REFUGEVILLE

... Of course the Signet would have a ghostly hotline..
Let's avoid attracting more attention than we need to.

1)
>I would rather hold off on building too many new things too fast.
For a simple reason, the more stuff we build and the more people we have int here, the more our camp become visible to any signet scout and monster as a lived in place containing people rather than an abandoned proprety.

Also for now we don't have the resoources to build a brick wall and we canprovivionay hold off building a watchtower when we can just build a ladder and a small wooden paltform on one of the tall tree's branches.
it's like a natural watch tower and it comes pre camoufalged with leaves

with the revelation that our spot is surounded with an almost featurless desert, it's not like it'd be hard to spot anything incomming bigger tan a rabbit.

The construction manuall will come in handy tho, so 'd rather buy it now while it's still cheap (wo know what could happen later...).

If we buy the fishing trap, what is stoping us to use it as a template for building other ourselves with branches ?

2)
>Let's start planning an expedition to recuperate some of those iron ingots, tools and and some oil later.

The invisible guardian is a risk but it seems to be focussed on brring access to the godbox rather than the buildings so our people should be able to detect it by smell and hearing, particulary in wolf form, and avoid it.

They'll need a bag, so yeah buying the leather bag sounds like a good idea. if we can't, clothes or deer skin will do in a pinch.

3)
So to come back to the matter at hand right now, I mostly concur with the people above me with a few additions.
Let's sell two stone axes, I would add one of the three jar of milk and one piece of jerky for nine crumbits too, and buy the contruction manual, two healing bandages, the fishing trap and leather bag.

Those stake traps sound pretty useful against the invisible monster that relies on skewering their opponents with sharp legs. Well… they sound useful anyway though they're just made of branches. Maybe take note of it at least.

Mayhaps ask the gods if they know why Signet hates the sign of courage?

Mayhaps ask the gods if they know why Signet hates the sign of courage?

Nobody knows why the Signet hate the Sigil of Courage. Not even the gods know for certain. There’s even a small religion based on the idea that the Sigil represents an ‘Overgod’, a being even more powerful than deities, and the Signet absolutely despise the Overgod for being a genuine threat. You personally think it’s because the Sigil represents rebellion; note how one line just doesn’t connect with the others. A sign of defiance, perhaps.

So to come back to the matter at hand right now, I mostly concur with the people above me with a few additions.
Let's sell two stone axes, I would add one of the three jar of milk and one piece of jerky for nine crumbits too, and buy the contruction manual, two healing bandages, the fishing trap and leather bag.

Your people sell off two stone axes, along with one jar worth of milk and a piece of beef jerky. They gain 15 crumbits in total. They then purchase two healing bandages, the fishing trap, the leather bag and the book on construction. Now they have 4 crumbits left.

The villagers spend the morning looking for food, making more axes and digging to create more space in the basement. By noon, they’ve completed 4 stone axes, caught 6 rabbits, 6 fish and gained 1 jar of milk. They haven’t managed to find any silver in the river today.

They also finished reading the construction manual. Aside from what Ogot already offered, the manual also taught them how to build:

Blacksmith’s Workshop: Can be used to make metal tools, armor and weapons.
Requires Fire, 30 stones, 5 iron ingots, 1 table, 1 chair.

Laboratory: Necessary for research and testing new inventions.
Requires Fire, 30 Stones, 20 branches, 8 iron ingots.

Explosive Decoy: A person-sized doll that explodes when struck with a blunt or sharp object.
Requires 8 branches, 1 jar of oil, clothing, 1 sparkflower.

Catapult: Artillery capable of throwing heavy objects.
Requires 100 branches, 20 stones.

Stone Tower: A more defensible watch-tower, resistant to fire.
Requires 60 stones.

A stranger and her baby arrive on a crude raft.



None of your villagers understand her language, but she looks like she comes from the Yaranga Tribe. She is visibly distressed.

“Mileta vrakteet! Vrakteet! Yagava!” she screams as she stops her raft and presents her infant to the people of Refugeville. Your wisest members believe she is begging your people to take her child.

Then they see something else approach from the east.



It’s a creation of the Signet. A Galgom. Made of a wretched mix of clay and flesh, this enormous, many-armed creature is able to re-attach severed body parts. Not even removing its head is enough to kill it, though that should blind the creature.

It walks through the river’s water with ease, making use of its long legs. This one is carrying a sack and a massive hammer. It must be in charge of capturing slaves.

Aello the Winged woman in the village shrieks at the sight of the Galgom. A mix of fear and rage. She wants to kill it by dropping stones on it. Half of the village is terrified of the Galgom, and unsure if a fight against it is winnable. The others want to destroy it. They’re tired of the Signet stepping on everyone else. Tired of seeing people taken away.

Kori and Ogot believe it can be beaten. Your people just need the right strategy. The two merchants tell the villagers that the creature’s biggest weakness is that it is easily distracted, and though it can re-assemble itself, it will eventually tire and die of exhaustion if it keeps doing so without rest.

What should the people of Refugeville do?

- Have one group throw stones at the Galgom, while a second group engage it up close!

- Get everyone behind the palisade walls and engage the Galgom with everything they can throw!

- Try to set the Galgom on fire!

- Have everyone hide in the basement.

- Everybody flee in separate directions, and confuse the Galgom!

- Get everyone to aim for the Galgom’s eyes!

- Something else!

>_

Population: 10 out of 18 shelter spaces

Wealth: 4 crumbits

Animals:
1 Dog (Relief)
2 Cows (Bilin, Daina)

Plants:
12 tapioca (sapling)
10 mangould (sapling)

Weapons:
Iron Knife x 1 (4 crumbits)
Stone Axe x 5 (2 crumbits)
Stone Shovel x 1 (2 crumbits)
Steel Hooked Chains x 2 (Equipped by Guards, 8 crumbits each)

Guards:
Two Chain-Hook Users

Merchants:
Kori (Miscellaneous Goods)
Ogot (Building Materials)

Stockpile:
323 branches (1 crumbit for 4 branches)
7 beef jerky (5 crumbits each)
1 deer meat (7 crumbits each)
9 rabbit meat (2 crumbits each)
8 fish meat (2 crumbits each)
2 jar of milk (4 crumbits each)
4 loincloths (1 crumbit each)
191 stones

Buildings:
1 stone house (with basement)
1 shrine
1 palisade

Items:
Leather Bag
2 Treated Bandages
Construction Manual

Blessings:

Devoted Wolfpack: Rimewulf’s followers can transform into wolves at night, granting faster movement, enhanced senses and combat strength.

Arara’s Shade: Your people can endure heat that would normally cause heatstrokes. A common blessing for desert-dwellers and those who wish to endure drought.

Curses:

Marked By The Signet: The Signet will never stop sending scouts.

We'd have 4 teams:

Aello is the most agile and distracting - her job is to fly around the Galgom, pelt it with some stones, but most importantly keep it's attention on her while dodging its attacks.

The second team is our guards with their chain-hooks. While the Galgom is distracted, they'll approach from each side of the river and use their hooks as a bolas to tangle the Galgom's legs - hopefully breaking them off, but at least forcing the creature to trip.

The third team consists of 5 villagers, each armed with a stone axe. In teams of 2-3 they will hack away at any limb that falls within reach once the Galgom falls.

The fourth team is a support role, they will load the raft with stones and bring them closer to the fighting. They can work to resupply Aello, recover any injured, and further distract and damage the Galgom. Their primary objective, however, is to keep the Galgom confused enough to keep from attacking any one member of the village.

If we can bring this thing down, I say we sacrifice it to Arara to get a spirit boost and some nice pottery all at once!

.... For the reccord, independntly of weither we could kill it, fighting this thing directly is a terrible idea.
As we just said, the Signet hate defiance. And if this is the kind of thing they send when they are only vaguely /aware of our existence, do you want to see what they'll start sending when we're categorized as a nuisance, let alone a budging threat ?

Of course we dodn't seem to have a choice, it spotted the village so it has to die somehow.

But... do you no one thing about wolves and human alike share ? They are great endurance runners (Well wolves mostly but we ain't too shabby either). Outrunn that thing till it dies of exhaustion.
Thats a much lower risk strategy,' probably happens quite a few time with these things and shouldn't raise suspicion. If flying woman want to scratch its eyes in the process to make sure it won' capture anyone, Im not opposed to it, though.

Hmm, we can't turn into wolves until nightfall, and I don't think we are prepared to spend a night outside of the village. I don't think an exhaustion plan will work unless we force it to expend the energy to reattach limbs.

We're already marked by the Signet, so we're going to run in into them regardless.

I do like the idea of keeping a safe distance to avoid any risk of casualties.

An important addendum though, is we need to get that thing out of the river. What if it dies there and blocks or taints the water? I would adjust the original plan to say that Aello's first duty is to get it to chase her north of the river.

-----

We should see how it reacts to the symbol of courage. Like, what happens if we inscribe the symbol on its body? Or what happens if we use branches to reconstruct the symbol and force them into one of its limbs? Will it attack itself if it's marked?

Maybe we could have Aello fly, carrying a symbol we've made of branches (one part in each talon) see if that draws its attention, and will it attack a symbol laying on the ground ? "Anyone seen drawing or bearing the symbol will immediately be attacked by the Signet's agents" after all.

I agree with BTP's plan. But maybe start with Aello drawing the sigil away from the village and the river first. Once its back is turned and it is no longer within the river, then we bind its legs.

Actually, you think that drawing a lot of symbols would confuse the Galgom enough to be unsure where to attack first? Then cause further distraction with all the stones and other things?

Lastly, the villagers should at least watch out for any flailing limbs. It's probably better to start with the bound legs rather than the arms else someone gets splatted. Then climb on the giant's back towards areas the arms have limited reach before hacking.

Hmm, we can't turn into wolves until nightfall, and I don't think we are prepared to spend a night outside of the village. I don't think an exhaustion plan will work unless we force it to expend the energy to reattach limbs.

Well I was banking on the fact it can only ersue one person/group of person at a time so by switching and running, we could easily make it run in circles till exhaustion.

But I like Wessolf27 and your idea of using the sign of courage to confuse it.

In fact, simle plan: we coult tie a few branches together to recreate the sign or engrave/paint it quickly on a big wood sign and then have Aello fly around with it in its field of vision to bait it whreever we want...
Away fromt he village,in apit where it could stick one of it's leg, running till it drop...

I agree with BTP's plan. But maybe start with Aello drawing the sigil away from the village and the river first. Once its back is turned and it is no longer within the river, then we bind its legs.

Actually, you think that drawing a lot of symbols would confuse the Galgom enough to be unsure where to attack first? Then cause further distraction with all the stones and other things?

Lastly, the villagers should at least watch out for any flailing limbs. It's probably better to start with the bound legs rather than the arms else someone gets splatted. Then climb on the giant's back towards areas the arms have limited reach before hacking.

The villagers are hit by a stroke of inspiration, and they begin making use of the Sigil of Courage as a weapon. Aello carries a piece of wood with that symbol carved into it, and she grabs the monster’s attention.

The Galgom walks away from the village, clumsily swinging away at the agile Winged Woman. The bravest of your people, the two guards armed with hook-chains, approach the creature’s ankles and attempt to chain them together.

Meanwhile, the other settlers make extra copies of the Sigil of Courage, in the hopes of further confusing the giant. Minutes pass, and the Galgom falls onto the ground with a loud crash. It thrashes around, clearly very upset at its situation.

Your villagers press the advantage and slash away at it. A few bring torches, and manage to set it on fire. The monster screams in agony, until suddenly, it freezes and a melodic voice emanates from inside its head:

“Victory impossible. Failure is not tolerated. Oblivion granted.”

The Galgom explodes, leaving behind pieces of clay and foul-smelling flesh. There is a moment of confusion before your people begin cheering. The Galgom has been destroyed!



Warily, they recover pieces of the giant that had not been burned to ash. They obtain 30 pieces of clay and 20 hunks of meat. After a quick inspection, they determine the meat to be poisonous. Kori mentions they could try extracting the poison with cloth.

The woman from before, of the Yaranga tribe, looks absolutely elated. She is happily holding her infant, sitting with relief on the grass. Nobody needs to speak her language to know exactly how she’s feeling now.

The celebrations are interrupted by the voice of Rimewulf himself.

A loud, piercing howl comes from the sky, and the Earth shudders. A god in the form of a wolf gracefully falls from the sky, and he speaks.

“The Signet grows weaker with every defeat, my friends.”

Your people immediately bow in reverence to him, but he quickly orders them not to. Here he is, a god made flesh. He is much smaller than you imagined.



“The Galgom was born in the Signet’s Pyramid. One of their first creations, and the weakest. Even so, your victory here? It has meaning. It is one of the many signs of their crumbling. I have come down here to grant you a boon, from my very mouth.”

Rimewulf then vomits a Divine Artifact onto the grass.



It smells terrible.

“Here, before you, is the Shrunken Head of Asimuth. He was one of the many spirits who betrayed us when the Signet came to power. Now, his head shall serve us. Whenever an agent of the Signet is able to see Refugeville, the head shall scream. Let no foe come to this village unannounced, for it is under my protection. Strike from your towers, stab them with spears, bite them with your teeth if you must. Resist. Survive. Win.”

Your people offer praises, and some of them beg him to stay in Refugeville.

“Forgive me, O devout, but there are other followers I must watch over. Every moment I spend in this form is another moment I cannot see from above the clouds. I came to you in this form as a mark of my respect and appreciation. For now, farewell, true believers.”

Rimewulf rises back into the sky, your people bowing and chanting praises as he does so. Then, for a moment, Rimewulf looks right at you, and whispers:

“Keep them safe, Guardian Ghost.”

You silently nod, and he disappears into the clouds. However, he continues talking to you.

“Guardian Ghost. This war upon the Signet may last centuries. Are you prepared for that?”

You nod.

“Good. Then I will grant you a boon as well. I will let you choose, for you know your people better than I. I will let you decide how best to help your kin.”

Which Divine Boon will you take?

- Heaven’s Rain: Once per day, you can grow a plant to its adult stage straight from its seed. A tree that takes years to grow can finish in seconds.

- Call of the Wild: Once per day, you can summon an animal of your choosing to appear behind Refugeville’s walls. The animal will never harm your people. Any animal, even fish and insects.

- Iron Mine: A tunnel leading to an iron mine will appear in the basement. This mine does not yet exist, but Rimewulf’s power can make it so.

- Rimewulf’s Sacred Entourage: A pack of Five Sacred Wolves will appear to help the village completing tasks. These wolves do not need food or sleep, but they can be killed by the Signet’s agents.

- Sprite of the Words: Grants understanding of all languages, allowing easier diplomacy when dealing with other tribes or nations.

>_

Population: 12 out of 18 shelter spaces

Wealth: 4 crumbits

Animals:
1 Dog (Relief)
2 Cows (Bilin, Daina)

Plants:
12 tapioca (sapling)
10 mangould (sapling)

Weapons:
Iron Knife x 1 (4 crumbits)
Stone Axe x 5 (2 crumbits)
Stone Shovel x 1 (2 crumbits)
Steel Hooked Chains x 2 (Equipped by Guards, 8 crumbits each)

Guards:
Two Chain-Hook Users

Merchants:
Kori (Miscellaneous Goods)
Ogot (Building Materials)

Stockpile:
323 branches (1 crumbit for 4 branches)
7 beef jerky (5 crumbits each)
1 deer meat (7 crumbits each)
9 rabbit meat (2 crumbits each)
8 fish meat (2 crumbits each)
2 jar of milk (4 crumbits each)
4 loincloths (1 crumbit each)
30 pieces of clay (2 crumbits each)
20 hunks of poisoned meat (No value)
191 stones

Buildings:
1 stone house (with basement)
1 shrine
1 palisade

Items:
Leather Bag
2 Treated Bandages
Construction Manual

Divine Artifacts:

Shrunken Head of Asimuth - Screams when an agent of the Signet sees Refugeville.

Blessings:

Devoted Wolfpack: Rimewulf’s followers can transform into wolves at night, granting faster movement, enhanced senses and combat strength.

Arara’s Shade: Your people can endure heat that would normally cause heatstrokes. A common blessing for desert-dwellers and those who wish to endure drought.

Curses:

Marked By The Signet: The Signet will never stop sending scouts.

Goddamn, but all of those Boons are Really Really Good.


Iron Mine is kind self explanatory. Like, It'd let us start producing much better Armor and weaponry, and let us break into the realm of SCIENCE. However, is there any reason we couldn't start making one of our own from scratch? Like the way I read it, Rimewulf's Offer is basically hey, Here are Some tunnels down to some Iron deposits, Rather than, Hey, Let me make some Hitherto nonexistant Iron Deposits Appear.

Call of the Wild would be useful for farming Meat and, possibly be useful to summon Mounts. Horse, War Elephants. Some Sort Of Super Fast Fish Thing for the purposes of River Exploring and Trading. It depends to what extent we go to control our summonees. Would be Very Good for Farming Sacrifices as well. Could Also potentially create Workers? Like, Summon Gorilla, Send Gorilla to work in the Mines. Or something. This one's usefulness really is quite dependent on how well we get to control our summons. Though, like. SUmmoning a single whale would have us Swimming in food for weeks, So that'd be a weight off our mind. The World's Only Inland Whaling Community. Let us produce a bunch of Oil for the purpose of sacrificing to the Fire Dude Too. This Boon'd Probably be best, Longterm, for trading purposes?

Heaven's Rain would be excellent for the purposes of Food Harvesting and also allow us to very quickly gather Wood. Find a Tree that Offers a Good amount of wood when cut down, then cut one down every day? Super Useful. This'd be handy for both Building and Farming Purposes.

Sacred Entourage is like. Pretty Cool, like Damn. Basically, Five free 'round the clock workers. If we are Able to build our own Iron Mine, then this is definitely the better of the two to take in the long run. Have these guys Work on building it 24/7, then Work it 24/7. (or do other things, obviously, seems a little rude to make these envoys of our God sit in a hole and dig all day, but that's one of the possibilities)

Sprite of the Words is Handy for Diplomacy, Obviously, and would be super useful, longrun, when we're a world power, Banding people together under our banner to take the fight to the Baddies. But, No Reason we can't have our people start Learning Languages. (well there is at the moment, in that we obviously don't have any sort of resources to learn them, but) This Boon is probably the weakest of the lot, honestly, though, again, would be super useful for Trading and expansion. Though, like. Less useful than the ability to create tradegoods out of nothing, Gotta say.


Gunna cast my vote for Call of the Wild, I guess. It seems to be the most Versatile of all of the options, ultimately, and versatility seems key.

The description on the iron mine says that it doesn't exist yet, Rimewulf will make it exist.

I definitely feel like animals, plants, or language would be the most useful. And animals seem like the most fun option. We can get food, assistance with daily tasks, or even defense. The Signet send something particularly dangerous? Summon a tyrannosaurus. (Or some similar large and powerful creature.)

I just read that to mean the, like, physical structures and stuff. Like, "If you don't choose this, then try to dig your own tunnel, You won't actually find the mine, because the infrastructure does not yet exist" Like, A mine being the place where you dig for things, rather than the things you're digging for in and of itself, the boon is gaining a mine, Whole and Complete, Fastfowarding the steps required to build one, rather than making it possible to Mine for iron in the first place. I think.

Honnestly i feel the most powerfull power survival wise is the most (apparently boring one). It's the plant one. Not just because it allows sus to get food but also to multiply any seed we get quickly aand reinstate agriculture. As long as we have one seed, e can ecreate some culturesin a matter of days and weeks. It may not seem much but survival wise, it's kind of a huge deal long term.

Call of the wild could certainly be usefull, nice versatiity but that depends of what kind of animals we can even summon with it or are even int he the region.

Sacres entourage is the safest choice short term. Lots of thngs we can do with these wolves

Tha ability to talk to anyone would be great for comerce and alliances and a big deal but so far, except for the occasional refugees and mrchants, can't say we met any people to talk to.

I'm going to cast my vote for sacred entourage, it's what we will we get the most use of short term, and gamble we might beable to get other divine bons later alongside the line

There's nothing specifying that the animal has to be local to the region, and I don't see why it would be limited like that when 1) the description says "any animal" and 2) summoning an animal that normally lives on the other side of the world isn't really more implausible than bringing a mine into existence or causing near-instantaneous plant growth.

I would guess that the rules we would be held to are "exists on Earth or is a creature that could plausibly exist in the setting" and we won't be vetoed unless we suggest something absurd like "a tiger with rocket boosters".

Or maybe we'd be allowed to do that, it's up to Mayu in the end.

Answering questions for better experience:

The Iron Mine does not exist. There is no iron under Refugeville, unless an actual god intervenes to make it so. Rimewulf has the power to do that. His specialty is dogs and wolves, but he certainly has enough power to turn soil and rocks into iron. Stuff like this is why the Signet being able to beat the crap out of gods is a huge deal.

The 'any animal' clause refers to every single animal. Dinosaurs included. However, please consider that the villagers may not know what the animal is and might mistake it for some kind of monster. No cybernetic implants.

Okay, now that I've caught up on this, I'm on board with the people that're going with Call of the Wild, myself. I can see a lot of potential in it, and even a few good ideas in mind. But, those can wait once we're able to, like... test it out, provided we get it.

Call of the Wild is very enticing.

Questions:
Does "never harm your people" refer to our buildings and livestock as well? Say we summon an elephant but it freaks out and tramples our crops, or a hungry Trex starts munching on our cattle.

Will the animal do our bidding, can we command it directly? Or would a villager have to train it to do a task? (We could spawn a gorilla but I doubt we could expect it to do anything a gorilla wouldn't normally do)

What are the negative reprocussions to animal cruelty? Like, if we summoned a dog and killed it for meat, Rimewulf would probably be upset. Some harsher forms of training could also be abusive to the animal.

-------

If we do choose call of the wild, I think another dog would be appropriate. A lady for Relief. If Rimewulf's caution that this may take centuries is true, we might find ourselves with a few timeskips and watch as generations pass by.

Let's try and extract the poison, but also sacrifice some meat.
Also, can we examine the area outside our territory and see if we can discover why things aren't growing?

Regardless...

We should party! Let's make this a holiday! A huge victory, a visit from a god, this is the perfect recipe for an annual celebration.

I don't believe using the meat is a very good idea... considering the poison in it, and that the meat is both unknown and probably twisted by Signet magic, it's probably not good for any sort of consumption. It's better to just bury it out of bounds, probably.

The shrunken head should probably be kept somewhere, like the top of the building.

As for Rimewulf's boon, I find it hard to decide between Heaven's Rain, Call of the Wild, and Iron Mine. But I would like to offer reasons for why the other two might be useful.

Sprite of Words is also good, especially considering our newest refugee and that since we are still looking for Signet's boxes, it would stand to reason that we might find people, both allies and enemies who would speak in different tongues. But admittedly, it's going to be a while before we can make full use of it. Still, if it can teach all languages, why can't it also teach the written word... or even the language of life? (Mmm... nah, probably not. Still a good exercise to think about)

The Sacred Entourage is also somewhat useful, but we already have enough hands (and paws) to help with the work. So it's not as pressing an importance. (Though if they can shift to human/half-human form, perhaps then I might reconsider.)

But back to the other three. Everyone's already pointed out they're great. Call of the Wild and Heaven's Rain basically means the village won't starve, and that's not counting other uses such as being able to grow stuff like rattan or cotton to create ropes and fabrics (but the best being for growing trees for lumber), or silkworms and sheep to create silk and wool. While Iron Mine means that it would be easier for the village to develop better defenses and implements to push the village bounds further. (Heck, maybe even create specialized weaponry to be used in wolf form)

Still... right now, the best one I can consider is Call of the Wild right now, if only for the fact that one can probably use much of the animal for many things (leather, food, simple weapons, musical instruments... lots) in the least amount of time. Heaven's Rain would be perfect if we could gain access to the Plant Box ASAP though, and Iron Mine won't solve the food problem considering the ever-growing population.

Either way, if the Villagers choose Heaven's Rain, then they should have a Tapioca sapling mature and then harvest the seeds for planting. If the villagers choose Call of the Wild, then the villagers should summon sheep. They should at least summon around six of these sheep, one ram and five ewes, and have them sheared for wool to both use and sell to the merchants.

...Actually, it might be a bit reaching, but would it be possible to use one of the branches to make a tree? If the branch is cut in a certain way, maybe it can still grow into one, so long as the branch isn't dead. If not, perhaps there might be some seeds or flowers on the branches? It might work, right? That way, there's a chance for us to grow trees for lumber! (And if it is possible then definitely go for Heaven's Rain)

Let's look at our options.

The strongest, in the long run is definitely Sprite of the Words. Being able to understand others and coordinate, potentially in a language that the Signet do not understand (developing a secret language that only our own know using this boon could be incredibly powerful). Cons are that it isn't terribly useful know (outside of understanding our guest and perhaps starting an immediate alliance with the village she hails from) and it doesn't actually help our relations with others, simply makes it easier to avoid angering them and keeping the peace. Another downside is that, with time, effort, and patience we'd be able to learn these languages anyway probably.

In the short-term, Sacred Entourage has the most benefit. It increases our productivity by something like 42%. It has diminishing returns as we grow, and who knows what might happen should something befall one of the wolves but it is extremely powerful now.

Call of the Wild can be the most versatile but it can also be the most situational. It is truly on us on how best to use it to guide our people. If the animal stays more than the day and we can specify characteristics of the create (male, female, young, old, etc), then it is really tempting, as we can use it to get breeding pairs of animals over the course of time. If they're transient, random, or otherwise infertile it is less appealing but still useful.

Likewise, Heaven's Rain is extremely potent with proper long-term planning and can be useful for gathering of resources. That being said, wood is only going to be useful for so long and growing a single plant won't feed all that many people. It essentially means that we get a steady trickle of wood or guaranteed food for one person (for now).

Finally Iron Mine feels like it'll jumpstart our ability to grow in the future. To use some meta-terminology, it feels very "mid-game" focused. It doesn't help use immediately but it is immensely useful for a period of time later on, but for the moment we know there is iron to the north near Mosstown because there are ingots in the forge there. Also, Kori's people, being subsurface dwellers, might know of minerals to mine or be able to trade for minerals (which lessens the value of the mine slightly).

> For what it is worth, I feel like we should play the 'long game' here and take Sprite of the Words. It has an immediate, though small, beneficial effect. Gain value over time as opposed to losing it. It lets us recruit others and deal with neighbors more easily.

the thing with call of the wild is that it's only animal at a time so that somewhat limit the value.

Likewise, Heaven's Rain is extremely potent with proper long-term planning and can be useful for gathering of resources. That being said, wood is only going to be useful for so long and growing a single plant won't feed all that many people. It essentially means that we get a steady trickle of wood or guaranteed food for one person (for now).

AI feel you undersell the real benefit of it, tho. namely that an adult plant will genraly produce multiple fruits or seeds. therefore in a few days, from a single seed you can obtain multyiple which can be then used for regular culture.
the real benefit is not just the trickle of food it is pretty much the ability to make a 'plant" bank which eventualy will let conserve and seed .. well pretty much any plant we encounter, eventualy with proper planning. givent he state of the world, it seems actualy a fairly important concern.

I feel it's somewhat more important than call of the wild in that you can have culture without animals (true, the value of animals to regulate pstures and alwo for fertilizer cannot be underestimated) but the otherway around, not so much.

But as i said i'm banking that we might be granted otherboons for other victories in the futur, hance why the choice of the short term vote there.

Personally I'm interested in Heaven's rain.
It's main use would be for agriculture and supplying wood of course, but I think it has potential for other uses.

Such as sabotage. Or a powerful attack. Or even assassination.
Certainly more use to being able to grow a plant from seed to full in seconds than just food and wood.
Throwing a seed up in the air and watching it slam down as a large tree is certainly going to do something to the poor schmucks on the receiving end.

Mind, this assumes the plant doesn't need normal plant things to grow when using Heaven's rain.
...And to a lesser extent, that it doesn't require the seed being in an open area.

AI feel you undersell the real benefit of it, tho. namely that an adult plant will genraly produce multiple fruits or seeds. therefore in a few days, from a single seed you can obtain multyiple which can be then used for regular culture.
the real benefit is not just the trickle of food it is pretty much the ability to make a 'plant" bank which eventualy will let conserve and seed .. well pretty much any plant we encounter, eventualy with proper planning. givent he state of the world, it seems actualy a fairly important concern

Plants need to be fertilized (usually from a partner but some can self-fertilize but it is rare). Wind can account for SOME fertilization, but bees and insects are far more important. To that end, Call of the Wild can be far more useful if agriculture is our aim. The magic may allow a single plant to grow, bloom, and produce seeds but it will likely produce the SAME seed. There would be no change. No passing on of genetics. And it would only work for that time. An apple tree will not produce apples if the blossoms aren't pollinated. So, even planting a fruit tree to grow is limited without the proper ecosystem for it. Almost every edible fruit and vegetable requires fertilization in order to be made. I also undersell the usefulness of Heaven's Rain because our growing area is limited. Call of the Wild is also of limited use for a similar reason, but at least you can kill an animal for more food than a plant.

That being said, they're all useful abilities and we each have our preferences.

Questions:
Does "never harm your people" refer to our buildings and livestock as well? Say we summon an elephant but it freaks out and tramples our crops, or a hungry Trex starts munching on our cattle.

Will the animal do our bidding, can we command it directly? Or would a villager have to train it to do a task? (We could spawn a gorilla but I doubt we could expect it to do anything a gorilla wouldn't normally do)

What are the negative reprocussions to animal cruelty? Like, if we summoned a dog and killed it for meat, Rimewulf would probably be upset. Some harsher forms of training could also be abusive to the animal.

The animal will obey all commands to the best of its ability. Specific characteristics like age and sex can be chosen.

Being cruel to animals for no valid reason pisses off a lot of the pantheon. Rimewulf only allows eating dog meat if the person is starving and there is no other food.

Mind, this assumes the plant doesn't need normal plant things to grow when using Heaven's rain.
...And to a lesser extent, that it doesn't require the seed being in an open area.

The seed will essentially 'explode' into its fully-grown state without the need for water, soil or fertilizer. However, once it reaches that it will need all that to continue living. Throwing a seed into the air and then turning it into a tree to crush whatever's underneath is possible.

Okay well with that in mind I'm all for call of the wild.

Not only can it be any animal, but they are all essentially trained and domesticated. This is incredibly flexible.

Some ideas that come to mind:
Earthworms to help with fertilizing crops and possibly the surrounding area.
A female dog friend for Relief.
A Bear. (Catches fish and is a bear.)
A bird for scouting, or distributing messages.
More rabbits.
River dolphins! To carry us along the river!

Still... right now, the best one I can consider is Call of the Wild

Rimewulf: I bestow upon you, Guardian Ghost, CALL OF THE WILD!

You can now summon an obedient animal once per day.

In the world of the living, there is rain. Lightning strikes the Earth, but there is no heat nor fire. A god has left. Rain has come.



The night falls, and it is still raining. Your people have taken shelter in the basement, dreaming of a good future. A future where they no longer need worry about The Signet.

The eldest shares his tale, his earliest memory of fighting the Signet. He battled a Prism Child, a crystal monster in the form of a baby, deliberately designed to make enemies hesitate. He was with three brothers, each armed with a stone. They crushed the monster before it could throw its sharp crystals, but the pieces that remained continued to make sounds. Baby’s cries.

A month after that, there was a tree, bearing crystal fruits. Right in the same spot. New Prism Children. They burned the tree, and trapped the crystals in stone jars. They still cry out, but they can no longer spread.

The eldest felt some unease at leaving the remains of the Galgom nearby. He was the one who suggested they gather whatever was left, to make sure that they would not grow into a new Galgom. After burning every piece of meat himself, he is certain that it is gone for good.

They then inspect the basement. It is very… uncomfortable down here.



No beds. Occasional worms and moles. They should improve it. Perhaps if-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The Head of Asimuth shrieks! An enemy is within sight? An agent of the Signet? Of course. The Galgom’s death would not have been unnoticed. But did they send agents to avenge, or to clean? The Signet are unpredictable, insane. It is impossible to know for sure without sending someone out.

Asimuth’s head seems to have a side-benefit; if there ARE enemies up there, they cannot hear your people in the basement… though it would certainly draw them closer, if only for curiosity’s sake.

The rain continues, heavy and pounding against the ground.

What should your people do?

- Open the stone house’s door, just enough to peek.

- Hide in the basement, until the head stops screaming.

- Send someone out in wolf-form.

- (Call of the Wild) Summon an animal to do your bidding.

- Move dirt and rocks to block the entrance to the basement.

- Something else?

>_

Population: 12 out of 18 shelter spaces

Wealth: 4 crumbits

Animals:
1 Dog (Relief)
2 Cows (Bilin, Daina)

Plants:
12 tapioca (sapling)
10 mangould (sapling)

Weapons:
Iron Knife x 1 (4 crumbits)
Stone Axe x 5 (2 crumbits)
Stone Shovel x 1 (2 crumbits)
Steel Hooked Chains x 2 (Equipped by Guards, 8 crumbits each)

Guards:
Two Chain-Hook Users

Merchants:
Kori (Miscellaneous Goods)
Ogot (Building Materials)

Stockpile:
323 branches (1 crumbit for 4 branches)
7 beef jerky (5 crumbits each)
1 deer meat (7 crumbits each)
9 rabbit meat (2 crumbits each)
8 fish meat (2 crumbits each)
2 jar of milk (4 crumbits each)
4 loincloths (1 crumbit each)
30 pieces of clay (2 crumbits each)
191 stones

Buildings:
1 stone house (with basement)
1 shrine
1 palisade

Items:
Leather Bag
2 Treated Bandages
Construction Manual

Divine Artifacts:

Shrunken Head of Asimuth - Screams when an agent of the Signet sees Refugeville.

Blessings:

Devoted Wolfpack: Rimewulf’s followers can transform into wolves at night, granting faster movement, enhanced senses and combat strength.

Arara’s Shade: Your people can endure heat that would normally cause heatstrokes. A common blessing for desert-dwellers and those who wish to endure drought.

Call of the Wild: Once per day, you may summon one animal to appear in the village. The animal will always obey your people and never harm them.

Curses:

Marked By The Signet: The Signet will never stop sending scouts.