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[A Thing]

In preparation for the inevitable I want another bro/sis named Pyrrhus. Ideally as a deserter but others backgrounds are fine too. 

[Mephansteras]

Spoiler: So, about that job (click to show/hide)

Right. 150 crowns to take a package down to Seefeld. We can do that. We're armed couriers extraordinaire, apparently!


Might as well pop into Tiefenburg on our way down, see what's up there.


Oh, and am I glad we did. That's a great price on a very good suit of armor this early in the game. We have to fix it up a bit, but that's easy. We'll have to sell our Hand Axe to get it, which is a shame since that's an excellent weapon, but it's worth it. Especially weapons are much easier to get as loot than armor.


Since two-handed wielders are in the most danger, and need the least fatigue early game, we give it to Silmann. He needs a much better helm, but at least he can survive a few hits to the body now.


Oh, yeah, this is Tiefenburg. Good place for gear later on. And a Kennel, which will be very good to know about when we have the money to spend on war dogs.


Nice easy trip, and we get a payday.

I should note that cargo missions are generally fairly easy, but there is the chance of another mercenary company being paid to hijack the item from us. If that happens, we'll have to either give it up or fight, a decision we'll make depending on how well geared and leveled we are if/when it happens.




Hmm, tempting, but probably just a bit harder than we are ready for quite yet. We'll pass.


Let's go see if Siegau has anything for us.

Spoiler: Wandering Sellswords, wandering (click to show/hide)

Not a whole lot here, but they do have a job at least.




Back to Heuland, I suppose. We really are armed couriers.


Not too far of a trip for nice pay, at least.


A boring journey. Just how I like it.

Well...unless we can jump in on a fight against bandits with a patrol unit. Those are even better.

No such luck this time, however.


Well, no new jobs here so we'll have to move on. I guess back east might have new jobs by now.


Looks like someone had an exciting day around here.


Looks lively enough. Let's check out that job.




What's that? You need cargo taken to a nearby town?

Yeah, we can do that.


Should be fairly easy, at least.


Yes, yes it was.


Another day, another job to look at.




Oh, now that's what I'm looking for! Should be quite doable and give us the good possibility of some loot.


Let's prove we can do more than just act as a well armed post office!

Spoiler: Bloody blades (click to show/hide)

We arrive at night, so we'll wait for dawn before attacking. They don't have any archers, so we'd only be handicapping ourselves in a night attack.


To battle!


Hmm, not great terrain for us, but not terrible. Our goal for this fight is to slice our way through the thugs as quickly as possible and try to get that armor off that bottom raider intact.


Our archers get in a good hit or two on a thug as we close.

We make contact near the dead tree. Birdvig is going to hold off the guy to the north and Borther Kaos will swing around the south and try to hit them from behind. He also takes the high ground to keep them from getting it and uses spearwall to try and funnel the thugs into our main line. (He? She? "Brother" Kaos is actually a woman with a fake beard, apparently).


A fantastic turn leaves two bandits dead and all of the thugs routing after only two rounds of combat.

Really glad I moved Kaos around. They not only helped break the enemy but are now in a position to actually run down a few of them as they try to flee.


With the Thugs all fleeing or dead we turn our full attention to the Raider. He's not wearing a helm, and flails have a special attack that has a 100% chance to hit the head if you do hit. So...it goes poorly for him as we have two flail users on our line.

The thugs trying to flee are stabbed by Birdvig and Kaos, respectively. Two kills for Kaos on those two they run down, so nice job there!


Only a very minor hit on Thora and a nice spread of kills around the team. Excellent work, everyone!


And a fantastic selection of loot to be had! We're in pretty good shape now, and can probably start taking on harder combat missions.

And once we sell that ring, we should have more than enough money to add some more soldiers to the roster.

Spoiler: Aftermath (click to show/hide)

Quite a few levels gained after that fight. These three all get Recover, as they don't have it and are on the shield line.



Gernot gets Pathfinder. Probably go for Recover on him for his next level-up, since multi-shot archers use up a lot of fatigue.


Our current party status. I put the mail on Breeze since he's got the good fail, and will therefore be going up against Raiders more of than anyone else. Also, he earned it by smashing the skull in of the guy who had it before him.


And a nice fat paycheck waiting for us back in town.

Feels good to be successful!


Not too shabby. We've got almost 900 crowns on us and some loot to sell. Our supply situation is decent, but we need more tools. Especially with all the stuff we looted and need to finish fixing up to sell.

So I think the next step is to see about resupplying and getting some more troops to fill out the Company. Maybe head back west to see what jobs they have. And if that 600 crown grave robber mission is still there, maybe give it a try. I think we can do it now that we've got more levels and some better equipment.


Of course, if you guys have any particular suggestions or requests I'm happy to hear them.

[Rince Wind]

Sweet, the armor looks better on me anyway.

[Darkening Kaos]

     Stab-stab-stabbity-stab … … …… Is there a better weapon to stab with?

    And maybe we should have called our company "Toll Express".

[EuchreJack]

Its probably obvious, but some equipment isn't worth fixing.  Each tool is worth roughly 10 gold, and most level-one gear (knives, wooden clubs, etc) sells for less than that.  Everything else may be worth fixing, but only if tools are modestly-priced.

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, I generally don't bother fixing most of the really cheap stuff unless I think we're going to use it (like knives until we start having more proper daggers to go around).

[EuchreJack]

I'm curious what people usually do with the characters that get severe permanent injuries.  As these characters level, they'll end up costing more than raw recruits with lower stats.

Generally, I put them on the shield line with a shield, cheap weapon, and clothes.  Their existence problem tends to work itself out, and I get some utility out of them.

[Mephansteras]

For me it depends on the character and what kind of injury. A number of them are more annoying than career ending. Some are bad regardless and result in dismissal or suicide, many are ok for back line characters so they either transition to the back or I ignore it if they are already there.

For this run whoever's taken the character can decide what we do if it becomes an issue.

Going to see if I can get some game time in this evening or tomorrow evening.

[Mephansteras]

Spoiler: Back to business (click to show/hide)

We're rather low on tools, so getting more is my next priority.

Fortunately, there is a nearby fortress with a workshop that should give us decent prices.


Not a great price, but it'll have to do for now. And we can get an ok price for that signet ring, which'll offset the cost of the tools.


With that taken care of, it's time to find more work.


Archer Sigmund seems to have found a different sort of 'work' in mind. Well, good for him, I suppose.




We go and talk with the locals to see what real work might be available for the company.

Well, good pay for this, but would it be worth it?


No. No it would not.


However, there are dyes here we could take to trade. Not an amazing price, but low enough to make a profit in a trade city, at least.


Seestadt should give us decent prices for them.

Spoiler: Walking for Crowns (click to show/hide)

Nice profit on that! We really need to build up some more capital so we can do more of these at a time.


Two jobs here, potentially easy ones. Let's see what they have to offer.





Ok, caravan back where we were. Not bad, we could get more dyes there. But we don't have enough capital to really do much with that yet.

Let's check the other before deciding.




Cargo is better than caravans, and the payment is almost identical between the two.

Let's look at the map.


Little bit closer, and a good bit safer than a caravan job. Ok, we're going to Siegau.

Spoiler: Merc Life (click to show/hide)

Well, that pays for our daily expenses at least. Hopefully we'll have some better work available here.


Hmm, looks like an easy job and terrified villagers, so maybe a decent paying job this time that involves our swords more than our boots.




Ok, this looks doable. Probably a little dangerous, but with 9 soldiers we should be ok.


Well, off south we go.


Ok. Graveyard fight, so could be zombies, or undead ghoul monkey things, or bandits. So...basically be ready for anything.

Not that we have a lot of backup loadouts in any case.


Iiiiiiit's zombies. Ok, that shouldn't be too bad. They can spontaneously come back from the dead unless you cut the heads off, but otherwise they're pretty slow and not all that dangerous on their own.

We can do this.

Spoiler: Back in the ground, rotters! (click to show/hide)

Swords out, folks, we have work to do.


Not great terrain, but not bad.


We'll use spear walls to try and funnel them towards the center where our troops on the high ground can get them easier.

In the meantime...we wait.


Our archers do their thing, getting some nice shots in on the zombies while we hold the line.


Contact!

Our center troops smashed one of them, but Birdvig failed his spear walling and is getting surrounded. That's...not good.

Also, the zombie our archers took down got back up. Which is annoying but probably not a problem.


Another enemy falls, but the more heavily armored will be hitting our line soon. It'll be tough to safely get help up to Birdvig, so we'll just have to have him turtle up and hope he survives a few rounds.


It's a slow round, with shots on both sides. The armored ones are a bit harder to take out quickly.


Birdvig is taking some nasty hits. We'll need to swing troops up to help him as soon as possible.


The center seems fine, so we'll swing up the right flank to let them take the rest while our center troops can move up to help the left flank.


Unfortunately, a few zombies rise back up along the line. We smash them back down, but we can't get to Birdvig in time and he falls. If we're lucky, he's just down and not dead.


They keep popping back up and we keep putting them back down. We just need to get all of them down in a single round to win.


Almost there. We just need them to stop reviving for a round.


Last one. Let's finish this!


Birdvig lives! He'll have a permanent injury, but he's alive.


Well, not a lot of loot, but that's a nice helm at least.

Spoiler: Aftermath (click to show/hide)

Well, Birdvig is alive, but that's one of the nastier injuries to be left with. You can't fight well and you can't defend well. If he sticks around, it's basically just a question of how long until he dies.

birdy51, it's your call. We can have Birdvig stick around and take on a distraction role until death catches him, or he can get an honorable discharge and I'll put you on the waiting list for Birdvig II.


Silmann is going for a Skirmisher role, so we give him quick draw. It'll let him use all those gadgets quickly, and lets him fit whatever role we need him in at the time.



Thora levels up, and I decide to try out Crippling Strikes on her. See how well that does with the flail at causing more injuries to her opponents.


Brother Kaos levels up, and we give them Recover as that's necessary for the shield line.


And back to town for a decent payday. We'll need to see about getting some more troops soon, especially as I doubt Birdvig will be with us for long regardless of whether he chooses to stay on.

[birdy51]

Tis but a flesh wound! Broken bones will not stop Birdvig's ascension to Brohalla!

Or at least that's what I would say. If Birdvig is handier being discharged, don't hesitate to break the poor man's pride and move on to a better, brighter candidate.  Otherwise, I look forward to seeing him die with honor.

[EuchreJack]

Tis but a flesh wound! Broken bones will not stop Birdvig's ascension to Brohalla!

Or at least that's what I would say. If Birdvig is handier being discharged, don't hesitate to break the poor man's pride and move on to a better, brighter candidate.  Otherwise, I look forward to seeing him die with honor.

Wait a second, why not make him the Sarge?  He can cheer on the more able-bodied, and occasionally poke with the standard.

[Mephansteras]

Not a terrible idea, actually. He does have pretty decent Resolve.

[birdy51]

Well, I was expecting an early retirement/death, but I would be down for that if you think it is appropriate.

[NickAragua]

Sorry I gave you a hard time about those arrows earlier, sarge.

[Mephansteras]

Spoiler: Time to Dye (click to show/hide)

First order of business: We have coin and only 9 soldiers. Let's see about adding some more!

A refugee. Cheap, not usually great, but generally not terrible. Perfect!


Well, A Thing wanted a Deserter, but this is pretty close. You ran away from something, anyway.

Solid grunt. Not great, especially with the Superstitious trait, but not bad otherwise.


We have enough crowns that I think we should go up to that Dye town, see if we can do some profitable trading. They may also have jobs for us again by now.


Nope, no new jobs. And that one was bad. Oh, well, not the main reason we came here.


Dyes! We can only afford 3, but that leaves 3 more. If we can get good prices for these, coming back for another run with the remaining 3 will be nice and easy.


And down at Rothsteinfeste we do indeed make a nice profit on each one. Not amazing, mind you, but well worth doing a second trade run of these. Enough to pay our daily wages, at least, which is always nice.

No new jobs here, by the way. Pity.


I notice there are a few more refugees available in Sonstadt. Good to know, though we don't need them right this moment.


Now that our trade adventures are done, let's head back to Seesdadt. Always good to get rep with cities, and they often have multiple jobs so we can get a choice of what to do.

Spoiler: Walking the roads and shipping Dyes (click to show/hide)

Well, one new job available here. The other is a caravan back to Sonstadt, which doesn't pay much but isn't a bad option.

Let's see what this other job is.




Ugh. That's much too far to go. We'll just take the other one back.

First, though, let's see what this city has to offer.


No Juggler, but there is a Historian, which was specifically requested by someone. So...sure.


Uggg. He's bad. Even for a historian he's bad. But, oh, well, they do have some interesting events associated with them, I think.

And he's good at not getting shot by arrows, so maybe we'll move him to the back line at some point if he can get some good melee skill rolls.


Pays our wages back east, if nothing else.


Off we go!



Birdvig! Seriously??

Ugg. I'd whip the drunkard trait off him, but he's already unhappy and would probably leave. So latrine duty it is.


An otherwise uneventful trip.


Hey, they've stocked up on dyes again!


Nice bonus of doing a caravan mission back here, it gives the town 'Well Supplied' which drops the prices of stuff in the market. So our profit should be even better this time.


Almost 100 crown profit per Dye. Not bad at all!

Spoiler: Stocking up on Soldiers (click to show/hide)

Now that we've fattened our war chest a bit, let's finish off that 12 soldier ambition, shall we?

Tailors are generally OK. Pretty average, but they do have a *really* nice event that they can proc so I like to have at least one around.




We'll just snatch up all these refugees. If any of them are terrible, we can get rid of them. Otherwise, we should end with a nice reserve of troops so we can rotate people out as they get injured. At least for Grunts on the front line.



Speaking of terrible, Asthmatic is the worst negative trait in the game. Fatigue is critically important, especially for the front line, and getting 10 back a turn instead of 15 is just untenable.

If he had really good potential as a back-line I'd keep him. But...no. We're better off just sending him away and looking for better troops later.


Seriously? What's with these Refugees that we get two in a row with that trait??

And this one is even worse than the other. Here, have some crowns. Now, leave!


Ok, now that is someone with decent potential! Since Tailors are more expensive I'm glad this one turned out decent. Not the bravest soul, but they'll do.


Ah, good. One of the Refugees is actually a solid pickup!

Might switch him over to a Twohander later on. We'll see what the warband needs. But for now he can be on the shieldline.

Ok, let's see what work is available now.




Hmm...might be a little challenging, but I think with 12 soldiers we can do it. The money is good, and while brigands can be challenging they are our best way of getting better equipment on the cheap.


Heading off in persuit of people with really big footprints.


Ambition success! Better renown will mean better missions and better pay.


Ah, just thugs. Shouldn't be too bad, as they aren't any nastier than we are. And we at least have some ranged attacks.

Kind of wish there was a single raider, though, so we could try to get some good gear. Ah, well. Easy is good!

Spoiler: Thug Life (click to show/hide)

All right, time to smack down some lowlifes.


They have the high ground, but without archers they have no choice but to rush us or we'll just pick them off one by one.


One falls to arrows as they come in. We set ourselves up to take on the charge, with spears ready to repulse them.


The spearwalls do their work well, inflicting great injuries on the thugs as they come in. We move up and strike them down one by one.


And the battle is won almost as soon as it started. Barely a scratch on us, to boot!


Not much in the way of loot, but for such an easy battle I really can't complain. And there are some decent armor upgrades in there for us.


Time to level up and head back to town.

Spoiler: Aftermath (click to show/hide)

Breeze levels up again. Standard grunt stuff, stat-wise.

Since I rely on my Grunts to handle the brunt of front-line work, and often the most dangerous of that work, I like to give them Gifted as their second perk. It boosts their stats faster and can help make up for any deficiencies they started with.


So Breeze levels up yet again, and is starting to get some solid stats. He'll be making excellent use of that flail in the future, I expect!



Sigmund levels up as well, and continues his archer progression.

Bullseye makes it much more likely that he'll actually hit targets hiding behind other enemies or cover.


Our current battle set-up.


500 crowns for a 3-turn battle where we took almost no damage. That's kind of amazing, really.


We resupply, along with picking up the last unit of Dye. We can trade that somewhere on our way.


Speaking of, what do we want to do?

There is that ruin to the south we could probably try to take on now. They generally have decent loot, and sometimes even unique items in them. We'd have to be prepared to flee if the fight is nastier than we can handle, though.


Otherwise, we could head off north to see what jobs they have for us. Or we could go south-east to see what jobs they might have.

One of the next options for an Ambition is going to be 'See the World', so we could start trying to hit all of the settlements we haven't been to yet. Though there are other ambitions we could take, like getting a proper Battle Standard, so that's hardly necessary at this point.

Preferences on what we do next?