Exploitation VI: The End of The Beginning
The world around the Baobabi bent to their whims and desires now more than ever before. Baobabs seeded long ago near Great Baobab matured and, not being the sacred tree, became available for harvest along with their fruit. Greenlife saw additional worker parties formed to harvest from the fields of wild Barley as well as the fruit and wood of the Marula Trees
(Quarque +1I). More importantly though, the Baobabi began shaping their first metals with purpose.
The first truly widespread use of Copper came in the form of Digging Tools. A logical step forward, picks and shovels made of metal proved much more effective to use than the stone counterparts that broke on impact as often as not. With the advent of Copper Digging Tools, the Baobabi came to realize that there was nothing under the Sun which they couldn't utilize to ease or improve their lives.
The second use for the Baobabi's Copper was one that eased the lives of many Baobabi: eating utensils. With foons and knives to eat with, the Baobabi found themselves defining what it meant to be "civil". While they made no silly rules for placesettings or proper methods of eating with their utensils, their usage still marked someone as a more refined, gentler sort. True or not, this mild stereotype stuck and soon every Baobabi was trading to get themselves their own set of eating utensils in order to raise their social standing.
Technologies Funded:Copper Digging ToolsCopper UtensilsDuring this period the Baobabi found themselves defining what, exactly, it meant to be Baobabi. Was someone Baobabi because they were willing to work themselves to the bone? Was it where they lived? What they believed? Why were The Others so unlike the Baobabi? How come the Baobabi worked together better with other animals than their own kind? Questions began to rise in a few minds, and soon the slightest sprouting of philosophical analysis began to bud.
This new method of thought was paired with a significant shift in Baobabi society. Since time immemorial the Baobab of Bones stood as a reminder of the Baobabi's painful failures and multitudinous triumphs. In recent years the people had witnessed clear signs of aging - fruit no longer grew from the bone-decorated branches, leaves rarely sprouted and wilted with haste when they did, the bark was cracked and dry. Then, one morning, there was a thunderous
SNAP as the trunk split, scattering ornamental remains and shattering into splinters. The Baobabi wept.
But in the time since the Baobabi settled they'd learned there is more to life than what one sees. For millennia the Baobabi laid their dead near the Great Baobab to nurture it, and also to give their own a purpose beyond their physical self. A Baobabi, their prey, the earth they worked, all had an immaterial part within that connected them all. It was, according to their evolving beliefs, this internal essence that sought out the experiences of all life and unlife, to fully understand and appreciate what it meant to be, in any form. The Baobab of Bones was but one of many seeking this perfection of the self. What set the Great Baobab apart from everything else is its role as an enlightener for the Baobabi people. It stood, tall and proud, an icon for the Baobabi to rally beneath, until it understood it was needed no longer and gave in to its own mortality.
The Baobabi wept, not out of sadness, but out of joy, for it meant The Enlightener could walk another of the infinite paths of the world. Perhaps, one day, as a human. But in the meantime, the Baobabi found themselves with a distinct lack of unity and direction, and would need a means of unifying the villages or providing a singular identity they could rally behind in order to keep from fragmenting.
During this period a series of clay and charcoal-based artwork depicting the splitting of the Great Baobab appeared on the cliffs of the Plateaus in Baobabi territory.
Technology Discovered: Baobabi Spiritualism (The Baobabi believe all things are possessed by an essence that seeks to experience the whole of reality. The Great Baobab holds a special place in their beliefs as The Enlightener, and upon the death of the Great Baobab was allow to continue it's journey. It is believed that one day The Enlightener will take the form of a human.)
This new and decidedly prosperous time for the Baobabi has resulted in another population boom, increasing Food Upkeep for each Baobabi settlement.
With a massive shift in Baobabi society, the way they chose who to follow suffered a massive upheaval as well.
Influence is reset at the end of every age. The three Founders with the highest Influence at the end of an age become the Major Founders of the following age. The way Prestige is awarded remains unchanged.The Others were fairly active during this time. The Zheng Mian sent a delegate to the Baobabi under a banner of peace (a white flag, a symbol used by The Others when there was a desire for diplomacy over conflict) in order to thank them personally for their trade in knowledge. They'd domesticated their
Sika Deer and were experiencing the benefits of being able to raise, contain, and control their own food supply with less interference from nature - and the Bei Bu.
The Bei Bu still launched occasional border raids. They weren't excessively effective, but tales of people being snatched away for reasons unknown were common in the southwest.
After finally stepping fully across the threshold into a new age,
Powder Miner, NUKE9.14, and Quarque receive
1 Prestige and Influence resets to 0 across the board. They retain their positions as Major Powers for now.
Improved Copper Tools: Generic tools using copper heads and fabric or hide-wrapped wood or bone handles. Applies a x2 bonus to all exploited resources after any other modifiers. Requires access to Wood, Textiles, and Copper. Has a 2% Exhaustion Rate.
-Copper Digging Tools: Shovels and picks made of copper and wood used to cut through rock and stone, plus dirt, mud, and sand. Resources exploited via extraction through digging provide +1 resource. Costs 1 Copper in upkeep.
Stone Spear: Allows Exploitation of larger beasts for Food, requires access to Stone.
--Copper Spears: A wooden shaft with a flattened triangular blade on one end hammered to a mean point. A surprisingly potent weapon, especially in familiar hands. Is useful for both large animal hunting as well as more dangerous game. Costs 1 Copper in upkeep. Will replace Stone Spears once funded. Unfunded.
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.
--Copper Baobabi Arrows: Long arrows fitted with copper heads able to pierce even deeper into targets than before and capable of inflicting significant injuries to the largest beasts. Very effective. Requires access to Wood, costs 1 Copper in upkeep. Will replace Stone Arrows once funded. Unfunded.
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.
Copper Utensils: Real culture has been decidedly absent until now. Copper knives and foons (forked spoons, much more sensible than spooned forks) become a symbol of sophistication among the Baobabi. Costs 1 Copper in upkeep.
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.
-Domesticated Alligators: Allows the use of alligators at the cost of 1 Food Upkeep.
--Battlegators: Smaller alligators bred and trained for use as attack animals against threats. Only affects tiles with access to fresh water. Requires access to Domesticated Alligators.
--Alliguards: Large alligators familiarized with locals from birth and given mud pits to reside in outside of the settlement. The need to direct their attention outward results in Walled Settlements. Requires local access to Domesticated Alligators and fresh water.
-Domesticated Elephants: Allows the use of Elephants at the cost of 1 Wood Upkeep.
--Bow Elephants: Bowmen seated on Elephants to better engage threats. The first real Baobabi combat unit, but very very limited in number. Requires access to Domesticated Elephants and Bows.
--Earthshakers: Elephants that can be directed to clear specific plots of land. Allows Extremely Basic Terraforming. Requires access to Domesticated Elephants.
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.
Copper Ornamentation: Hanging decorations, small figurines, trinkets, and basic jewelry crafted using copper. Baobabi craftsman outdo themselves once more, providing goods on an unparalleled level. Ornamentation differs from other crafts in that it is used to decorate and adorn oneself and ones belongings more than as a trade good, and provides a snapshot into the important beliefs and ideals of Baobabi culture at any given time. Costs 1 Copper in upkeep. Unfunded.
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.
Copper Coins: With Baobabi crafts as central as they were, it was only a matter of time before some attempt to simplify and standardize a method of trade was made. Small amounts of copper are poured into small circular molds to cool into uniform discs before having a "+" hammered on one side and a "-" hammered into the other. The coins are used as currency for the trade of goods and services. Costs 1 Copper in upkeep. Unfunded.
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.
Early Metalworking: Use of a primitive source of high heat on ore-bearing stone in order to yield metal to be worked into whatever is deemed necessary. Current yield is typically 1 Metal per Ore plus the cost of the cheapest applicable available smelting technique.
-Charcoal Pits: Pits of tightly packed wood covered in mud and set alight to produce charcoal and is considered a smelting technique. Requires 2 Wood per Type of Metal Exploited as Upkeep. Multiple similar types of metal smelted, even from different sources, do not add additional cost. This technology's costs will be added to and labeled in the affected technologies and not included here so as to simplify on-the-fly accounting. Considered a smelting technique.
-High-Quality Early Copper Refinement: The Baobabi understand how to effectively separate and work copper. Attention to detail and a focus on quality mean that even if other aspects of a technology fall short, it probably isn't the copper's fault. Other civilizations are likely to desire Baobabi copperworks. Allows the use of Copper ores with a yield of 1 usable Copper Resource per Exploited Copper plus 2 Wood Upkeep (Charcoal Pits).
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.
Stake Wall: Wooden stakes stuck into earthen ramparts to create a basic but effective barrier. Requires access to Wood.
Very Basic Terraforming: An Exploit Action that can modify a wood resource into a plant resource, plant resource into a ground resource, and has a low chance to change a ground resource into a subsurface mineral deposit.
The Baobab of Bones (Obsolete): Originally a tree used to mark tribal deaths due to lions, adorned by the sun-bleached bones of said lions. The deceased were left as offerings at its base. Split after a few millennia.
-Baobabi Spiritualism: The Baobabi believe all things are possessed by an essence that seeks to experience the whole of reality. The Great Baobab holds a special place in their beliefs as The Enlightener, and upon the death of the Great Baobab was allow to continue it's journey. It is believed that one day The Enlightener will take the form of a human.
Food: 6/14 (Settlement Upkeep(-6), Food Pots(-1), Domesticated Alligators(-1))
Wood: 3/10 (Pit Houses(-3), Baobabi Longbows(-1), Domesticated Elephants(-1), Charcoal Pits(Copper)(-2))
Stone: 7/8 (Stone Arrows(-1))
Magnetofumes: 3/4 (Way-Finding Pots(-1))
Chemical: 4/4
Textile: 5/6 (Bolas(-1))
Sand: 0/0
Ivory: 2/2
Clay: 3/4 (Brick Kilns(-1))
Miracle Metal: 0/0
Copper: 2/4 (Copper Digging Tools(-1), Copper Utensils(-1))
Gold: 0/0
Iron: 0/0
41-C: Zheng Mian Capital
42-B: Plains, Coast, Shallow Water, Coast
42-C: Zheng Mian Steps, Plains, Coast, Shallow Water, Coast, Mountains, Grassy Valley
42-D: Shallow Water, Coast, Riverlands, Jungle
42-E: Bei Bu Capital
43-B: Zheng Mian Settlement, Desert, Mountain Range, Plains, Coast, Shallow Water
43-C: Mountain Range, Flowery Meadow, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
43-D: Bei Bu Drifting Road, Plains, Coast, Shallow Water, Coast, Jungle
43-E: Jungle, Coast, Shallow Water
44-B: Desert, Coast, Shallow Water
44-C: Desert, Mountain, Meadow, Impact Crater [Explored]
44-D: Bei Bu Settlement, Desert, Mountain, Meadow, Coast, Shallow Water
44-E: Coast, Shallow Water, Coast, Jungle
45-A: Shallow Water
45-B: Desert, Coast, Shallow Water
45-C: Desert [Explored]
45-D: Desert, Oasis, Mountain [Explored]
45-E: Desert, Mountain Range, Coast, Shallow Water
46-B: Savannah, Desert, Coast, Shallow Water [Explored]
46-C: Savannah, Desert [Explored]
46-D: Savannah, Desert, Beach [Explored]
46-E: Desert, Beach, Coast, Shallow Water
47-B: GREENLIFE (Walled Settlement) 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 or Inaccessible and Exploited
43-C: Food (Sika Deer), Stone (Mountain Granite), Food (Sea Turtles), Shell (Sea Turtles), Clay (Clay Pits), Chemicals (Wildflowers), Bees? (Bees?)
44-C: Stone (Impact Crater), Clay (Impact Crater), Sand (Impact Crater), Miracle Metal (Impact Crater), Stone (Sandstone Deposits), Magnetofumes (Fumic Vent)
45-C: Magnetofumes (Fumic Vent)
45-D: Food (Coconut Palms), Wood (Coconut Palms), Textiles (Coconut Palms), Textiles (Reeds), Magnetofumes (Fumic Vent)
46-B: Food (Dolphin Pod), Magnetofumes (Fumic Vent), Rattlesnakes? (Rattlesnakes?)
46-C: Food x2 (Finger Millet, White Rhino Herd), Magnetofumes (Fumic Vent)
46-D: Food x4 (Acacia Growths, Giraffe Herds, Horseshoe Crabs, Egrets), Wood (Acacia Growths), Stone (Sandstone Stacks), Magnetofumes (Fumic Vent), Painted Dogs? (Painted Dogs?)
47-B: Food (Wildebeest Herd), Food x4 (Marula Tree Grove(x2), Barley Fields(x2)), Wood x2 (Marula Tree Grove(x2)), Stone x4 (Malachite River Stones(+1x2)), Copper x4 (Malachite River Stones(+1x2)), Domesticated Alligators (Domesticated Alligators)
47-C: Food (Zebra Herd), Wood x2 (Rubber Tree Copse(x2)), Chemicals x2 (Rubber Tree Copse(x2)), Magnetofumes (Fumic Geyser), Cheetahs? (Cheetahs?)
47-D: Food x4 (Domesticated Wildebeest(x2), Acacia Grove(x2)), Wood x2 (Acacia Grove(x2)), Stone x4 (Granite Inselberg(+1x2)), Textiles x2 (Domesticated Wildebeest(x2)) Magnetofumes (Fumic Geyser)
48-C: Food (Antelope Herd) Food x6 (Ostrich Flock(+1x2), Domesticated Wildebeest(x2)), Domesticated Elephants (Domesticated Elephants), Ivory x2 (Domesticated Elephants(x2)), Clay x4 (Lakeside Red Clay Deposit(+1x2)), Textiles x4 (Lakeside Reeds(x2), Domesticated Wildebeest(x2)), Wood x4 (Rubber Tree Hills(x2), Baobabi Growths(x2)), Chemicals x2 (Rubber Tree Hills(x2)), Iron (Upriver Iron Deposit)
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), Gold (Yellowed Basalt) Magnetofumes x4 (Ferrovolcano)
+Domesticated Wildebeest Resource
The Bei Bu Tribe: Generally aggressive posture, responsible for kidnappings near the border. Use some sort of lizard-based(?) magic or mysticism to enable superhuman speed. Warring with Zheng Mian and view the Baobabi as a thing to be exterminated. Created the Bei Bu Drifting Road.
The Zheng Mian Tribe: Generally aggressive posture, responsible for kidnappings near the border. Use some sort of dirt-based(?) magic or mysticism to enable superhuman durability. While hostile, they seem to have an exploitable weakness in their concept of honor. Still seek to conquer the Baobabi and are warring with Bei Bu. Created the Zheng Mian Steps.
Major Founders:
Powder Miner - (0I/3P)
Nuke9.13 - (0I/3P)
Quarque - (0I/1P)
Minor Founders:
m1895 - (0I/3P)
a1s - (0I/1P)
Taricus - (0I/1P)
Doomblade187 - (0I/0P)
Kashyyk - (0I/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 17194 times)