Experimentation IV: The Golden Age of the Neolithic Artisan (Roll: 10)
Once is luck. Twice is a coincidence. Three times, well, that's a trend. The Baobabi's skill at crafts is abundantly clear even in these early days. Anything the Baobabi have pulled from nature they have been able to bend and shape to their will, not just with ease, but with
style as well. So it goes with the
Clay taken from
Great Baobab. One of the Major Founders
(NUKE9.13 +2I) was quite...creative in his handling of clay, enough so that it inspired the creation of tools for the task and yet another shift in Baobabi society. But we're going to come back to him.
After figuring out they could cook clay beads in an open firepit, one Baobabi craftswoman tried to start a firepit within her home. This went okay at first, but she quickly became overwhelmed by the heat within her domicile. She left to get some water and came back to a burning, well, pit, where her Pit Home once stood. While devastated by the loss of a home, the idea that an enclosed area would keep in the heat of a fire was a
huge discovery for the Baobabi. Knowing clay, unlike wood, could withstand a little bit of fire, an attempt was made at an enclosure constructed of rectangular sun-baked clay bricks. A dome was crafted out of the bricks with a pair of holes at the base on opposing sides. One hole was smaller, and allowed the craftswoman to start a fire and add fuel as needed, and the other hole let the Baobabi load wet clay objects into the kiln. Both holes could be covered by nearby rocks. A small opening at the top worked out in the Baobabi's favor, allowing smoke to escape from the kiln. Of course, smoke was also escaping from all the spaces in between the bricks, so a thick layer of clay and mud was slathered across the entire structure. After seeing amazing success in the volume of clay works the craftswoman was pouring out, other villagers took inspiration from her and constructed their own kilns, and eventually they were making them out of fired bricks made in other kilns. These fired bricks were brittle but sturdy, and there were sure to be plenty of uses for this building block. The Baobabi villages marked their first step into industrial work with the smoke of the kilns rising above their homes.
New Technology: Kiln-fired Bricks (Clay bricks baked at high temperature. Sturdy, brittle material. Can be used in new advancements at an appropriate
Clay cost. Requires a funded kiln-like technology)
New Technology: Brick Kilns (Allows refinement of various materials thanks to high heat. Requires
1 Clay Upkeep)
The Founder who'd been shaping clay by hand was struck by assistant-fueled inspiration (which is to say, took all the credit for their idea) and utilized a flat cutout of a tree trunk balanced on a round-top stone. Once centered and balanced correctly in a divot in the wood, one craftsman would mold the clay while another kept the wheel rotating at a relatively consistent speed. Using two moistened hands and a spinning mound of clay a craftsman could fairly quickly create rounded objects. Some of the first things spun on the wooden wheel were wide, flat-bottomed, narrow-necked pots, so it became known as the Potter's Wheel. The potter's wheel, much like the kiln, greatly increased the speed and efficiency with which clay objects could be constructed. With less time needed for every aspect of pottery, craftspeople of the Baobab decided quality would be their focus over quantity (although increased quantity still very much happened). Sticks and stones were used to impress shapes onto clay objects, and "glazing" rapidly developed as wood ash from the kilns occasionally modified the clay products within. This became a more regular practice after the cause of glazing was discovered thanks to the appeal of the earthy green and deep brown color the glaze left on the clay. A wash was made of ash and water and applied prior to firing via a brush of wildebeest hairs bound by a string and allowed craftsfolk the ability to apply their own desired amount of glaze to specific parts of their crafts. Overall, Baobabi Pottery was extremely intricate and beautiful for the time.
New Technology: Potter's Wheel (Increases quality and quantity of clay handcrafts. Proves a wheel shape can actually be useful)
New Technology: Baobabi Pottery (A
preem premium trade good unique to the Baobabi. Requires access to
Clay and a funded kiln-like technology)
Baobabi pottery wasn't just used for decoration and showing off, however. Baobabi villagers had adopted them for food storage and could close the pots with a piece of wildebeest hide cinched closed around the neck with a thick string. This meant a heavily reduced reliance on the environment for survival overall, even if portions were being removed from village stores for personal keeping.
New Technology: Food Pots (Decreases Baobabi reliability on the land for food and keeps food safer, allowing them to expand further. +1 Range to All Settlement Borders. Requires
1 Food Upkeep and a funded pottery technology)
A curious Baobabi adolescent stole away with a pot one day and swore to his friends he would do the impossible - he would catch The Guiding Smoke. He told his friends and one day they all managed to sneak off to a Fumic Vent. The boy stood at the edge of the fuming hole shaking with excitement, anticipation, and a lot of fear. What would happen once he tried to catch the smoke? Would it break the pot? Would he get lifted off into the sky as long as he held on? He shot his arms outward holding an upturned pot, and felt...very little. The fumes billowed into and around his arms as he stepped back and tipped the vessel for his friends to see. A small puff of fumes leaked out and rose northward. They hastily secured some wildebeest hide over the mouth and ran back home to show everyone what they'd done.
Afraid at first of the potential harm the boy could have caused, eventually when the sky did not fall the adults of the village conceded that the child had a bold and brilliant idea they could put to use. The tribe began collecting Magnetofumes in pots and could utilize them to find their way anywhere they went with one. These Way-Finding Pots proved to be immensely useful for those that traveled afar, allowing them to correctly identify their heading and greatly reduce the chances of getting lost.
New Technology: Way-Finding Pots (Stores
Magnetofumes that can be leaked out to see which way is north. +1 Exploration Range. Requires
1 Magnetofumes Upkeep and a funded pottery technology)
With an abundance of new crafts and creations, the small amount of trade that occurred between villagers who desired things from one another blossomed. People began to trade goods and services with great regularity. While bartering was nothing new to the Baobabi, it was becoming a way of life for them. Everything you did had value, and everything you needed had value, so it only made sense to figure out what different parties wanted in order find a mutually agreeable value to benefit the whole. If for some reason they'd have to interact with an outside force, this would surely be a solid foundation for diplomacy and inter-civilization trade.
New Technology: Bartering (A means of trade that can provide opportunities for interaction with external forces)
With the passing of a new age during this turn cycle (right at the end in the experiment phase,
AGAIN, don't know if you're aware)
the three Major Founders gain 1 Prestige. Yes that was copied and pasted from the last one.
Unlike last time, the
Major Founders are due for a shake-up! Representing the last of the three original Major Founders standing at the top,
m1895 has lost his position to Quarque after having his Influence surpassed. What will the future bring the People of The Baobab?
It is now the Exploration Phase. Remember that you can either choose to explore up to four connected areas (thanks to Waterskins, Pack Wildebeest, and Way-Finding Pots) or propose new equipment or technology that would facilitate improved exploration in some way. You may also choose to explore specific points of interest for more details on them (like the
cringe hole Cave Hole). Note that until Way-Finding Pots are funded, this is the only turn in which you will benefit from them.
GM Note: Before anyone asks, if Russia can claim control over land it's got no capacity to hold, so can you.
Improved Stone Tools: Provides durable tools for basic tasks, doubling Wood and Stone Exploitation, requires access to Stone, Wood, Textile.
-Stone Spear: Allows Exploitation of larger beasts for Food, requires access to Stone.
Bolas: Stones bound by rope used to ensnare and capture or cripple prey at range, requires access to Stone and costs 1 Textile in upkeep.
Baobabi Longbow: A composite recurved bow around 175-180cm long. Powerful and relatively silent. A weapon ahead of its time. Requires access to Textile and a Medium+ Animal Resource and costs 1 Wood upkeep.
-Stone Arrows: Stone arrows with wooden shafts and feather fletching. Effective. Requires access to Wood, costs 1 Stone in upkeep.
Primitive Rope: Dried, braided reeds that let the tribe secure and bundle objects. Allows for Wood Exploitation 1 square outside of the civilization's borders, requires access to Textiles.
Primitive Firemaking: A base tech vital for survival.
Persistence Hunting: Allows for Food Exploitation 1 square outside of the civilization's borders.
-Efficient Hunting: Smarter tactics allow your hunters to gain +1 Food from hunted resources.
Waterskins: Animal bladders with wood stoppers and pullstrings used to transport water. +1 to borders around fresh water settlements, +1 to Exploration Range.
Early Animal Domestication: With a very basic understanding of how to pacify animals, your people are capable of attempting domestication.
-Animal Husbandry: Exploited animals can be domesticated in order to produce specific benefits.
-Selective Breeding: Attempts at Domestication roll 2d10 and take the highest result.
--Pack Wildebeest: Wildebeest bred for their strength. Provides +1 Range to all land-based actions. Requires access to Domesticated Wildebeest.
--Long-Haired Wildebeest: Wildebeest bred for their long hair. Domesticated Wildebeest provide +1 Textiles.
Animal Bone Accessories: Jewelry, wards, and charms made of bone that provide a positive impact on tribal morale, requires access to a living (nonhuman) animal.
-Lion's Skull: The skull of the lion that led the Maneater Pride. A symbol of hunting mastery, power, prestige, and leadership within the tribe.
Clay Beads: Sun-dried clay beads ran through with string. A low-value trade good. Requires access to Clay, Textiles.
Ivory Pendants: Hand-carved ivory pendants. A high-value trade good. Requires access to Ivory, Textiles.
Subsistence Foraging: Allows for the bare minimum of passive Food collection for low populations in plentiful regions.
-Societal Herbalism: Your people as a whole have a basic familiarity with how to utilize the plant life around them. They are beginning to understand the life cycle of plants.
--Guarri Bark Paste: A bark and water mash that can be spread over open injuries to provide a level of pain relief and infection resistance.
-Primitive Dendrology: The tribe can identify the useful parts of trees better, providing Food or Chemicals in addition to Wood.
--Seedkeepers: Tribal collectors of seeds who spread them as they travel. They also keep track of tribal folklore using local trees as reference points for certain events.
---Woodsongs: Tales of the Seedkeepers turned into chants and accompanied by a rhythmically plucked bow. Is considered the foundation of the greater Baobabi language.
----Skytales: Tales of the Herbologists. Early Baobabi Astrology used to chart the time of year. Can be a foundation for many things, earthly or otherwise.
Organized Labor Force: Teams of workers organized for improved efficiency. Allows +1 Exploited Resource when Exploiting during Exploitation Phases.
-Industrious Workers: The bones of the Baobabi are not lazy. Allows new SETTLEMENTS to auto-Exploit 1 Resource.
Stone Etchings: A foundational writing technology. Slabs of stone used to keep track of herds and property. The first steps toward something greater. Requires access to Stone.
Accounting: A foundational mathematical technology. Opens up many doors as society evolves.
Bartering: A means of trade that can provide opportunities for interaction with external forces through trade and diplomacy.
Hide Tents: Provides basic shelter.
-Pit House: A semiburied wood and grass structure that provides good environmental protection, improves quality of life, and sets the stage for further enhancements to bolster a more sedentary lifestyle, requires 1 Wood per Settlement for upkeep.
Brick Kilns: A fire enclosed in a brick dome that allows refinement of various materials thanks to high heat. Requires 1 Clay for upkeep.
-Kiln-fired Bricks: Clay bricks baked at high temperature. Sturdy, brittle material. Can be used in new advancements at an appropriate Clay cost. Requires a funded kiln-like technology.
Potter's Wheel: Increases the quality and quantity of clay handcrafts. Proves a wheel shape can actually be useful!
-Baobabi Pottery: A premium trade good unique to the Baobabi made of clay with decorative indentations and ash glazing. Requires access to Clay and a funded kiln-like technology.
--Food Pots: Food storage pots that decrease Baobabi reliability on the land for food and protects food from the elements/vermin, allowing them to expand further. +1 Range to All Settlement Borders. Requires 1 Food for upkeep and a funded pottery technology.
--Way-Finding Pots: Pots storing Magnetofumes that can be leaked out to see which way is north. +1 Exploration Range. Requires 1 Magnetofumes Upkeep and a funded pottery technology. Unfunded
Stake Wall: Wooden stakes stuck into earthen ramparts to create a basic but effective barrier. Requires access to Wood.
The Baobab of Bones: A tree used to mark tribal deaths due to lions now adorned by the sun-bleached bones of said lions. The deceased are left as offerings at its base. Is not a health hazard thanks to local scavengers stealing away with corpses in the night. The bones hanging from the branches act as a macabre windchime.
Food: 4/7 (Settlement Upkeep(-2), Food Pots(-1))
Wood: 3/6 (Pit Houses(-2), Baobabi Longbows(-1))
Stone: 1/2 (Stone Arrows(-1))
Magnetofumes: 0/0
Chemical: 2/2
Textile: 2/3 (Bolas(-1))
Sand: 0/0
Ivory: 1/1
Clay: 0/1 (Brick Kilns(-1))
46-C: Savannah, Desert
46-D: Savannah, Desert, Beach
46-E: Desert, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
47-B: Savannah, Freshwater Spring, Freshwater Stream, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
47-C: Savannah, Freshwater Stream [Explored]
47-D: STAKEHOME (Settlement), Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
47-E: Shallow Water
48-B: Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
48-C: GREAT BAOBAB (Settlement), Savannah, Freshwater Stream, Freshwater Lake [Explored]
48-D: Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
48-E: Shallow Water
49-B: Shallow Water
49-C: Savannah, Plateaus, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
49-D: The Cave Hole, Savannah, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
50-C: Savannah, Ferrovolcano, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
Identified, Identified but Currently Useless and Exploited
47-B: Food x3 (Barley Fields, Wildebeest Herd, Marula Tree Grove), Wood (Marula Tree Grove), Malachite River Stones (Stone), Alligators? (Alligators?)
47-C: Food (Zebra Herd), Wood x2 (Rubber Tree Copse(+1)), Chemicals (Rubber Tree Copse), Magnetofumes (Fumic Geyser), Cheetahs? (Cheetahs?)
47-D: Food x2 (Domesticated Wildebeest, Acacia Grove), Wood x2 (Acacia Grove(+1)), Stone x2 (Granite Inselberg(+1)), Textiles (Domesticated Wildebeest) Magnetofumes (Fumic Geyser)
48-C: Food (Antelope Herd) Food x5 (Ostrich Flock(+1), Elephant Herd(+1), Domesticated Wildebeest), Ivory (Elephant Herd), Clay (Lakeside Red Clay Deposit), Textiles x2 (Lakeside Reeds, Domesticated Wildebeest), Wood x2 (Rubber Tree Hills)
48-D: Textiles (Cordgrass Shoots), Clay (Marine Clay)
49-C: Stone (Limestone Chimneys), Magnetofumes x2 (Fumic Plateau), Sand (White Quartz Beach)
49-D: Food x2 (Crabs, Flamingo Flock)
50-C: Stone x2 (Obsidian, Yellowed Basalt), Magnetofumes x4 (Ferrovolcano)
+Wood Resource
+Domesticated Wildebeest Resource
Major Founders:
Powder Miner - (7I/2P)
Nuke9.13 - (4I/2P)
Quarque - (3I/0P)
Minor Founders:
m1895 - (2I/3P)
Doomblade187 - (2I/0P)
a1s - (1I/1P)
Taricus - (1I/1P)
Kashyyk - (1I/0P)
Fluffe1199 - (0I/0P)
Light forger - (0I/0P)
sketchykeeps - (0I/0P)
Knightwing64 - (0I/0P)
chubby2man - (0I/0P)
Author
Topic: The Founders - A RiskyArmsCivGodPoliticking Game (Experimentation VI) (Read 17144 times)