left them with an extra pair of legs and double their original mass. That mildly unsettling thought aside, he seems to be something of a stonemason with some skill in stonecarving.

I'll have the short one take over operating the mine, though it might be a good idea to take a peek down there before starting up any actual mining.

I can definately attempt at trying to get a wizard however I've got a strong feeling that it'll come with some unexpected surprise.

Now then, there's currently enough wood to construct one building and the area around the main building has been flattened out. Two options for the next building are a workshop or watch tower, however we can probably get enough wood to do at least two more buildings by the end of the day given the influx of new labor.

It should probably be noted that the smelter does have a small shelter attached, though it could easily be expanded fairly easily.

Woah. I bet he can work on masonry after it's up in the wall!

So we now have a mason, a miner, and a smelting building, so it looks like we should check out the mine first. I suppose cave-dwelling critters are a thing, so we should probably have Thrush go with us while inspecting the mine in case we run into any.

I want to say build the workshop first so we can try and get a stone quarry to help us build a better watch tower but hey we can always just upgrade the tower later so it's not really that big a deal, but for now lets get thrush with us and check out the mine and then go from there. Just ask Zivoi if he has anything he could whip up so you can have light once you enter the mines.

>>542389
Workshop first so we can make tools and stuff for the watch tower.

Let's... wait on getting anyone with magical skills until you're more confident in your wisp-altering abilities. At least until you have a better idea of what the consequences will be. The settlement might not take well to a big surprise right now. If you think it'll be mostly harmless just go for it. How does magic work around here anyway? Are nonmagical doctors in demand, or will we just be able to brew healing potions and cast healing spells? And sure, let's get Pike and Thrush 'copies' though they won't really be copies apparently.
Anyway, my finalized list:

Pike-based
Thrush-based
Carpenter and woodcarver - cheetah
Blacksmith and metallurgist - english mastiff
Farmer and rancher - how about a caterpillar thing?
bowyer/fletcher and woodsman/hunter - kangaroo mouse
militia - hawk (with real hands obviously)
militia - some kind of snaky thing
militia or wizard - a lynx

For surrounding land, aside from the farmlands it could be good to have a wooded section with some fruit trees in it. Heck, let's just have a bunch more woods nearby, that might result in some bigger animals showing up which we could hunt or domesticate.

Ya, lets hold off the wizard right now, lets get some one or two hunters for archery skill and to gather meat or to gather animals if we find some that we might be able to raise. We should definitely have a wood-worker as well, I'm not real sure on the rest however my vote on getting some front-line fighters>>541468 still remains. But lets get a workshop for the building, we should have enough people for scouting purposes that any non dedicated attackers should not be able to sneak up on us so the watchtower won't be a necessity (a tall building would be useful for attracting peoples attention however.

>>542389
Do we know pikes skills yet?

For the wisps: it'd be a good idea to make the next few wisps dual-purpose, either as miners-or-masons/fighters or as hunters-and-farmers/archers. Copying existing designs is fine for them. (Skunks and squirreltaurs! But that's not important.)

For buildings:
-Stockade: more useful than a tower right now, since you can't see far in this forest.
-Latrine: maybe something to gloss over, but realistically would get important quickly.
-Mining Hut: an initial shelter for miners and storehouse for stone/ore.
-Workshop: start producing carts for better wood/stone transport.

>>542415
Keep in mind that the Fount can do construction on its own!
Our biggest need is "Resource Collectors" for the materials and "Artificers" to equip the Fount with tools!

>>542854
The skill with which the font's work is done depends upon the skills of the people operating it. We need skilled craftsmen of all kinds.

>>542907
I'm pretty certain that's wrong?
IIRC, the Fount may construct anything out of anythin, so long as the materials and tools are laid out for the construction of the thing.
If you lack tools, it doesn't happen at all, or happens crudely.
If you lack resources, it uses whatever physical stuff is around.

>>542991
"As for other useful properties, Founts are primarily known for their capability to emulate their user's efforts in a condensed period of time. So an average untrained person could use one to construct a building which would have taken them a week to do in a single day. Of course, it would still be the same quality as if that person actually built it. Same goes true with other objects."

My question is, what if a person could have built a house in a week, but they could have built the same house with much greater care in two weeks? Even a complete novice can make things of great quality if they build very carefully and constantly refer to guides as they go.

(1/4) Thessel 2013/10/06(Sun)17:58 No. 543262 ID: b58bab
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Alright, so lets finish up with these wisps and then I'll take Thrush and Zivoi's lamp to go explore the mine to see whats hidden in there. For the sake of expediency, I'll let Pike and Zivoi help with names for all the less substantial wisps.

>Do we know pikes skills yet?

Not yet, though I can try giving him a look over later to see if I can tell anything. I'm not confident I'll get anything useful though

So lets go with the first three, two based on Thrush and one on the still unnamed little mouse-ish newbie. Going from left to right, their major skills are Soldiering and...clothesmaking? alright, whatever, it'll be handy eventually. Moving on, we've got soldier/ farmer and a Mason/ Miner.

Ok, so far so good. Now for the next ones.

2/4 Thessel 2013/10/06(Sun)18:00 No. 543263 ID: b58bab
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Next up is one based on Pike and two based on the bigger of the new guys. I'll save the last three for doing the larger experiments.

Alright, formwise, they ended up just about as expected and for their major skills we've got a gardener/ herbalist for Pike's not quite double. Next in the line we've got a carpenter/ woodcarver and then finally a farmer.

3/4 Thessel 2013/10/06(Sun)18:02 No. 543264 ID: b58bab
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Alright, lets see about doing something a little trickier. Lets try for a lynx and a mouse....and that went without too much trouble. Way harder to manage but still nothing's gone wrong yet. The lynx seems to be pretty heavy on the hunting, fishing and soldiering while the mouse is an archer/ bowyer.

4/4 Thessel 2013/10/06(Sun)18:04 No. 543265 ID: b58bab
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Alright, those two went just fine. One last one to go, lets go for a big burly smith to take care of that job. Ok here goes......

...by all thats good in the world what have I created!? That last one just turned into a gigantic brutish undead horror....who upon closer inspection appears to have no mind whatsoever. Its just a huge horrible atomata. Um....I've got no clue how to deal with this thing. Even assuming that I knew how to control it (which by the way, I don't) it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the first moment any of the legions of the wraith king appeared they could turn it on us nigh effortlessly.

So the question becomes, how to deal with this thing now that its here? The longer it sits here, the better the chance that something we don't want will notice. Especially since I can practically feel the eminations seething off this thing.

>>543265
First instinct is kill it immediately. Second, well, we could get our alchemist to look it over for a second, maybe tell us the cleanest way to kill it or a way to gain useful resources from it... or ask our soldiers. Or anyone that knows anything about undead.

Speaking of magical stuff, you know conjuration, so what sort of stuff can you conjure?

>whitesmith
...wait, if a blacksmith works metal, what does a whitesmith work?

>undead monster
Can you 'dismiss' a wisp creation? You know, just undo it? Normally that would seem terribly unethical, but not so much if this thing is mindless.

Killing it seems risky, as it might instinctively respond to attack.

Could we just send it off marching in a strait line? Don't aim it at any inhabited areas.

First we should ask our resident magic man if he knows what is up with that last one, particularly these 'emanations'.

>...wait, if a blacksmith works metal, what does a whitesmith work?
Blacksmiths works with iron (vaguely black colored) while whitesmiths work with tin (lighter colored).

it should still be loyal to you due to it being a summoned wisp.

Ask Zivoi what the fuck that thing is and how to destroy it.

>>543265
Oh, do you have any idea why that went wrong exactly? Did you ask for something that was too big for the wisp to handle?

There might be a use for the last one. Don't just destroy it because you are scared of it. Find out more first incase its more than it appears.

Since blocking the automaton's emanations and securing it from outside control is assumed to be far beyond the capabilities of you and everyone else here that leaves either destroying it or disposing of it far away from the village. Get Zivoi in here if he isn't here already, explain the situation and start picking his brain about how to go about doing that. And you may as well let everyone else know about it as well. Maybe somebody'll have a bright idea to deal with it.

How much punishment would you guess an undead of this size can take? Could you setup a something where a bunch of heavy rocks crush it completely, or at least pin it down so that everyone can bash on it without it being able to fight back?

Figuring out how to issue orders to it would help greatly in getting rid of it, but even if you can't figure that out it can still be moved by a bunch of people carrying it, or building a handcart to put it on.

Dumping it far out in the wraithlands is an option, but if it's carried or rolled out whoever does the job likely isn't going to make it back. Perhaps it could be taken into the mine and dumped in the depths there instead, but that'd only work if its emanations are blocked by thick rock.

>>543262
ok for the clothes making solder, that could actually be quite useful. He might be able to help make armors or at least get the right measurements and we could see if he could make some camouflage armor/stuff for our solders as well. But that's all for later lets deal with the now first.

This thing,>>543265
can you try and tell it to do something? Maybe get a feel for how it works. Cause if we can control it then this could make a good scout for the mine's (especially if it glows) or maybe we could try and use it as a type of scarecrow. By that I mean we have it patrol the boarder of our land to scare off any unwanted guess, like those bandits we heard about. Cause really if I saw something like this I would just turn tail and run.

Have Zivoi take a look at it before getting rid of it. Then if nothing can be done, get rid of it.

Seconded. Hopefully the mage can think of a way to safely dispose of it, but failing that, the temptation to keep it around for heavy labor sounds like a bad idea. Even if you knew HOW to order it around. Do try giving it an order though.

Can you tell us anything about how necromancy works? Ie. is anything undead like this innately evil, or just scary?

Besides that, you're ready to start on other tasks like checking out the mine. Some resource gathering is in order for everyone. Get started on a garden with the mage's seed supply.

On top of having the mage look at it, also make sure to get Pike and Fem-Pike to assist in checking it out. They should both be detail oriented and science/engineering minded.

>>543265
I like the cut of its' jib. Ask Kivoi to imbue it with sapience.

Better, catch more wixps, base them on Kivoi, have THEM do it.

>>545524
More wisps? That gives me an idea. We could try shoving another wisp into this undead guy to give it true life, rather than destroying it.

(1/2) Thessel 2013/11/09(Sat)16:04 No. 547253 ID: b58bab
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>>543267
How to kill it? Well that's the question now isn't it? I could probably smash all its bones and immobilize it, that might even do the job though I suspect that it actually would take some decently potent magic to do the job properly. That said, its bones could be a particularily potent ingredient. Unfortunately, as they are they practically radiate a particularily unwholesome taint.
Now, with regards to conjuration, my skills are fairly limited currently since I have had only a basic instruction in the art and most of my practice has been in utilizing the Fount to construct buildings and conjure up new forms for the wisps that I've gathered. Aside from that however, I do know how to conjure up a simple weapon and defense as well as passable wine. All of this takes a great deal of effort however, plus the wine is neither filling nor lasting though overindulging in it is just as miserable an experience as with most any other brew.

>>543268
If it is possible, and I heartily suspect it isn't, I wouldn't do it anyways. Last thing I want is for those serving me to be terrified of simply being dismissed out of existence at my slightest displeasure or angered whim.

>>543276
Sadly, I don't have a good idea what went wrong. Could've been that the wisp was tainted ahead of time, could've tried something that in turn had to tap into some tainted essence, or it could have been simply too huge or even just a mistake on my part.

>>543278
This thing is huge, so it'd probably take a huge amount of punishment to destroy. I'll ask Zivoi about it momentarily.

>>543394
Necromancy is kind've a odd and wide field around here, not exactly evil per se. However, it also isn't exactly a wholesome field of magic either. Lots of very bad things come out of it and things that aren't evil do have a bad tendency of skirting lines that would be best left alone.
It primarily works by invoking or conjuring the essence of something dead and then binding it to a task or purpose. Since the essence is of something dead, it pulls back from whatever nameless void or plane the essence inhabited until this point to the world and form it once inhabited. Not really sure about much more than that as necromancy is rather looked down upon in these prats due to the presence of the Wraith King. He's said to have been a necromancer of incredible skill that could easily twist any necromantic magics he encountered to his own devices and was even able to conjure himself back to unlife when he first died. Heck, there's even rumors that he was involved in the calamity that brought about the wraithlands back in some long lost age.
The gist of things being that any long lasting necromantic creature of construct will fall under the Wraith King's sway. It is only a matter of time unless you have the skill, tools and facilities to obfuscate or shield it from the powers of a necromancer supreme. None of which are currently available to us.


Now then, lets see what Zivoi has to say on the matter

"Alright, I need some solutions for this particular problem right away. Zivoi, any thoughts lest we all be torn limb from limb?"

Zivoi: "Actually, Oi do 'av sum. Ah've dealt wi' somethin' akin ter dis 'orror. Albiet on a smaller scale....with a full workshop available....an' tree skilled wizards 'elpin'. 'owever, Oi tink wi' a bit av 'elp Oi can render it down into a 'armless state an' purge enoof av de taint dat de remainder can be masked."

"Excellent, I'll assist. The rest of you, get everything Zivoi needs. This job is going to be very unpleasant and so I'll take it upon myself to do the worst of it. Understand though that this is not done out of malice towards this poor horror but simply because the lives of everyone here is at immense risk as long as it persists."

The room is awash in chaos as back off and try to collect their thoughts while others rush to help Zivoi with everything that is needed to deal with the undead monstrosity

(2/2) Thessel 2013/11/09(Sat)17:42 No. 547274 ID: b58bab
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Well, there we are. Its done with at least for now. We smashed the larger bones and then incinerated the whole lot in a large herb spiced fire to purge whatever taint could be removed. Then the lot was put into this chest which Zivoi constructed and treated with potions to diffuse and hopefully cleanse whatever taint remains on its contents.

It wasn't something I'd wish on anyone, especially since one could visibly see the Wraith King's power start to touch it near the end.

Now that that crisis is over with, at least for the time being, there's still time to go and start exploring the mine. Or alternatively, I could stick around here and oversee the construction of the new structures and the new recruits. Unless of course, there's something else that might be of use.

A passive influence, or he became aware of it? If the latter, we should probably post a watch, at the least.

Let's work on helping construction. You've already dealt with one surprise today, save exploring for another day.

Well, that resolved decently but leaves you about where things were before. Best to go on as before: start investigating the mine and as resources permit, try starting work on:

Stockade, Latrine, Mining Hut, Workshop

I say stay here for now and help build the place up, maybe get to know your recruits better seeing as they're going to be helping you build up your kingdom.

>>547274
Phew, crisis over. If the Wraith King started to affect it, doesn't that mean he knows where you are? I think we need to get some fortifications up. Some stone walls, perhaps?

Also Zivoi just earned his keep and then some. Good grief, if not for him we'd be screwed. You'd have had to drag the undead thing out into the wraithlands and hope it didn't come back after coming under the influence of the Wraith King.

Stick around to set up the general buildings, then perhaps explore the mine? Might as well have some more wisp traps set up as well, though we have to worry about feeding everyone. Go for farms first thing, actually. Set up some fishing traps.

I'd recommend bringing the lynx with you if you do go into the mines, don't want to go into such a thing unattended by a soldier and he must have good eyesight in the dark. Claws, too.

Let's name the lynx Hugo.

(1/2) Thessel 2013/11/30(Sat)20:34 No. 550438 ID: b58bab
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Well then, its been a little bit. Everyone's been kept busy what with what happened. I was actually just about to take a look through that mine out back since Pike and Thrush seem to have gotten the whole direction and command of others deal down.
Haven't seen Zivoi for the last day, though Pike's double has been helping him out. Well, presumably helping him out though it did look like a large part was going and getting him a sandwich every couple hours.

As you can see, we've managed to get a small stockade up surrounding almost everything important. Had to leave the mining hut/ smelter outside since there was no good way to protect it without completely encircling the hill (which is still mostly wraithlands at the moment) Also,a small bunkhouse have been completed alongside the workshop which Zivoi has commandeered the side room of.

Oh! Also, we have a little functioning farm plot which should help offset the amount of hunting and foraging needed to sustain everyone. Though, if we're beseiged then its not going to sustain us for more than a miniscule amount of time.

>>547314
That sound to be about the gist of it. The Wraith King probably doesn't know exactly where we are but he almost certainly knows we exist now. So it probably will be more than worthwhile to fortify the place as best we can. Stone will be great and plentiful once the mine is operational.

>Lets name the lynx Hugo
Done and done!


Surprisingly, we didn't get any more wisps over the last two nights. However, that might just have been due to us having grabbed all of the nearest ones. I'm sure more will show up given a bit of time.

(2/2) Thessel 2013/11/30(Sat)20:34 No. 550439 ID: b58bab
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Alright, so lets get down to exploring that mine. I'll take Hugo with me as Thrush is busy making sure the newbies are up to snuff and can all work together effectively.

Right now between the two of us we've got about 10 meters of rope, Zivoi's lamp with a flask of extra fuel, 3 torches and a wooden spear Thrush made earlier for fishing.

If there's anything else thats needed before going down there, now's the time to get it

Food and water, in case a cavein happens and one of you gets trapped. Perhaps some writing supplies to make a map.

maybe something to mark the walls so you wont get lost

How about you take the mouse-ish newbie with you since he was a Mason/Miner.
He might come in handy and he will probably be the one working in the mine in the end.

>no more wisps
I don't suppose they're less likely to stumble across the area now that it's more developed? They don't prefer the wraithlands or anything?

If so, we'd have to put catching efforts on the periphery.

Water and a snack are definitely useful. Helmets would be nice, though you probably don't have anything available. You should get a bit of chalk or really, any rock that will make a simple mark on the cave walls.

I see torches and a lamp, but don't you have any means of re-lighting the thing in the dark, like flint and tinder? If this is a skill you've never practiced, you shouldn't go in far!

If you can't find chalk make a bucket full of charcoal. That should do.