Luxuriating in a – necessarily large – wooden bath, I got a good view of my enormous body. Well, at least as far as the vast stomach. From there, my lower half was completely out of view. Maybe Carlos felt at home like this and I wasn't judging him from the point of beauty or shame. My dismay at the body I was in was a practical one. As it was, I couldn't possibly help these people in battle. And I was so used to my own, fairly fit shape that for me, this was like being an imprisoning shell. I had an idea of who I was that was at odds with this person. It would take some serious work but I was determined to get in shape, not least for the sake of the battles to come. At least he was tall, taller than me, at about 6' 4" I'd guess. That was promising for the long term, if I could get the body into fighting condition.362Please respect copyright.PENANAO1idY32yx7
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While I didn't want to make any important decisions about my character sheet until I had tested if I could improve my stats, I took some time to properly study the kingdom menus.362Please respect copyright.PENANAfPwxr2d8PI
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Greyland362Please respect copyright.PENANA3oK9WqSsbO
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Economy Military People362Please respect copyright.PENANA0y800S7LcD
Currently building: granary level 2362Please respect copyright.PENANAP9Fo1jQmRU
Monthly trade income: 0362Please respect copyright.PENANA1OtokxKm4W
Monthly tax income: 54 gold362Please respect copyright.PENANA28y0akwcDO
Daily food consumption: 13 units362Please respect copyright.PENANAFXtOxPHTp8
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days362Please respect copyright.PENANAJ0lw15jynq
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days362Please respect copyright.PENANAiC5nMPbTWw
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days362Please respect copyright.PENANAXN5MJiblXk
Meat yield: 4 units daily362Please respect copyright.PENANAAh6f4alnsd
Timber yield: 17 planks daily362Please respect copyright.PENANAjTToZUEcAu
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily362Please respect copyright.PENANAImI1NKWCgI
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily362Please respect copyright.PENANAvBGWvtInNG
Smithy yield: no production set362Please respect copyright.PENANAxHDMW3nhXE
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily362Please respect copyright.PENANAYlmQMY1YFD
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Research: steel pickaxes362Please respect copyright.PENANAzugJhaaCad
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Resources:362Please respect copyright.PENANARb7iJ7SB5A
Wheat: 19 food units362Please respect copyright.PENANAoq5BsbSLBB
Vegetables: 32 food units362Please respect copyright.PENANAt8NFNQEExk
Meat: 5 food units362Please respect copyright.PENANAGgZh6By5hh
Wool: 7 bales362Please respect copyright.PENANAAEXttzJ36d
Timber: 134 planks362Please respect copyright.PENANAHJAPHDXlkv
Iron: 11 ingots362Please respect copyright.PENANAl5BPnJQTJk
Stone: 33 blocks362Please respect copyright.PENANAB79Ye0A6cJ
Cloth: 0 bolts
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All of these points of information could be opened for more detail, so I focused on the 'currently building' tab. There, I could see a graphic of a partly constructed wooden tower. The granary, presumably. In a timer that was counting down, there were two days and several hours left on a bar that was about half filled with green. I had other options, currently greyed out: farm buildings, level 2; hunting lodge, level 2; sawmill level 2; watermill; mine level 3; quarry level 2; smithy level 2; library level 2.362Please respect copyright.PENANAOgmo8S4iQm
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There was an obvious contradiction between the fact the kingdom was working on a new granary and there was no grain yield. Presumably, this was a legacy of losing the recent battle and the farmland. I should almost certainly swap the construction project to something else. Long term, it was often a good idea in strategy games to invest in research, which might be what the library was good for. But I had a real worry about the food situation. So without making any changes, and after shifting my hulky figure to swirl some warm water around, I looked at the Military sub-menu.362Please respect copyright.PENANAhxJYxNxms7
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Military362Please respect copyright.PENANATLC3R2WUYc
Light infantry: 32362Please respect copyright.PENANA5UGlDtjhja
Heavy infantry: 12362Please respect copyright.PENANAQeXLgHuodZ
Archers: 18362Please respect copyright.PENANAXAbuvw87H4
Light cavalry: 24362Please respect copyright.PENANA6WEyy3wd9o
Heavy cavalry: 3362Please respect copyright.PENANA0EVG5RPMtN
Ballista: 1362Please respect copyright.PENANASP4ADwg5yG
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Hospital: 17362Please respect copyright.PENANAc9NYP6V3Sj
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver362Please respect copyright.PENANAOiZ3iOFk13
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry362Please respect copyright.PENANALOETVMnbxP
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1362Please respect copyright.PENANA6I9WA6NTaI
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Currently building: tower machicolations, 3 days
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I had no idea how big the armies in this world were, but with just a hundred troops the situation here was certainly dire. I suddenly had a dark thought. What if we were overrun? Slaughtered. What would happen to me? Would I get home? Respawn? Or just die, forever?362Please respect copyright.PENANAwhHEuCaubu
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Although they were fundamentally important questions, there was nothing I could do to find answers to them, so I returned my focus to the menus. Each of these entries had options to drill down into more specific information, such as about the stats on the troops, but I just skimmed through them, wanting to understand the big picture items first.362Please respect copyright.PENANAWI65P6mN4i
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People362Please respect copyright.PENANA1DnevgaNz0
Citizens: 485362Please respect copyright.PENANAkj7m2SkrYM
Happiness: 14362Please respect copyright.PENANA2hyOGCIQZj
Tax Level: High362Please respect copyright.PENANAejPAd8y3fe
Health: 89362Please respect copyright.PENANAyxz5w25Xwk
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Specialist roles362Please respect copyright.PENANABrxSTmKULy
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7362Please respect copyright.PENANAQMDmQvWIZc
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9362Please respect copyright.PENANA6XaANIHwa3
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9362Please respect copyright.PENANAXfRf3iNT3Q
Ambassador: Figus, Bard Level 3
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Looking at the Citizens menu I saw a more detailed breakdown: Soldiers 110; Farmers 38; Builders 40; Shepherds 34; Hunters 48; Miners 84; Clothmakers 23; Bakers 23; Brewers 16; Carpenters 21; Stonemasons 14; Smiths 4; Researchers 4; Idle 26. It was strange how few were the numbers here. Was this because I had found myself at an early stage of whatever game-like system this world was based on? Or was there some other explanation?362Please respect copyright.PENANA9n8pMvAgVM
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This was interesting. For a start, the king had been lying to Chancellor Parrin for some reason. Far from being a Level 5 Scout, the thin man was 9. Then I found I could open up their character sheets and I did so for Lord Arval.362Please respect copyright.PENANAdjgUtIEvPi
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7362Please respect copyright.PENANALLNpEOXXK9
HP 64362Please respect copyright.PENANAP4IsdMzrRY
AC 18362Please respect copyright.PENANAlqVe047HhO
XP 19,663 (28,800)362Please respect copyright.PENANALiYMIzNXLx
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.362Please respect copyright.PENANADrSW8GGfmg
Shield of Defence +1, Trueblade +2, Ring of Strength +1, Potion of Haste, Potion of Healing.
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Very interesting. I had to close my eyes for a moment, ducking down to soak my hair, but the character sheet was still there when I came back up out of the water. Firstly, I noted that Lord Arval had an XP bar. He could level up. That was encouraging for me, because it suggested that stats might evolve too. Secondly: magic items. Everybody loves magic items, but again I was particularly excited to see they could be used to change stats, as in Lord Arval's Strength.362Please respect copyright.PENANAPXKCLjLh47
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Time to check the others.362Please respect copyright.PENANAD2bbtZf53J
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9362Please respect copyright.PENANAgyzJhi7oP4
HP 34362Please respect copyright.PENANAy2shqCovsH
AC 5362Please respect copyright.PENANAME4B0QrXg1
XP 72,102 (86,400)362Please respect copyright.PENANAcs2g4lGawA
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.362Please respect copyright.PENANAae30lA985v
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9362Please respect copyright.PENANAqEVonzX9St
HP 53362Please respect copyright.PENANAVjZJtsPzJ3
AC 12362Please respect copyright.PENANAnJWpByk9hr
XP 71,043 (86,400)362Please respect copyright.PENANAj7BdnfKT4J
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9362Please respect copyright.PENANA8ae8er9env
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3362Please respect copyright.PENANASgb0iUqXu4
HP 17362Please respect copyright.PENANAtHxiGTQl4d
AC 14362Please respect copyright.PENANAkJlO5o45vj
XP 684 (800)362Please respect copyright.PENANAXQAnHubG1n
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15362Please respect copyright.PENANAcGYIqsdKpE
Scroll of Charm362Please respect copyright.PENANAkIeeoCW8TG
Ambassador feats: Speak Language; Swift Travel
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Pretty decent, or so it seemed. But everything was relative. What special roles did our opponents have? Maybe Chancellor Parrin would know.362Please respect copyright.PENANA67Jwpfr1Md
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By this time my bath was only lukewarm and so, with some difficulty, I stood up. Water dripping from me, I took a towel and when as dry as I could manage, a robe that a servant had brought me that looked clean enough. Outside the door of the bathroom was a young servant, who ducked his head when I left rather than make eye contact. After I was past him, he ran into the bathroom, to tidy up perhaps.362Please respect copyright.PENANATwcvIopezH
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Lying in a comfortable four-poster bed, in clean sheets, I considered that I was blessed. Almost certainly, there were gods in this world. And if one of them had played a role in bringing me here, well, fair dues to him, her, or it. I sent a silent prayer of gratitude. This is what I needed. Not the trappings of being a king but the challenge. A kingdom under threat and an RPG system to wield to the best of my ability. I really wanted to get stuck into my own character sheet, but most of my decisions would have to wait until I had more information. And I was too tired to explore the menus much further.362Please respect copyright.PENANAlr7wAEdXeh
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There were two tasks, however, that shouldn't wait until morning. I called up Greyland/Economy/Currently Building. There I switched the granary out and from the other options, dragged in hunting lodge, level 2. We were losing about 7 food units a day, with reserves of just 56. Obviously, I needed to resolve that, before planning on building something more strategic.362Please respect copyright.PENANAcXLXkDgzRM
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The other assignment I wanted to make was for the Smithy, which was not producing anything. The sub-menu, however, was complex, full of possible items like horse shoes, swords, shields and arrow heads that all looked extremely useful. There were tools I could create too, including hoes, which I was tempted by, as these would surely help my food output. Or were they limited to use in the kind of fields we had recently lost?362Please respect copyright.PENANAbyd5QOVcV5
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Wondering why my predecessor had left such an important building idle, I had a thought and checked the research queue. There was only four hours left on the countdown for steel pickaxes. Maybe he had planned on completing that research and then getting the smith to work on producing them. If so, it wasn't a bad idea, all we really had going for us were the mountains around the town. If we could use sources of iron to build up tradeable reserves of iron and steel, that might be another way to solve the food crisis. So that decision could also wait until morning.362Please respect copyright.PENANAFrMbDdTVi2
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.