Niall (JonL) HP: 22/36 AC: 17/11/16 Sunday September 27th, 2020 9:59:08 AM
Niall will check the incoming settlers for any injuries that may have occurred while travelling and lay on hands to heal them before resting for the night.
DM Mitch Monday September 28th, 2020 6:56:55 AM Beech watches and contemplates the divinations he was told about. He decides to help make sure things don’t get lost as for right now the caravan is just using temporary structures. He suggests they set up a net downstream on the river once the permanent structures are built to prevent flotsam from reaching Blackbird Lake.
Zazu isn’t sure about the flow of the river. He helps in setting up the camp and secure shelter for everyone while things are still in their transitionary phase. The elf seeks out the human engineer and asks her if she’s had a chance to look around, where she thinks the best place to find the town, if she has any questions, advice, or resource requests. He brings up the idea of using clay and bricks as the healthy trees shouldn’t be felled without an excellent reason.
After dinner the elf gathers his companions and suggests they go back to the Emerald city for boats, more gear and resources and WLA training for those that want it. He also points out they need to send missives to both Nelly and the friendly bloodwitches.
The next morning Zazu looks for the engineer to direct the work and suggests the need for a foundation stone questioning if Naithi can shape stone magically.
Lothlo is shocked to see how quickly temporary shelters are being erected and looks forward to the day they can actually have solid walls again. He agrees with Zazu and is excited to find out about what kind of plants Nelly will suggest and also wants to do WLA training and do some shopping
Náro doesn’t mind not having permanent lodgings as he grew up with it traveling with the orcs. He is happy to not be shaken awake in the middle of the night anymore. He still helps in planning the permanent settlement.
Niall checks the wagoners for injury and lays on hands away any injuries that may have happened on the trail before bedding down for the night.
Parvati says to Zazu, “Yes, I’ve taken a look at your fledging settlement. I think the clearing you are housing the wagons in could prove a good place to start building permanent structures. Also what would you like to pursue with the river to protect against potential floods? If we are to build on stilts that affects what kind of materials we can use as they can’t be too heavy for the stilts. Alternatively we can look at building a levee or even diverting the flow of the river a little so that it doesn’t come so near to the town.”
With respect to the material question Parvati asks “Are you open to repurposing some of the wood from the wagons for building? If we repurpose the wagon wood we wouldn’t need to ship as much from civilization if you are against felling trees here. As for the clay and brick idea, that could work but we are going to need to build an oven and will likely need metal and other materials for it as well. ”
You spend your first week determining a rough layout of your settlement. You hold a founding ceremony that seems to improve the morale of both the non orcs and orcs.
You send a note to Nelly and the Blood witches and get replies from both. The witches want to know what sort of guide they can provide the settlement (blood witch or votary cleric) and what type of person they are looking for (experienced, young, etc).
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Monday September 28th, 2020 2:50:09 PM
I regretfully tell the others that I am unable to shape the stone magically without a scroll as the spell is beyond my current capabilities. As for the direction of the water, I point out that the mountains are in the East and the ocean in the South West, so the river should floor West, away from the EK. Map
Before we proceed to far, I would like for us to have someone devoted to the Culverwood (priestess?) attempt to gain it's blessing, and for us to make contact with the sprites. Offending either at this point might cause us problems in the future.
As for the river, we will need to look at the geography to determine for far out from the river the flooding goes. We can elevate the buildings, but we cannot elevate all of our crops, although having gardens might be an option.
A levee would help us, but it can cause problems up stream, and we do not want our neighbors flooded because of something we did.
On the other hand, we could create a series of canals and waterways to disperse the water and route the excess water around the city. (Think either a moat around the city or canals through the city like in Venice.).
We could also try dredging the river to make it deeper, but we would want to communicate with the sprites before doing that. Actually, any change to the water way should be consulted with them first.
A third option would be an entirely elevated city in the tree tops. We could have hanging gardens in addition to the land based crops, and it would offer us a tactical advantage from invaders and provide a unique balance with our natural surroundings.
OOC: Most important decisions I see
Lay Out 1: How to deal with flooding 2: What type of housing 3: What type of crops 4: What goes where? Any difference North and South of the river? 5: What supplies are needed?
Government 1: How do we rule ourselves 2: Taking care of orphans & Widows 3: Crime and punishment 4: Invaders / orc retaliation
Other 1: Relationship with Culverwood 2: Relationship with Sprites 3 Thieves Guild?
Fluff 1: We are former Dragons, we should make this place unique and stand out. How? Embrace the arts? Research of the Culverwood? Unique architecture? Abundance of fluffy rabbits hopping everywhere and people obsessed with the fluffy things?
Festivals and Holidays? Traditions? Local slang? (I really want to create our own slang and dialect) Local food, drinks, games, etc.
Niall (JonL) HP: 22/36 AC: 17/11/16 Monday September 28th, 2020 7:40:57 PM
Niall certainly didn't forget that they already have a cleric of Gargul among them in his old friend what's his name. He helps him establish a spot for their temple too.
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 23/25 -- Diseased Monday September 28th, 2020 8:57:21 PM
Ash helps Briana get a tent set up to be used as a medical clinic. Briana is quite skilled in healing and can spend some time gathering medicinal herbs to further assist her. With the camp starting to get up to speed there will no doubt be minor injuries to tend to.
Mike for his part gets to hunting and trapping. His first kills of the day are fairly easy (casting sleep spells and coup-de-grace), but he has to work for the rest. He tries for deer when he can, but beggars can't be choosers. His main focus is on making sure bellies are full.
Ash spends a lot of time with the mothers and children. This whole situation is no doubt a huge disruption for the kids. She wants to start getting to know them on a first name basis and make sure they know they can come to her for anything - even just a hug.
During the week she also tries to take stock of what skills the settlement has. Are there any other casters? What trades and professions are people skilled in? Are there any that consider themselves unskilled? Her thinking is that even unskilled, a person could be quickly taught how to fell a tree.
-------------------- Assuming they can, you can earn half your Profession check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated work. - Briana could earn 9gp per week as a herbalist, possibly trading herbs with the city - Mike could earn 10gp per week as a trapper, possibly trading furs/bones with the city - All will be invested back into the settlement
OOC: Should we take those questions to email, James?
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Monday September 28th, 2020 9:07:28 PM It seems to me that a levee would be the best option if that would be sufficient to prevent flooding. That would not only protect our buildings, but the roads, crops, and animals as well. You're the expert, would that be sufficient, or would we still want stilts?
I assume we are open to using some of the wood, as long as we still have a wagon or two we can use to make supply runs to the established cities.
Lothlo spends the days helping to construct the new buildings and prepare the fields for whatever crops their friends thinks best suited. In the evenings work on his new bow progresses.
It is a week of hard work, but the buildings are going up and their plot of land is looking more and more like a town. To celebrate the founding of the city Lothlo makes a yam and gooseberry pie and brings his Masterwork Rhinoceros Horn Lyre to the festivities
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) Monday September 28th, 2020 9:30:48 PM
Zazu likes the idea of levees and dams. But we may need a quarry for stone to hold the earthworks in place, right? "How do we find a quarry," the elf asks the engineer. "And would levees and channels and dams be enough? Can we make rice paddies too?"
Zazu asks Naithi if it is the right climate for rice? "And by the way, I really like your questions and organization! We need to think about these things. And I agree that getting on the good side of the sprites is a top priority."
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 d20+5=13 ; Monday September 28th, 2020 10:02:49 PM OOC: Edit, forgot Fort Save vs disease. DC12: 13=Pass.
Náro (Violet) HP: (15/16) AC: (16) Monday September 28th, 2020 10:37:14 PM
Náro turned to Naithi. 'We have neighbors, you say? I believe it would certainly benefit us to get to know them, both for the possibility of trade and for some information about the climate that we might not have. Maybe, after we're a bit more settled, we could send an envoy?' Náro is pretty sure it's a good idea, but he doesn't sound especially sure of himself, still waiting on others to give their opinions before he makes any more statements.
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Monday September 28th, 2020 11:43:36 PM
Beech, takes time and tries to get to know the others better. He'll help hunt if needed Entertain the children if required, basically doing whats needed to be done.
(ooc:)
Lay Out 1: How to deal with flooding : Answered already (levees) 2: What type of housing : The Tree House suggestion gets Beech's intrest 3: What type of crops : things easily store-able, root veggies and grains 4: What goes where? Any difference North and South of the river? North, south would leave restricted means of evacuating if needed for any reason. 5: What supplies are needed? Everything, still
Government 1: How do we rule ourselves 11 person council, with 5 as life long the rest are elected 2 each year. 2: Taking care of orphans & Widows still to be decided 3: Crime and punishment still to be decided 4: Invaders / orc retaliation train a local militia?
Other 1: Relationship with Culverwood ?? 2: Relationship with Sprites ?? 3 Thieves Guild? no opinion
DM Mitch Tuesday September 29th, 2020 8:16:09 AM Naithi explains to the others that she is unable to shape a stone magically without a scroll.
She suggests before they get too far down their path they attempt to communicate with the Culverwood or the Sprites.
With respect to the building option Naithi is concerned with the food supply as it is possible to elevate the buildings but not all crops can be elevated, but gardens could be an option to help with their food supply.
Naithi is concerned with the levee potentially flooding out any neighbors your settlement might come to have so she suggests alternatives involving canals and waterways or a treetop city.
Niall reminds the others they have a Cleric of Gargul in Brother Matthew and he works with the acolyte to make sure they get a spot for the temple set aside
Ash helps Briana set up a medical tent. She tries to help Briana gather herbs as the camp will likely have minor injuries from the business of building. Mike gets to hunting and trapping. He tries for deer when he can but he is not above taking smaller game in the interest of feeding the town. Ash spends time getting to know the mothers and children and tries to do an informal survey of what kind of skills the people have.
Lothlo likes the idea of a levee but asks if the buildings would still need stilts even with a levee. He is ok repurposing some of the wagon wood into building materials but thinks they should hold back a wagon or two for transportation purposes. He works on buildings during the day and his bow at night. He makes a pie and carries his lyre with him to the founding celebration.
Zazu likes the idea of levees and dams, asking follow up questions to Parvati about quarries, if the levee and channels would be enough and if they could have rice paddies. He asks Naithi if the climate is right for rice.
Náro is surprised that they have neighbors and suggests they send an envoy once things get more settled.
Beech tries to get to know the others better, helping out where he is needed.
When Parvati hears Naithi’s idea concerning a tree top city with a series of canals she gets a sketchpad out and starts drawing.
She says, “Why didn’t I think of this? This could be an elegant solution. We work with the land instead of seeking to dictate terms. If we build in the trees we get elevation without having to use the wood for stilts and if we select the right trees to house buildings they could hold more weight than mere stilts. Depending on what type of buildings we want the trees not be able to hold all of them but we could always put the larger buildings at ground level amidst the canals and put the smaller buildings in the trees. I admit this is a little ambitious but with the canals we could have kind of an easy way to navigate the city and it would be easy to divert some of the canal water for agricultural irrigation”
She shares her design for a community with mostly larger buildings laid out at ground level amidst a network of canals in the center with some irrigation ditches leading out from the city and into the fields. She even sketches some alternatives to fields involving rice paddies or cranberry bogs. The canals and buildings are drawn in a clearing with smaller tree top buildings spreading out around it.
“We could still take some precautions with a levee if we wanted to, to be safer than sorry and yes to answer your question we need stonework for a levee and maybe even a canal. As for where we can get stone do you have any information on what is in the area mineralogically speaking? Stone is expensive to ship though as it is heavy. I don’t suppose we could purchase some spell casting? We could make some 2 10 foot cubes of sandstone per the caster level of a casting of Transmute Mud to Stone and we could transform the soft stone to hard stone permanently using Polymorph any object. In this way we could make our own quarry. For 1,950 gold we could get 300 cubic feet of hard stone in 30 ten cubic foot cubes. Alternatively if we wanted to get the most out of the casting of polymorph any object we could get 1500 cubic feet of stone created but it would take 5 castings of Transmute Mud to Rock and it would cost 4750 gold to do this.”
Ash refreshes her memory on the skills of the group. They had done a survey shortly after the group had formed. The adult orcs are all experts of some sort covering a wide variety of professions having to do with surviving as a nomadic tribe. They can make weapons, armor, clothing, treat wounds, prepare food, and generally have a high level of skill (at least 5 ranks with feat at stat support, if you can argue why a skill would be needed then some orc will have it).
The non-orcs are mostly unskilled labor with a smattering of experts, some in overlapping fields. A few notable skillsets are a fisherman, already making plans to maximize their fishing success, and an engineer, though they were only an apprentice when captured and seem happy to leave it to Pavati as long as you’re hiring her.
As for neighbors, aside from the Culverwood, the border of which is still a little way away from your settlement site and the supposed sprites which have yet to materialize you guys are pretty much on your own out here.
You try to communicate with the sprites the documents suggest are in the area but nothing ever makes their presence known. Either the sprites have moved on, they were never there or something is preventing them from appearing.
It seems like it has been ages since you fought those Locusts and salvaged an egg. With everyone so busy nobody remembers to check on it until suddenly there’s a raised alarm about a giant locust getting into the food store.
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) Tuesday September 29th, 2020 9:38:22 PM
Zazu likes this vision: Levees, dikes, and canals to manage water, a few solid brick buildings on the higher ground, smaller treehouses for individual houses. Watery places for cranberries and rice.
"What will the treehouses be made of? wood? canvas? something else?"
"The idea of making a quarry out of magic is a great idea, but that magic is beyond us for now."
When it is time to shepherd the locust, Zazu uses color sprays to incapacitate it.
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Tuesday September 29th, 2020 9:42:19 PM We are planning on saving up for a lyre of building, with the initial precautions perhaps it makes more sense to put in the levee once we have purchased that. Do you think we have some time before we need to start the levee, or do we really need to put that in now before we get the lyre?
It's odd that we haven't seen any sprites yet, but I doubt was a mistake. Perhaps the previous group did something that made them angry? In any case, probably best to keep the note out for them in case they return.
ooc: letting those with plans for the egg address that part first.
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Tuesday September 29th, 2020 10:50:01 PM
Ash still isn't too pleased that the party are keeping a pest as a pet. The people of the settlement need to feel safe, and keeping something that had previously attacked them probably isn't the best way to keep them calm.
"Wasn't it supposed to be put in a harness or on a leash to prevent it from running amok?"
Ash wants to make sure that everyone in the settlement has something to do. They all need to pull together to get this thing up and running. She checks in with some of the gnomes and asks if they can Speak with nearby Animals. Perhaps they can get a better idea on the surrounds, dangers, and whether any sprites have been seen nearby lately. If they're really persuasive perhaps they can get some of the animals to even help us in some way.
Surface drow generally have great night vision. They'd be excellent to place on nightly watches.
She runs these ideas past the others.
"Yeah, the lyre still looks to be the way to go. That 4,750gp is more than a third of the cost of one"
As for the sprites "The information we had for some of the areas was quite old. It's possible the sprites aren't around any more"
-------------- OOC: Taken that list of topics to email to keep the board clear
Náro (Violet) HP: (15/16) AC: (16) Tuesday September 29th, 2020 11:44:57 PM
'I hadn't considered having the village made of treehouses, but I like the idea; aside from the practicalities, it's... rather enchanting. I like the idea of having a quarry too, even if we can't create it right away-- especially because it could be a source of revenue once we're gotten all the rocks we need.'
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Wednesday September 30th, 2020 1:34:38 AM
Things are going great until the locust starts eating everything.... "Might I ask whose brilliant idea this was?" The sarcasm is thick enough that you might need a two man saw to cut it....
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Wednesday September 30th, 2020 8:09:03 AM
I look at the others... We can discuss blame later. Let's wrangle that locust before it eats everything.
Camalayaas and I then charge in that direction.
DM Mitch d4=3 ; Wednesday September 30th, 2020 9:06:31 AM Zazu likes the vision that is starting to shape up. He asks what the treehouses would be made of and agrees that using magic to create a quarry is a good idea but they can’t afford it for now. The elf helps shepherd the locust using color spray when the hubbub occurs.
Lothlo points out they are saving for a lyre of building, he asks if they really need to put that in now before getting the lyre. He questions if they need to make the levee now or should they get the lyre first. He also notes the absence of the sprites.
Ash isn’t too pleased about the party keeping the pest as a pet. She doesn’t think keeping something that previously attacked them is the best way to keep everyone calm. She asks if there was supposed to be a harness or leash employed on the locust.
Ash wants to make sure everyone in the settlement has something to do. She suggests having the gnomes talk to animals and have the surface drow serve as a night watch. She suggests the lyre is the way to go as the 4750 gold for the quarry is still more than a third of the cost of the lyre.
Náro also likes the idea of treehouses and suggests a magically created quarry could be a revenue source after they have all the stone they need from it.
Beech asks whose brilliant idea it was to keep a giant locust for a pet.
Parvati says “Flooding is unlikely for now. It isn’t the usual season for it. So we can wait on the levee and canal for now but we should still try to space things out so we can add these structures later without having to move things. As for what the tree houses should be made out of, well we have options. I guess it depends on how durable we want them to be. I mean given the right tree we could start by using wood to build a level platform on it. From there we could use canvas or those clay bricks you suggested or even additional wood. ”
The locust is successfully stunned for about half a minute, long enough for them to tie it up. It struggles mightily, hissing and chewing on any bit of rope it can reach.
There are a few gnomes and drow happy to use their skills to help the settlement. You learn that there were once river sprites here, but the conflict with the previous settlers caused them to move further upriver. They still come to visit from time to time. No one can get much out of the locust - it’s an infant acting on an instinctual need to eat and grow until it can’t anymore.
DM Mitch Wednesday September 30th, 2020 9:16:39 AM
Jigger joins the conversation. "These are lovely plans, but two things. The advantage of the river is the trade it might bring, so if we want to take advantage of that then we'll need facilities by the shore. Also these big plans are nice, but we need an immediate plan to get everyone shelter. Unless you have all built treetop cities before it'll take time to figure it out and we should start with something simple on the ground."
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Wednesday September 30th, 2020 9:42:35 AM "Well, from the sounds of the plans, why don't we build two or three large building, near to the river, but with plans to make canal cuts next to them in the future. We can use those building now as housing with curtain walls for individual and family privacy. After we get more permanent housing built in the trees, and I suggest a variation of what my mom and a few other superior magic users did back home. They shaped stone, can't wood be shaped in a similar way with magic, it would make the walls and walkways part of the living environment, right? We are going to eventually want a sheltered place for boats or barges to moor so leaving room to cut eddies out of the main flow of the river would make it easier for cargo handling as well as a place to repair those same vessels." As to the rest of the week, Beech avoid the locust, not because he hates it, he just doesn't understand animals. He continues to help supply food and also helps out teaching the children, he may not have a formal skill in teaching, but his cheery nature should help, it'll also give parents or guardians time to do other things to help out.
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 d20+9=18 ; d20+5=7 ; d20+8=22 ; Wednesday September 30th, 2020 2:30:20 PM
Once the locust is subdued I feed it and begin talking softly to it. It is a slow processes, but I know I can win it over eventually.
(I failed the first wild empathy check to calm it with a 7, but I get to try once a day, so eventually I could take it from hostile to helpful... And I'm guessing it has a negative charisma modifier and am hoping it is not in the most hostile category)
Slowly I begin the process of training it. The going is slow, but I make progress. (Handle animal check = 19 using Maab's blessing to influence animals. If for some reason that doesn't work I'll use a hero point to boost the score)
After a few hours of training I joint the others and we discuss the housing scenario. We need to determine when the floods occur and when the next one is due. (Knowledge Nature= 22) If another food will come before the canals and levee are finished we better put the building on stilts.
As for shaping living wood, I never thought about it... Let's give it a try.
I then try shaping a small living plant to see if it will work. (I'm not risking running a big tree)
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) Wednesday September 30th, 2020 3:51:10 PM
"If we are serious about tree buildings, we should go visit the Tree of Parting. It's not all that far away, and they know from building in trees." [OOC: not right away, per se, but maybe in a module or two. It really is very close.]
"I like the idea of using wood shape spells to shape living trees!" [OOC: brilliant idea! The spell actually does not say that the wood to be shaped has to be dead!]
Niall (JonL) HP: 22/36 AC: 17/11/16 Wednesday September 30th, 2020 4:06:11 PM
Niall helps however he can but he's a paladin, not a city planner.
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 d20=4 ; Wednesday September 30th, 2020 8:17:21 PM
Ash still has concerns about having a locust around, however she can see that Naithi is growing fond of it. That's enough for her to want to help. She does what she can to support Naithi, but despite Ash's best intentions she doesn't really do much. It's the thought that counts hopefully. She points out that Codru is a pretty good tanner and might be able to help craft a harness or leash.
Ash spends some time with Codru just walking around and speaking to people. She wants to be familiar with as many as possible and wants to keep spirits high. If someone in the settlement needs something, however small, she'll do what she can to obtain it.
After all that, Ash also goes to check in with Murzush to find out how the orcs are feeling. Hopefully the rest of the settlement is becoming more accepting of them.
--------------- Aid Another for Naithi: 4 = Fail
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) d20+3=10 ; d20+3=23 ; Wednesday September 30th, 2020 9:02:17 PM River sprites? That makes sense considering where we are. I'm sure I've heard some tales about river sprites before, perhaps if I think about it I can remember something about why they might have not liked the previous group and how we can stay on their good side. We should also make sure that we always treat the river with respect to keep them happy.
Lothlo runs his fingers over his lyre, slowly thinking of the various songs and tales about he knows that might mention river sprites.
DM Mitch Thursday October 1st, 2020 8:17:38 AM Beech suggests erecting two or three large buildings near the river with plans to make canal cuts in the future. He suggests using the large buildings for shelter in the near term with privacy curtains and as far as tree top buildings go he suggests using magic to shape the living wood like others did with stone back home. He also suggests eventual eddies in the river in the future to support cargo handling. He largely avoids the locusts but helps out with the food and children.
Naithi begins the process of training the giant locust and is able to improve its attitude from unfriendly to indifferent. She joins the others in the discussion about the settlement and realizes based on the difference between where the water level currently is and where the banks are that at least for now you appear to be in a dry spell. It is hard to tell when the next flooding danger will occur but everyone who attempted predicting the weather has not predicted rain yet.
She tries to shape a shrubbery and can see the trunk of it twist a little at her direction.
Zazu suggests they visit the tree of parting at some point if they are serious about building in the trees and he says he likes the idea of using tree shape to shape living trees.
Niall helps however he can but darn it Jim, He’s a Paladin not a City Planner
Ash still has concerns about the locusts but puts them asides when she sees how fond Naithi is becoming of it. She does what she can to support Naithi but despite Ash’s best efforts it doesn’t amount to much. She points out that Codru is a pretty good tanner and that he might be able to craft a harness. Ash goes around the settlement making friends and helping people. She checks in with Murzush to find out how the orcs are doing.
Lothlo starts thinking about River Sprites and what he knows about them that may have caused the surveyors to cause them to leave.
The children take a shining to the Lion man who gives them food, entertains them with minor magic tricks and teaches him what he can and the parents are grateful to have a respite to be able to focus on their work in peace.
As Ash and Cordru tour the settlement she comes to know the people living there. The requests they have are minor as everyone is cognizant of the fact that they are pioneers out here on the frontier of the Emerald Kingdom and they don’t really have time for trivialities.
When she reaches Murzush the Orc says, “I think my people are happy that they have found a purpose again. The skills we learned are starting to come in handy and hopefully when we are done building shelter we can find time to craft other things as potential trade items.”
Lothlo thinks about what he knows about sprites and remembers that they tend to be distrustful of most people and even animals. He also remembers that some sprites are cursed and can’t live out in the open or in buildings and are relegated to eaves, porches and stairwells. He wonders if the sprites were perhaps one of these so accursed and tried to make their home under the outer layer of canvass the surveyor’s tents had or if it was some other incident that caused the falling out.
With a plan made and the founding ceremony done construction gets started. A few trees are felled (After carefully confirming they aren’t home to anything fey) to use as lumber and a big expedition to Emerald City is sent off to sell the vast quantities of goods that represent the communities wealth. It’s a good time to take care of any business in town for the group as it takes most of the week to sell off everything and multiple trips back and forth to drop off the cash earned and pick up more stuff to sell.
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Thursday October 1st, 2020 9:13:45 PM
Ash writes out a list of all the minor things that people in the camp need (and in some cases just want) so she doesn't forget.
She helps load any pelts or herbs that have been gathered and ready for trade.
"Do we still need Parvati?" she asks the others "She has helped with the major things - the town layout, plans for tree houses, the levees, and so on. The smaller scale things the other engineers and I can work out. I'm just conscious of her daily rate."
Ash tries to frame it in terms of trade goods.
"Parvati's daily rate of 2 gold could instead provide 10lbs of iron, 20 chickens, 20lbs of flour, AND 20lbs of wheat every day. That's a lot for a new settlement."
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) d20=2 ; Thursday October 1st, 2020 10:18:09 PM
"Ash, you have a good point! Let's ask!" ...
"Parvati, is your work here done? If not, what do we need from you, and how can we expedite it. Honestly, I think we should hire you back when we get our Lyre or Flute of Building, because you can help the musician figure out what to build where, but that won't be for months."
...
Zazu also talks with Ash about spells. "We'll be casting second level spells pretty soon, so we should get our wish list together. The top four we can learn on our own, but if we want more, now is the time to buy scrolls and save them to put in our books, right?"
Zazu wants to be able to cast the following second level spells: Invisibility, Levitate, Rope Trick, Scorching Ray, Minor Image, Whispering Wind, and Make Whole.
"Oh, and there are some zero and first level spells I need too." Floating Disk, Unseen Servant, Rose's Temperature Control, Taurs Try, Barnum's Appraisal, Elf Vision, Alarm, Animate Rope, Expeditious Retreat, Jump, Feather Fall, and Identify.
Zazu has over two grand gold burning a hole in a pocket, so that's cash for scrolls, but OTOH, the wizard is saving up for permanent spells costing say six grand at level 5, coming sooner than you might think!
OOC to Rob: Highlight to display spoiler: {Rob, did you ever figure out whether the "put witch spells in your wizard book" sleaze was legal?}
...
That makes Zazu think about magic stuff, and so talks with Beech and Náro about what spells they like to cast, and what scrolls they might want to buy, and other arcane stuff. "I love illusions," the elf says, "so you always gotta watch out with me not to get tricked! If I say the special illusion word -- let's say 'argle-bargle' -- then you know it is an illusion! But we gotta change the illusion word every so often so that enemies don't catch on."
Zazu talks to all the fellow adventurers so they know about "argle-bargle."
...
And Zazu helps with training and taming Buggo. If an untrained Handle Animal check is allowed, Zazu's is a 2. Not that helpful!
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Thursday October 1st, 2020 11:04:24 PM
Lothlo remembers a tidbit about the sprites. If I remember, some sprites are cursed and can’t live out in the open or in buildings and are relegated to eaves, porches and stairwells. Perhaps we can construct some dedicated "fairy porches" for them to enjoy and build in a place for them in the eaves so that if they return they have a place they can stay and live harmoniously with the town.
Also, Parvati's has been invaluable, especially when we are building things by a river that can flood. I was under the impression we didn't have the needed level of skill that they are providing. I believe we are still early in the town's construction, are we already at the point where their skills aren't needed?
Náro (Violet) HP: (15/16) AC: (16) d20=7 ; Thursday October 1st, 2020 11:29:35 PM
Náro doesn't have much, if any, experience with animals, but he's always been intrigued by bugs, and so when Zazu helps with training the locust, he tags along. Unfortunately, he isn't much help either. He also says that his favorite spell is probably the Magic Missile spell, because it's so utilitarian, or possibly the prestidigitation spell, because he finds it useful to keep up the neatness of his appearance. He also says that he's looking forward to possibly buying some scrolls as well.
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Friday October 2nd, 2020 12:08:01 AM
Beech is happy with his suggestions.... He searches up and down stream for a tree on either side that might work for his idea of a living bridge... eventually.....
Beech also practices with his spells as well, a lot of time using Dancing Lights.... as a humanoid shape, and making it look like it is trying to sneak from tree to tree, miming shooting an arrow, various actions...
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Friday October 2nd, 2020 2:59:33 AM
Naithi continues training and gathering lists of plants people want cultivated for food and other production.
DM Mitch Friday October 2nd, 2020 7:39:39 AM Ash makes a list of all the things people need. She then restates the case for getting rid of Parvati, phrasing it in terms of trade goods.
Zazu also asks Parvati if her work is done and if not what else they need from her and how they can expedite it. He still thinks they should rehire her once they get the lyre of building. Zazu then talks to the other spell casters about magical things and how today’s secret word for casting illusions is “Argle Bargle” He also attempts to help with Buggo but gets nowhere.
Lothlo remembers some tidbit about sprites and how some are cursed regarding where they can live. He suggests considering constructing “fairy porches” for them or extending eaves in case they return so the fey can live harmonious with the town. Lothlo questions whether it is too soon to get rid of Parvati as it is still early in discussion.
Náro also attempts to help with Buggo but isn’t skilled either. He explains his favorite spells are probably prestidigitation or magic missile. He also is planning to buy scrolls in the future too.
Beech is happy with his suggestions. He searches for trees on either side that might serve as bridges at some point in the future. He also practices with his spells a bit using dancing lights as target practice for his archery.
Naithi continues training and gathering lists of plants people want cultivated.
Parvati smiles and says to Ash and Zazu, “You drive a hard bargain. I don’t suppose it is too late to take you up on your original offer of a plot of land worth fair market value, absent any additional markup, in exchange for my services. While I would appreciate at least a silver a day in addition to this as that is minimum wage for an engineer I can see that I certainly wouldn’t go hungry if I were allowed to join you and considering you have such a thorough accounting of how far 2 gold will go, you probably have just as fine an understanding of how far 1 silver will as well. Don’t get me wrong I have vast respect for someone who knows how to handle their hoard. To be fair when we met in the Emerald City I didn’t know you, your people or your plans but something about this place, your plans, it charmed me. I’d like to work with you to build our city of canals and tree top buildings.”
Back in town the first shipment of building tools arrived. The orcs didn’t have much need of hammers and nails for their tents, at least not the type for building with wooden boards. The locust is starting to become slightly more manageable.
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Friday October 2nd, 2020 8:19:00 PM
Ash nods in consideration (though not necessarily agreement).
She gives a look to the others to see what they think. Having an experienced engineer live with the settlement would certainly be beneficial, and the rate cut is significantly better. 1sp a day would be just like anyone else in the settlement plying their trade. Quite a fair deal.
Ash is very much in favor of this new deal but waits to see if that is just her.
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Friday October 2nd, 2020 9:08:30 PM Glad you are staying on with us Parvati.
I think I'm going to hitch a ride with the next wagon heading to the capital to complete my WLA training... I probably owe them some dues if I want to reach Journeyman with them. Probably need to pick up some better armor as well if we are going to be defending the settlement from possible dire bear attacks in the future, or at the very least something to protect me a little better from those rat bites.
Zazu grins widely at the engineer. "I'm glad that the vision we've got going here has become your dream too! Welcome, Parvati, sure, the deal is still good, right everybody?"
At this time, Zazu tries and writes down 11 first level spells. Spellcraft DC16 to do it (DC15 for the Taurs Try): Floating Disk (15 fail), Unseen Servant (17 pass), Rose's Temperature Control (15 fail), Barnum's Appraisal (22 pass), Elf Vision (24 pass), Alarm (28 pass), Animate Rope (30 pass), Expeditious Retreat (30 pass), Jump (28 pass), Feather Fall (21 pass), and Identify (21 pass). And Taurs Try (21 pass).
Adding Unseen Servant, Barnum's Appraisal, Elf Vision, Alarm, Animate Rope, Expeditious Retreat, Jump, Feather Fall, Identify, and also Taurs Try at a cost of 10 gp each ... subtracting 95 gp from my wealth.
Also buying 7 scrolls at 125 gp each: Invisibility, Levitate, Rope Trick, Scorching Ray, Minor Image, Whispering Wind, and Make Whole ... subtracting 875 more gp.
Náro (Violet) HP: (15/16) AC: (16) Friday October 2nd, 2020 11:34:23 PM
Náro had always liked the idea of inviting Parvati a place in the village because of the decreased rates, and so he's happy with it. 'I appreciate your faith in us,' he says to her sincerely, and looks around, noticing that the majority appeared to be in favor of her plan, 'And if no one else objects, I'd like to take you up on your offer.'
Niall (JonL) HP: 22/36 AC: 17/11/16 Saturday October 3rd, 2020 8:55:49 AM
Niall continues to complain to that Jim fellow but also keeps on doing what needs doing.
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Saturday October 3rd, 2020 4:38:03 PM "I have a question, why don't we look for 2 trees on each side that we can use as anchor trees. Then we find and transplant a smaller tree next to each., then woodshape / graft them together, we have solid anchors because of the mature trees, and we form our arch bridge across the river, having them meet in the middle. By merging them, we effectively have 4 big living trees forming our foundation, should look beautiful once it gets completed." Other than the continued discussion about the bridge, he keeps entertaining the children,
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Sunday October 4th, 2020 12:02:31 AM "Let's grab a couple of those Plant Growth scrolls too. We could use one or two to create a thicket between us and the Culverwood to keep any nasties at bay. We could create one 200ft quarter circle, then leave say a 10ft or 20 ft gap and create another 200ft quarter circle. That way there is a safe passage between the two but still a good sized wall of sorts.
We could also use one or two to enrich the plants surrounding the settlement. At, what, 375 gold per scroll they'll probably pay for themselves in food and herbs to trade"
During one of their stops at the Emerald City, Ash will see if she can find someone willing to sell some.
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Sunday October 4th, 2020 5:35:43 PM
I continue making the list of plants and scrolls the group would like. In order to make the best use of space, the border to the Deep Culverwood will consider of thickets growing various berries, flowers, and medicinals.
After going to the WLA myself, I will arrange for the various plants and seeds to be purchased and hauled back. Included in the purchase are plants that can be used to construct hanging gardens, plants that can be grown in areas we redirect water to in order to avoid flooding (maybe cranberries and rice) and water flowers.
Ooc: Was there any success in determine when the next food might be?
DM Mitch Monday October 5th, 2020 8:28:00 AM Ash nods in consideration of Parvati’s counter. She is in favor of the new deal but waits for the others.
Lothlo is glad Parvati is staying with them. He also ends up heading to the Emerald City to do WLA training, pay his dues and but better armor.
Zazu is glad that Parvati shares their vision for the settlement. He attempts to write some spells into his spell book; (OOC: did you buy those scrolls at the catacombs?)
Náro has always liked the idea of inviting Parvati to stay so with the decreased rate he’s even moreso in favor.
Niall keeps complaining to that Jim fellow but does what he can to help
Beech suggests trying to create some sort of natural bridge using trees and he has a plan for how to accomplish that. He also continues to help with the children.
(OOC: The river is between 60 - 85 feet across)
Ash suggests picking up some plant growth spells to try to form some natural barriers between themselves and the Culverwood or to enrich some of the local herbs / berry plants to produce more.
Naithi continues making a list of plants and scrolls as well as visiting the WLA herself. She arranges for the various seeds and plants to be purchased and hauled back.
(OOC: Looks like with how low the water is currently, you would need significant rain for there to be a danger of flooding so probably not for a while)
Time passes, you look for trees on either side of the banks of the river that you could potentially encourage to form a living bridge. Given the expanse of the river (65-80 feet) you are going to need tall trees. You train and get supplies in the Emerald City. While there the friendly bloodwitches greet you and ask more questions about what sort of Culverwood worshiping person they should send your settlement (OOC: votary cleric or bloodwitch; junior or more experienced)
The buildings start to take shape. Two large ones meant to provide shelter for the people and be later turned to other purposes. It will take another week to finish them but there’s been good progress. There’s a lot of debate about the treehouse idea. The orcs find trees strange and different enough and are not sure about living on them. Others have a variety of reactions, some loving the idea others hating it. The idea of avoiding any flooding is attractive though. Even the orcs have experience with sudden rain flooding the lowlands in the Izen, losing things and having to flee. It takes a lot of work, but most come around to the idea, or at least agree to give it a chance.
Niall (JonL) HP: 22/36 AC: 17/11/16 Monday October 5th, 2020 7:05:46 PM
Niall keeps on helping with what needs help, healing those that need healing.
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Monday October 5th, 2020 9:13:03 PM
If there were no objections from the rest of the group, Ash purchases 3 scrolls of Plant Growth. She could take a try herself at casting them, but as a druid Naithi may have more success.
Ash tries to discuss the future living arrangements with the orcs and any others that have concerns. Treehouses are just one approach the settlement can take, but there is no reason they can't have multiple paths. They can have tree houses for those that want it. Ground level housing might be well suited to those who have aversion to heights or just prefer to stand on solid ground. Centaurs, for instance, have a reputation as particularly bad climbers. Some of the settlement might even prefer some underground housing. Surface drow, for instance, might find the above ground daylight overpowering and some of the dwarves may just feel more at home.
Having a combination of the three approaches allows for the strengths of each, while also providing contingency should something happen to one of them. A kind of insurance policy.
Ash checks in with Mike to see how he went with the dire bear bone. She's keen to see if he was able to fashion a dagger from it yet.
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Monday October 5th, 2020 9:48:22 PM
Lothlo comes back with a sack of new supplies consisting mostly of arrows and sling bullets, as well as a strip of leather to craft a masterwork sling. It may not be the most exciting weapon, but after those rats he wants to make sure he has an option for piercing damage and a sling is about the only thing he can manage to wield without making a fool of himself. I'm not sure it would make sense to put everything in the trees anyway, that's a lot of wasted real estate otherwise. And for now the important thing is to get our initial buildings completed and fields planted.
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) d20=4 ; d20+4=9 ; d20=3 ; Monday October 5th, 2020 9:50:13 PM
[OOC: Catacombs order is pending]
While in town, Zazu not only goes shopping, but buys the materials needed for several traps -- a tripline trap with bells to encircle a camp-site, and a couple tangle-foot bag traps. The rogue looks around town and tries to find a place to buy these kinds of goods.
Untrained Diplomacy to gather info on where to buy these things: 4 Untrained Know Local for the same thing: 9
Oh well.
=====
Who is keeping track of the refugee resettlement funds, the thousands of gold pieces that the community is using to build anew? Half of that is being kept in reserve for future needs, right? Whether a Lyre of Building or whatever. Zazu helps that person to keep track. It's a lot of money.
[OOC: I would hate for that money to go missing or have something bad happen just because nobody mentioned it. Like the way Buggo got loose when we did not pay attention to him. So please count this as Zazu keeping track and looking to make sure there is no embezzzlement or malfeasance or bribery or just incompetence. Also, Zazu has a +8 trained Appraise check, so that should help.]
=====
Zazu tries to poll the party and community as to whether a witch or cleric would be better. When in town, the elf communicates this preference. "Personally, I prefer a high level cleric, because when people get hurt, there's nothing like a cleric to patch you up!
While in town, and in the recruiting mood, Zazu tries to talk up the new community in taverns, guildhalls, and churches. Looking for and encouraging potential settlers, maybe with some result?
Another untrained Diplomacy check: a 3.
=====
Zazu agrees with Ash. "We should have an eclectic and cosmopolitan town, welcoming to everybody, whether a lover of high places or low."
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Monday October 5th, 2020 9:54:18 PM "I'm used to a Shaman.... namely my mom, but she always said a dedicated holy person puts her healing to shame."
DM Mitch Tuesday October 6th, 2020 8:15:30 AM Niall keeps helping with what needs help
Ash purchases the scrolls of plant growth. She suggests maybe having multiple types of housing not just the tree houses. She also checks on how Mike did with that bear bone given to him. To her surprise she finds a finely crafted bone dagger waiting her.
Lothlo comes back with a bunch or arrows, sling bullets and the materials needed to craft a masterwork sling. He offers his 2 cents on the buildings saying tree houses only are wasted real estate and suggests for now they focus on those first 2 ground level structures and farming
Zazu tries to find a place to buy materials to make some traps but sadly he doesn’t find any. He also starts keeping a close eye on their resettlement funding. He tries to recruit potential settlers but no one seems interested at this time. He voices support for having a more experienced votary cleric of the Culverwood.
Beech states he’s used to having a shaman in his mother but she always said a dedicated holy person put her to shame
By and large you take care of your errands in the Emerald City with mixed results.
Parvati is a little surprised to hear about the desire for underground homes too. She says, “We’ll have to think about that one and build them on the outskirts. If the city proper was to be conventional buildings with canals ringed with treetop buildings I’m not sure where the underground buildings would fit in. I mean the canals should help prevent flooding or at least make us better able to manage the flow of the water but I worry if we put underground homes in the thick of things if we are just asking for trouble.”
More time passes and the two buildings take shape. They really aren’t much, just walls and roofs with beds, small chests, and chamberpots, but they’re shelter and a lot of the townsfolk haven’t slept on anything but the hard ground for years if not their entire lives so it’s greatly appreciated. They’re able to vastly cut down on costs by cutting down a few trees and providing all of their own labor but it still costs about 2000 gold for all the tools and items needed to make and fill the spaces. The food they’ve gathered from the orc tribe and their combats also runs out late in the month and they have to start organizing shipments of food - just the food itself is about 48 gold a day, with another 12 or so to get it shipped down to you. That will add up fast over time, though some quick math proves that if you had no other expenses you could last most of a year on your current funds so it’s not a hugely pressing need.
On the bright side the villagers are eager to get their crafts started up again. Some of the orcs are able to do so without much in the way of extra equipment generating a few silver a day to offset the costs.
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Tuesday October 6th, 2020 12:18:02 PM
As I'm reviewing the scrolls and plants we purchased and preparing to make them into a small jungle a thought pops into my mind. Before we spend all of the city's gold, I have had a thought. When the spiritual person comes to intercede in our behalf with The Culverwood, we should see about arranging a permanent go between. Although it is beyond my ability at the moment, a druid or shaman could cast awaken on a tree to find it sentience. We of course would have to take good care of the tree.
ooc: Does the Wold have any rules about awakened plants and animals?
Cayzle OOC: Some DMs may allow them as free-willed NPCs, but they cannot be cohorts or adventuring companions.
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Tuesday October 6th, 2020 8:36:06 PM "Building cellars in this place, is just asking for trouble, and that goes double for total underground buildings. Now, if we bury a few building above ground level, that's another thing. Since we are planning on digging canals, that will give us a large amount of fill to make use of."
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Tuesday October 6th, 2020 10:16:47 PM "I suppose we need to know the difference between what a highly experienced witch or cleric would bring compared to a less experienced one."
Ash gives Mike a pat on the back and examines the dagger. "Nicely done, my friend. I'll treasure this." She makes sure he has enough things to work on and has all he needs to get them done.
"Hmmm..." Ash gives consideration to the suggestions from Parvati and Beech "I think there is still the opportunity to establish underground areas. I'm talking deep underground, not right near the surface. We need to mine for stone after all. An hour or two of lyre music could build all sorts of mines, tunnels and rooms. We wouldn't need to provide any materials either. Quite the opposite in fact. It would be supplying us with materials! There are also ways to construct them to divert water where we want it to go to avoid them flooding." Ash feels confident that it can be done. "We need to take advantage of all the resources at our disposal. Above ground and below." It's certainly not something to do immediately, but something they could look at doing in the medium to long-term.
The expenses though are still a concern. Ash starts running some numbers. The settlement really needs to become more self-sufficient. Since there are some skilled cooks in the settlement she considers how they could be best utilized:
4 gold per day could go towards: - 80lbs of flour that would make 80 loaves of bread - if the proper ovens and tools were available. - 80 chickens. They could eat half of them and use the other half to start laying eggs. - 80lbs of wheat that could go to all sorts of things.
At the very least while the town is developing, if they are going to be buying meals for 160 people then they should at least look into buying in bulk or seeking out a discount. Ash starts enquiring as to what sort of farms are near-ish to the area. Perhaps they could get supplies direct from the source? They could start building relationships with nearby farmers and establish trade with them.
------------ OOC: I created a tab on the loot tracker to record town/settlement assets. Everyone should have edit access to it, because I am bound to forget things!
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Tuesday October 6th, 2020 10:31:49 PM Did we have any fast growing crops on our list of options that might help us cut down on our reliance on food imported from the bigger cities?
Hmm, and I wonder if the river has good crawfish hiding in it.
Lothlo goes to where some of the villagers are starting to do their crafting again and looks for a basket weaver or trap maker who has started their craft again. I want to see if in addition to fishing we it is worth trying to catch crawfish. I was wondering if you could build me a trap, I'm thinking something like this. Lothlo describes a simple trap similar to a small lobster trap that he can put in different places in the river to see if there is a good location to catch crawfish.
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) d20+10=11 ; d20+10=24 ; d20+10=12 ; d20+10=12 ; Tuesday October 6th, 2020 11:33:44 PM
OOH! Zazu loves the idea of trap fishing, and puts Craft Trapmaking to good use:
11, 24, 12, 12
Hmm ... needs more practice!
Náro (Violet) HP: (15/16) AC: (16) Tuesday October 6th, 2020 11:33:57 PM
'So, we're currently buying most of our food? I agree that we should put more of an emphasis on hunting and agriculture, especially with the cost of the food and that added to any other expenses we might need.' He also says that he's rather impressed with Lothlo's trap; even after having lived out here for a while now, he's still not quite used to acquiring food like this.
'I also like the idea of having some kind of go-between us and the Culverwood, especially as new settlers. And to talking to farmers. If no one objects, I could try and meet local farmers and ask them about their crops,' he suggests.
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Wednesday October 7th, 2020 2:28:56 AM
I nod as I follow along with all the comments about food. I'm just waiting on an intercessor between us and The Culverwood. Even though we are not in The Deep Culverwood, obtaining it's permission or presenting a petition... or what ever in the procedure with divine powers, would be prudent. It might do nothing, but it might bless us it prevent problems in the future. Once that is done all of our plants they can be effected by the plant growth spell will be planted mixed together. The spell will cause the plants to grow and form a ticket and jungle. We will then transplant the plants where they need to go. Then we will repeat the process as necessary. Once that is done the same spell can be used to increase crop production by 33%.
I will also do am additional casting of plant growth after our seeds have have sprouted and grown large enough.
As for the crawfish, children can catch them with a piece of string and a piece of meat, but the traps we be faster. We just need to make sure we don't fish them out.
Note that the aspect of the spell that creates a spell effects natural vegetation such as grasses, briars, bushes, creepers, thistles, trees, vines, and so on. Crops were picked and will be planted accordingly. Several vine plants were chosen for use in hanging gardens.
As for the crawfish, I have many memories of catching them with just a piece of yarn and some bologna.
DM Mitch Wednesday October 7th, 2020 8:56:01 AM Naithi continues gathering the plants and scrolls. She has a thought that a permanent go-between between the settlement and the wood could be established; perhaps an awakened tree.
Beech suggests that building cellars is asking for trouble, suggesting burying buildings at ground level instead to make use of the fill from the canals.
Ash questions what the difference is between an experienced cleric or bloodwitch and a less experienced one.
She thanks Mike for the bone dagger.
With respect to Beech and Parvati’s comments on building underground she argues they have opportunities for building deep underground as they need to mine for stone. She argues that using the loot for a bit will give them all kind of underground rooms and materials too.
She takes stock of the food situation with some of the options of what they can buy and wonders if the price can be reduced through buying in bulk or seeking a discount. She also wants to find any farms near-ish to the area.
Lothlo suggests adding fast growing crops to the list and tries to check the river for crawdads.
He looks for a basket weaver or trap making to help build a trap.
Zazu loves the idea of trap fishing and tries to build one. His first attempt fails but his second attempt produces a tiny crawfish trap. (OOC: can hold 5 crawfish; costs 4 gold 8 silver full price; DC 20 craft trap or basket weaking ) Additional attempts fail too
Náro agrees with the idea of focusing on hunting and agriculture as well as the idea of some sort of go-between and reaching out to farmers.
Naithi is waiting for an intercessor between themselves and the Culverwood before following through on their plans with their plants and spell. She also suggests having the children catch crawfish with string and pieces of meat.
Wyrran Valar, the bloodwitch trying to help you get a votary cleric or a bloodwitch of the Culverwood for your settlement says, “Well a more junior cleric or bloodwitch won’t be able to do some of the things a more senior one can but will likely be more energetic and enthusiastic in working with your settlement. A younger cleric or bloodwitch could grow with your settlement maturing into a pillar of the community, eventually. We’d probably be able to put our feelers out and get at least a few volunteers if you want a more junior member of our faithful.
As for a more experienced bloodwitch or cleric, well they could do more things than a junior cleric but they might not be the most enthused. We might not be able to find volunteers and so the member we send will likely be assigned your settlement as an order by us instead of volunteering. Depending on how well they liked their previous assignment and how different your settlement is there might be a period of adjustment. Additionally a more experienced member is closer to retirement, naturally, so if you wish to keep a member of our faithful among your people they may need to be replaced sooner. A younger cleric or bloodwitch would hopefully have enough time in their tenure to recruit their replacement from among your people and train that person themselves, whereas a more experienced one might or might not be able to do this. It is possible that they would start training their replacement but the training is unfinished and we would have to send someone to complete their training or send for your person to finish training with us while we send an interim replacement in the meantime. I’m not sure what kind of religious folk your settlement already has but a more junior member might be more open to working with people of other religions. Depending on which senior votary cleric or bloodwitch we send they may be more difficult for members of other faiths to work with.”
You also get your letter reply from Greenmage Nelly asking when it is convenient for her to stop by your settlement. She’ll probably be able to help with your food problem.
While there are certainly cooks in the group the problem is cooking for large groups of people with the raw materials. On the plains the orcs mostly cooked for themselves in small groups, but that involved dozens of campfires in a sprawling area and simple foods like fruit and raw meat. Not only do most people not have the skill to turn flour into good bread, that many fires would be dangerous in the forest where you can’t just clear away the nearby brush. The master cooks you do have are perfectly capable of food en mass with the proper facilities, which you don’t have. One could be set up in a few weeks large enough to cook for the entire group.
Investigating farms nearby doesn’t prove fruitful. You’re pretty far out and most farms are on the other side of the main highway. Farther than the city that's for sure.
Training the locust finally sees success. It still likes to try to eat everything it can get it’s mandibles on, but it stops attacking anyone it sees and knows some tricks. Further training can help give it a defined roll.
DM Mitch Wednesday October 7th, 2020 8:58:06 AM
With some skilled bartering you might be able to reduce the cost to 50g a day to feed everyone. Food is generally a low profit endeavor, so you can't really get a huge discount - a half dozen coper or so per meal that still adds up across 160 meals.
Once the pros and cons are explained, Zazu is in favor of a younger, less experienced volunteer cleric. "We want someone who WANTS to be here, who is excited to help us make a good place."
Heartened by getting one good trap made, Zazu keeps on trying until there are at least nine more good ones. Craft checks: 15 tries, 9 successes, removing total 50 gp from personal wealth. Zazu works with whoever is fishing the river to find someone responsible for setting, harvesting, and checking traps every day.
Zazu congratulates Naithi on training Buggo. "Now we just need someone to ride it and be our scout and messenger. Maybe a couple people, maybe gnomes or halflings. And we should have a Ring of Feather Falling for the pilots to wear when on duty. I'm not good with people. Hmmm ..."
"Náro, people like you, and you have a nice face. Come with me and we can try to recruit a couple pilots to train to fly Buggo, OK?"
"If we get pilots, can we agree to buy that Ring of Feather Fall, either out of community funds or we can all chip in a few hundred gold each?"
"Unless anyone else has a better idea on how to use Buggo?"
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 d20+10=11 ; d20+11=15 ; d20=12 ; d20=13 ; d20=19 ; d20=19 ; d20+8=12 ; d20+8=9 ; d20+8=11 ; d20=20 ; Wednesday October 7th, 2020 7:28:41 PM
As plans are discussed I experiment with making an oven, keeping an eye on the weather, training Buggo.
Carefully I climb onto Buggo's back to see how the training is going. As we move slowly, sometime doing a couple inches off the ground, I pass by my first attempt at a communal oven and cooking pit. It's nothing more than a large clay slab to act like a skillet or flat grill with several domed areas for ovens. Although it can be heated by wood underneath, I am currently heating it with a Rose's Temperature Control.
Survival to determine weather = 11 Survival check to build it design an oven = 15 (10 needed to forage and arrived e food. I have no idea what to roll for this) Handle animal to improve attitude= 22,28,28 (If it's charism if under 27 it should now be the friendlies, most helpful category) Handle animal at two weeks to train buggo as a mount = 28 Ride = 12,9,11 ( I hope he is well trained enough by now) Craft leather to make Buggo's saddle = 20
ooc: I thought I read in an earlier post the orcs used a communal fire pit.
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) Wednesday October 7th, 2020 7:31:20 PM
Zazu watches Naithi training the dire locust. "Look Boyo, he even has a built-in saddle right between his head and his wings! Buggo is almost as cute as you are!"
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Wednesday October 7th, 2020 10:04:12 PM
Lothlo is impressed with Zazu's traps. That was some pretty impressive work. Let's put one or two up river a little ways, four close to camp, and four down river. They are bottom feeders, so I'm guessing we will have better luck finding them where they have started finding scraps from when we wash our cooking pots and clean our fish.
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Wednesday October 7th, 2020 11:15:46 PM "We could probably string a fishing net across the river too and then walk another net to it from either side, I wouldn't do that more than once a week or so.... we don't want to deplete the fish too much.
Oh, I had an idea on the bridge too.... it'll take a while to build it, but we already know that. Here's my latest idea.... String a rope across, with 2 other ropes tied to it, We want the middle of the bridge prolly 15' above the river. So 30' from the shore on both side is where the ropes are tied. We tie them off to the tree we are using as the base so they are tight across, then tighten the main rope to the bottom. We then use the shape wood spell on the live saplings ri graft to the main tree, using the ropes as guides until we make the trees graft together in the middle above the river. We do this for both sides of the bridge, then grafting more live wood we make a base , and eventually with enough castings it'll be thick enough to carry loaded wagons with draft animals back and forth."
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Wednesday October 7th, 2020 11:54:24 PM
Ash grins at the discussion of the bridge as an idea pops into her head "Do you think there'd be any way to make it movable, a bit like a draw bridge? We could raise it when larger boats need to pass through or if we see trouble coming." Obviously the first goal is to get a bridge - any kind of bridge - up and running quickly. After that it can be gradually improved upon. Doesn't hurt to have a long term goal though!
She'll work with Naithi on trying to get some bigger scale, primitive ovens going. With some hot plates they could start using flour to make pancakes, or even just make damper using the fire pits.
Like Zazu, Ash is absolutely in favor of bringing in a cleric or bloodwitch who actually wants to be a part of the community.
------ Knowl Engineering: 20 - to help get some rudimentary ovens going
Zazu (AC14, HP11/18) and Boyo the bunny (AC16, HP8/9) (Cayzle) Thursday October 8th, 2020 1:22:10 AM
"Ash, I'm all for diversity in our community, but are you sure about dhampirs? Why does it matter if they are using fire pits?"
Niall (JonL) HP: 22/36 AC: 17/11/16 Thursday October 8th, 2020 8:53:02 AM
"I am not sure that the bug is a cute as the bunny" Niall opines.
Naithi (JamesD) AC: 19/14/17 HP: 22/23 , CMD = 16 Thursday October 8th, 2020 8:56:23 AM He would be cuter with some fur, but just look at his cute black shining eyes. Let's call him skekGree De Buggo. Buggo or Gree for about.
DM Mitch Thursday October 8th, 2020 9:08:16 AM Zazu is in favor of a younger less experienced volunteer Culverwood faithful. Zazu is heartened by creating one trap and works to create 9 more. It takes him 8 days to get the traps made. He manages to make at least one trap each day. On the third day he makes 2 traps and on the fifth day he makes none as both attempts fail. Zazu tries to recruit Náro to help them find volunteer Buggo pilots among the community gnome or halfling population and suggests purchasing a ring of featherfall from the community funds to help their volunteers
Naithi experiments with making an oven, keeping an eye on the weather and training Buggo. Naithi carefully climbs onto Buggo’s back and experiments with a test flight.
Her first attempt at an oven is a large clay slab she heats with Rose’s Temperature control.
Naithi fails to predict the weather. Naithi’s attempts with Buggo go well. She attempts to train the insect to be able to carry a mount
Zazu remarks that Buggo is almost as cute as Boyo
Lothlo is impressed with Zazu’s traps and suggests placing on or 2 upriver, 4 close to camp and 4 downriver. He theorizes that they’ll have good luck finding the crawfish if the traps are in the path of where they wash their cooking scraps.
Beech suggests net fishing the river once a week or so they don’t deplete the river but still supplement their food supply. He also offers another idea on how to make a living bridge.
Ash grins about the discussion on the bridge and asks if there might be a way to make the living bridge movable like a drawbridge.
She works with Naithi on trying to upscale the primitive ovens so they can make pancakes. She also suggests they could build damper now using the firepits. She is able to improve upon the design that Naithi had with her knowledge of engineering.
Like Zazu she is also in favor of bringing in a cleric or bloodwitch that wants to be there.
Zazu makes a joke about Dhampirs using fire pits in regards to her damper suggestion.
You still have the correspondence with Nelly waiting for you to say the word on when you’d like her to visit.
More time passes and the group works to improve their surroundings...
Beech (JohnC) AC 14(18)/14/14,HP 16/16, Character Thursday October 8th, 2020 9:31:06 PM
Beech runs the ropes across the river and adjusts them until he thinks they are right, not too steep, enough room below to pass and runs a second set about 3 feet above the first and then asks for comments. "The upper set, are where the sides will top out for safety. With woodshape we can make it fancy after we get the foundation shaping done and we start using it. As to a draw bridge, I don't know haw we can do that out of living wood. I am open to suggestions though."
Lothlo (WillD) -- AC: 19/15/14, HP: 27/28, CMD: 20 (+1 save against fear and +1 to attack/damage.) Thursday October 8th, 2020 10:09:05 PM I'm pretty sure for a river this size we don't need to worry about over fishing or depleting the fish supply unless we start a massive commercial fishing enterprise. We may seem like a huge group, but compared to this river we are but a spec, and cities have been built on rivers for thousands of years because they can provide large amounts of food. But there are other established settlements on the river, I'll send a letter with the next supply wagon asking if this is correct. Even if there is plenty, they may have good advice like something we can plant to keep the water clean provide shade to increase the fish population .
Ash (RobC) -- AC 12/12/10 -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Friday October 9th, 2020 2:01:13 AM
Ash's imagination starts to get the better of her. "Imagine if we had some really big awakened trees that could lower their branches to make a bridge when needed. Like, real living bridges!" She hasn't thought any of the details through, and again, it's not a short term plan. "Or we could even have animated colossal sized constructs for bridges!". Perhaps the lack of good food is making her a little loopy? Nice to dream though.
She'd almost forgotten the token from Nelly! During one of the stops to the Emerald City, Ash will see if she can get hold of Delilah. Delilah seemed to be familiar with Nelly and would likely know how to deliver the token.
"So what's the plans for the Plant Growth, Naithi? How can I help?"
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