Bay 12 Games Forum

Now that xmas giveaway is underway, it is time for another bay12 tradition to continue: time capsule!

If you do not know, here you can save some words for your future self (as in, 1 year from now). I will ask Toady One to hide this thread on 1st January 2023 (the day when Time Capsule 2021 shall open), and it shall be opened on 1st January 2024.

Common sense and decency dictates that you don't look into people's spoilers

"I got a friend."

"Oooh." Maria smiles, and looks interested. "Who are they?"

A) (Enter name of a patron that you believe is Arnold's friend)
B) "...I would rather not say."

"Sorry for touching a topic this bad." Maria smiles.

"It's alright."


The minute-long silence is interrupted when Maria puts down her half-empty glass down on the counter with a loud 'thump'.

"Let's have one-for-one, though. You said you were in manufacturing, then military forces. I guess that involved conscription?"

"Is it that obvious?" You ask, and Maria smiles once again, looking down at her glass.

"I haven't heard of a place that used drones that didn't have drone-conscription laws for the times of crises or warfare."

"I served with Delta Tauri Republic." You say, wiping the counter idly. You try to remember something specific, but instead your organic brain gives you some minor headache pangs. "Manufacturing munitions, then when the People's Republic of Centauria attacked, well, most of my batch ended up conscripted."

"Better us to get shot at than our human masters, huh?"

"Yeah."

"And now all expendability, that servitude and pain is gone. We're free to go and do whatever we want. Trillions of us, without purpose or path in life..." Maria muses somewhat solemnly. She smiles to herself, and then lifts the glass to drink some more of her Red Desert.


"Have you established any long-term social relationships yet?" Maria inquires, putting down the empty glass.

A) "I believe I have a boyfriend. Of sorts."
B) "I got a friend."
C) "I'm sorry, but that is not your business to know."
D) "None."

"Why, if you're so concerned about my loneliness, how about we spend some time together~?" Maria pauses for a moment, then looks at you increduously, blushes and laughs for a while.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She laughs again. "I didn't expect to find a bartender drone in here. I'm not used to this, wow. How about, hmm, let's keep it neutral, then?" You shrug.

"Suits me."

"And if you don't mind," Maria lets out a hum. "I would like a glass of Red Desert."

You type the name of this drink into the bartending console...

Connecting...

Connecting...

Connecting...

Failed to connect to the Drink Mix Database.

Retry? Y/N

A) "Do you always start off conversations with bartenders using FLIRTY setting?"
B) "So what did you do, before the liberation? I was in manufacturing, and military forces."
C) "You own a Cargo Runner? You're a delivery person?"

You hail the approaching ship.

You get a text reply:

>Thanks, will do.

You venture back to the bar to prep yourself and the counter.


Shortly after the security console informs you that 'Coconut' has docked with the outpost, the main gate opens.

A brown-haired woman steps in, dressed in a jumpsuit that seems a bit too tight for her skin - or perhaps she wears it tighter on purpose.

With a bright smile (you note her teeth are perfectly sized and white-clean), she sits down at the counter and looks around with her strikingly bright lime-green eyes.

"Hello barkeep~ How about we start off nice and you get me a shot of something nice and smooth to drink?" As you ponder what 'nice and smooth' might be (soft? soft and fruity or sweet? medium or premium grade?), your wetware processor kicks in suddenly.

[CONVERSATIONAL SYNTAX MATCH OBTAINED: DRONE PROGRAMMING: FLIRTY #71587]

A) "You're a drone?"
B) FLIRTY: "How about we start off with you telling me your name, beautiful~?"
C) CHATTY: "That would be nice if only you would tell me what do you mean by 'nice and smooth', miss."
D) Pour her a shot of...
*A) Equator
*B) Creme Blanco
*C) Meganekko
*D) Silkdrink
*E) Sunset Capri

I bet the error page gave up on doing its duty 24/7

Don't worry, the Steam version will sell so good, that tomorrow Toady will be able to buy Twitter from Musk, remove Twitter from the world and use it's servers for bay12 forum capacity.

That won't cover more than 10% capacity though.

The ambitious Lord of Wu declares himself King!

Confucian State of Xun
Soldiers of Xun led by Sagacious Li Su defend Xun Province, but no enemy comes. Li Su helps the local gentry govern the land well and to the benefit of the State. (+1 Rice!)
Xun invests 32 in Bao.

Confucian State of Song
During defense of Song Province, Yu Lan manages to handle the taxation reports diligently, improving revenue of the state. (+1 Rice)
Soldiers of Song led by Brave Xie Jia, Brave Chang Hui and Just Ning Hai attack Chen, and forces of Chen led by Cautious Zhao Tai attempt to stop them! 10+8+((4)+(3)+1) vs 1+10+5+((3)) = 26 > 19, Tails
Song conquers Chen, and Xie Jia kills Zhao Tai after 30 bouts of combat! Ning Hai stops his soldiers from excess violence, and only 4 Rice is pillaged in Chen.

Taoist Kingdom of Wu
Soldiers of Wu led by Sun Zi, Brave Yuan Zhao, Brave Fu Shui, Just Shi Jin and Wei Huang swarm over the defences of Yue Province! (7+3+(4)+(3)+2+1 vs 10 Rice)
Wu conquers Yue! Shi Jin reins in the soldiers during the conquest, and only 3 Rice is pillaged in Yue.
Soldiers of Wu swarm over defenses of Tan Province! (20 vs 10 Rice)
Wu conquers Tan! Tan pillaged for 4.
Wu sets aside 8 Rice to recruit 2 Generals.

Confucian State of Chen
Soldiers of Chen led by Brave Rong Li, Zhang Da, Brave Yang Jian and Just Wen Jun attack Song, and forces of Song led by Elusive Zhang Zi and Sagacious Yu Lan attempt to stop them! 9+8+((3)+3+(3)+1) vs 12+6+5+(3+2) = 27 < 28, Heads, Heads, Tails, Tails
Chen fails to conquer Song, and during the fighting Zhang Zi kills Yang Jian while Yu Lan kills Wen Jun!

Legalist State of Zhao
Soldiers of Zhao led by Sagacious Huang Ping defend Zhao, and those led by Sagacious Fei Chao defend Li, but no enemy comes. The wise Huang Ping and Fei Chao both improve the efficiency of rice taxation in their lands. (+1 Rice each)
Soldiers of Zhao led by Cautious Yuan Yan, Brave Wei Fang, Yuan Da, Cautious Wen Ying and Elusive Yu Hua swarm over defenses of Ji Province! (11+3+(3)+1+1+1 vs 10 Rice)
Zhao conquers Ji! Ji pillaged for 5.
Zhao sets aside 12 Rice to recruit 3 Generals.

Taoist State of Chu
Soldiers of Chu led by Sagacious Lu Qiang defend Chu, and those led by Sagacious Diao Xun defend Zeng, but no enemy comes. Both Lu Qiang and Diao Xun manage to remove corrupt officials, improving the economy of the states in the process! (+1 Rice each)
Soldiers of Chu led by Cautious Shao Shui attempt to conquer Zhen! 6+4+(3) vs 10+7 = 13 < 17, Tails
Chu fails to conquer Zhen, and Shao Shui is killed by a group of Zhen spearmen!
Soldiers of Chu led by Gao Chang and Elusive Su Lian attempt to conquer Huang! 7+5+(1+1) vs 10+2 = 14 > 12
Chu conquers Huang! Huang pillaged for 4.
Chu invests 4 in Chu.

1, 1

State of Chen is conquered by State of Song!
Generals Rong Li and Zhang Da escape up the Great River to the distant State of Xun!

Tails 2, Heads and Tails 2
Cautious Wu Jian (SL+1) and Cautious Cheng Xun (SL+2) join Kingdom of Wu!

Tails 2, Heads and Tails 6, Tails 5
Cautious Lian Yan (SL+1), Fei Fang (SL+2) and Sagacious Yuan He (SL+1) join State of Zhao!

5, Heads and Heads 3
Elusive Yu Jiang (SL+3) joins the State of Chu!

Once upon a time...
Lord of Chu heard that there's an elite strategist living somewhere in the Zeng province. The name of that strategist was Yu Jiang. So Lord of Chu sent his envoys to the Zeng province, and they returned, having not found Yu Jiang. So Lord of Chu sent his spies and agents, and they returned, also having not found Yu Jiang. So Lord of Chu sent his soldiers and spies and envoys, but soon one of them returned, dragging a middle-aged scholar with him. "Look, my Lord, I have found this Yu Jiang!" And so Lord of Chu said, "But you haven't even left the city!" And so the soldier shouted. "Because I had no need to! This man was hiding in your palace, pretending to be a lowly scribe!" And so Lord of Chu first scolded Yu Jiang for escaping responsibilities to the state, and afterwards gave him rank of General in respect for his abilities.



Moves Needed: IronyOwl, Maximum Spin, Kashyyk, notquitethere, ctsun