Kingmaker Solo Campaign

[Satin Knights]

Kellermyre hastily adds Varga's request for carpentry tools as well to the bottom of the papers before sending them off with Phineas back across the sea.

"Well Uder, having training and not needing it is better than the reverse. That, and I am not sure where we are going to be just yet. So, no need to lay stone here. We will get to that soon though. First we need to find a better place."

"Peet, this is your chance to meet Nature. If you treat her gently, she will provide for you and protect you. If you abuse her, she has the power to destroy mountains. We are going out and looking for places to build farms and harvest from the land without upsetting her balance."

"Shari, you are coming along too. This is your time to explore."

"Varga, you are staying here and doing what you do best. Have the men skip building things that are permanent for the moment, and focus on what will be portable and can be moved to the new encampment. I am taking Peet, Shari and Thundar out to explore and see what we have to work with."

"Overall, we will be heading up the north eastern coast, looking for a place with natural advantages. A cove with a rocky breakwater that protects it. High cliffs overlooking the cove would give us shelter and an advantage point that is defensible. Who am I kidding? We are looking for anything that is better than what we got currently. If we don't find anything in that direction in five to seven days, we will turn around and go back down the other way looking for a good place to put in our port."

Kellermyre StormforgeWholesome Peet . Uder Gormengeist . Shari de Leye. Varga Renlow .
[sblock=ooc]Uder training guards. Varga keeping the work force working. Peet, Shari, Thundar the mutt and Kellermyre will explore the coast line for up to a week in one direction looking for a better site.

How many men do we have on this expedition? Do we have horses here? [/sblock]

 

[Systole]

Varga considers for a moment, then nods. "We're still finishing the barracks and the warehouses. Even if we're planning on moving out, the men are going to need the housing for now. What I could do is have them finish things off rough -- skimping on nails and such. It'll make it a hell of a lot easier to salvage if we do move, but if we stay, that means we'll have to renovate and that'll take time and money -- more than just building it right to start with. And if there's a storm in the meantime, we'll be royally screwed. Your call.

"After we get that squared away, we could start building skiffs and rafts, or else we could build sledges to move things overland. Only problem is, there's no horses over here. The landscape gets pretty unfriendly for them pretty quick from what I understand. The wild elves don't use 'em either, so if we did want some, we'd have to import from Venza, which will be expensive and take up most or all of a shipment. We might be able to grab a mule or two from the port cities like Gandling, but they're a bunch of thieves who'll probably charge an arm and a leg.

"By the way, if that Scout person comes into camp while you're gone, you want I should give him the letter or not?"

Shari squeaks with joy. "We're exploring? When are we leaving? We're not leaving right away, are we? I need an hour to pack ... maybe two hours! Rock hammer ... vials for seed collection ... a butterfly net! I can't forget the butterfly net! Don't leave without me, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she scurries off.

Peet watches her go with an expression that clearly says What have I gotten myself into? Then she exhales and says, "Well, if we run into anything alchemical or, uh ... y'know, archeological, I should be able to help you out there. You sure you don't want to take Grumpy along with you? Because I could train the guards. Probably. I mean, it can't be too hard if you're expecting Grumpy to handle it, right?"

. . Wholesome Peet . . Shari de Leye . . Varga Renlow . .

[sblock=GM/Map]There's only about three dozen men so far. What you know of the surrounding area looks like this:

The current settlement is the little house icon. Green is forest, Gold is plains, grey is scrub/rocky terrain, crimson is cliffs/mountains/plateaus. Rivers are blue lines.

The island to the southeast is the rocky outcrop where the seals were breeding.

Your plan is for one week out/one week back, or three days out/three days back? Each hex is about one day to travel across, plus one or two days to fully explore. I'll have to check the exact rules.[/sblock]

 

[Satin Knights]

"Well Peet, Uder is going to do the beginner training on how to hit something hard, and how to protect oneself and the others around them. Maybe next month after they got all the basics down, you can try teaching them in how to be sneaky, or more importantly how to catch someone who is being sneaky."

Looking at the crude map of what is known about the area so far, "Well Varga, with these rivers mouths here, this place is looking better. That area to the south with the fields and the penisula of forest, was there anything special there that ruled that place out? A good sheltered harbor is what I am looking for, and it seems to have promise on paper to my untrained eye."

"And well, paying for something twice is not the way to make a profit. Since we have the river here, do the warehouse and barracks up right. Over time I am sure we will be bringing out many goods along the river, so this can be a good way-station if we move the operation elsewhere."

[sblock=Plans] Do a quick pass through the three white hexes to the northwest. Keeping to the coastline, focusing on finding a good port harbor location. So, looks like 8 days out and 8 days back as Shari slows us down to a day and a half for each hex. Not doing a full explore yet.

May turn back at second white hex if it is not looking promising up that way.

And if Varga has surprisingly good things about the plains land to the south and the forest peninsula, may switch ideas and go down there to investigate.
[/sblock]

Kellermyre Stormforge . Wholesome Peet . . Varga Renlow .

 

[Systole]

The trek out is slightly less arduous than you expected -- but only slightly. On the fifth day, the thick tropical forest gives way to rolling plains, and you make good time across them. Peet is relatively adept at climbing trees ("Easier than going up brickwork, I can tell you that.") and you get an idea of the surrounding environs, which seems to be mostly forests and rolling plains. As you follow the coast northeast, however, the land becomes rougher.

From your current location, you can see that the land rises sharply to the northeast. Shari examines the landscape and reports that it's a probably a volcano, either extinct or long dormant, based on the type of rocks and the age of some slow-growing lichens. To the northwest, the land seems relatively flat, but Peet claims that she can see the glint of water, probably a river or a small lake.

. . Wholesome Peet . . Shari de Leye[sblock=GM/Map]

You are currently in the grey/rough terrain NW of the encampment. Continue on or go back?[/sblock]

 

[Satin Knights]

"Well, the big island is a bit far out, but will provide a bit of a breakwater from the deep sea. Sheltered cove, mountain to place a lighthouse upon high, plains to farm, this looks like a good location. Well, lets thoroughly check it out before heading back."

While searching the fields, Kellermyre spots an eagle circling. Watching it hunt for a while, he pulls out a bit of dried fish. When the eagle passes on one of its swoops across the plain, Kellermyre tosses the fish high in the air. Catching it, the eagle inspects it carefully before eating. Repeating this a couple times, the eagle gets closer each time. Finally, Kellermyre sits a bit of fish on a big rock and then sits down beside it. After a bit, the eagle lands. As if having a conversation without words, each finds that the other can be a friend. After feeding the bird by hand and scratching it under its neck feathers, Kellermyre gets back to work searching the area. The eagle takes flight and circles high above.

[sblock=ooc]Check the coastline first for the yellow hex bordering the water for a good point to place the pier. Then thoroughly explore that yellow hex before heading back. Plains exploration takes a day. Then head back.
The yellow hex bordering the water is where I am going to put the first settlement.
Eventually, watchtower/lighthouse at the east corner of the red and green hex will provide some guidance and warning of incoming traffic.

Kellermyre: Perception (1d20+11=28), Survival (1d20+7=16)
Shari: Kn Nature, Kn Geography,Perception (1d20+8=21, 1d20+8=18, 1d20+6=12)
Peet: Perception (1d20+1=15)

Kellermyre's second level is as a ranger with the Falconer archetype. This is as good a place as any to weave in his animal companion.
[/sblock]

Kellermyre Stormforge . Wholesome Peet . Shari de Leye