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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAjnKKOTyxq5
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAqqnitZucRh
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Greyland363Please respect copyright.PENANA9niy1Y9dem
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Economy Military People363Please respect copyright.PENANADyKWbhOtHY
Currently building: granary level 2363Please respect copyright.PENANASrlxCPdUuc
Monthly trade income: 0363Please respect copyright.PENANA5S12iKnGNp
Monthly tax income: 54 gold363Please respect copyright.PENANAOLvcd4XWuK
Daily food consumption: 13 units363Please respect copyright.PENANACAff1ijm2W
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days363Please respect copyright.PENANA9eHr6lamUB
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days363Please respect copyright.PENANAtbxFxn5l8r
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days363Please respect copyright.PENANAwOpTf7sjwS
Meat yield: 4 units daily363Please respect copyright.PENANAlWx0T7hlso
Timber yield: 17 planks daily363Please respect copyright.PENANATyTiMUpm93
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily363Please respect copyright.PENANARbX6LKWBZx
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily363Please respect copyright.PENANA257IdvkajF
Smithy yield: no production set363Please respect copyright.PENANACfPBoNfsxw
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily363Please respect copyright.PENANAoDLJCI3qPa
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Research: steel pickaxes363Please respect copyright.PENANAgNk2nzOgc8
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Resources:363Please respect copyright.PENANA5N0jlmCUQV
Wheat: 19 food units363Please respect copyright.PENANAkHX372YH3o
Vegetables: 32 food units363Please respect copyright.PENANAefGSbB8myI
Meat: 5 food units363Please respect copyright.PENANAihpGmJtH0P
Wool: 7 bales363Please respect copyright.PENANA1kA8fqQML6
Timber: 134 planks363Please respect copyright.PENANAA9Nje8E58L
Iron: 11 ingots363Please respect copyright.PENANAyXiTrgsAWU
Stone: 33 blocks363Please respect copyright.PENANAUkpLkkgl2i
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 2.363Please respect copyright.PENANAbAftXc1xhf
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAt3sEfzUQpB
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Military363Please respect copyright.PENANAg0R07TvSsu
Light infantry: 32363Please respect copyright.PENANAvUkwWghRTG
Heavy infantry: 12363Please respect copyright.PENANADp9nUtItQo
Archers: 18363Please respect copyright.PENANAEO5RZIv0TO
Light cavalry: 24363Please respect copyright.PENANARKT28ZeS3h
Heavy cavalry: 3363Please respect copyright.PENANAot8Sga7SL0
Ballista: 1363Please respect copyright.PENANAustfm03YVp
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Hospital: 17363Please respect copyright.PENANAbQgHJWSPGf
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver363Please respect copyright.PENANAvJX1E8XaN3
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry363Please respect copyright.PENANARqKHwLMOKa
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1363Please respect copyright.PENANA2zScByN6tI
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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?363Please respect copyright.PENANAXsnxE8hkU9
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAYPpScKb3fj
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People363Please respect copyright.PENANAoOuy60bALV
Citizens: 485363Please respect copyright.PENANAmZMLiBhV7d
Happiness: 14363Please respect copyright.PENANACUJKRGIm1S
Tax Level: High363Please respect copyright.PENANAzJVefhBSR1
Health: 89363Please respect copyright.PENANAadH9gEFkVu
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Specialist roles363Please respect copyright.PENANAjEDgHrboeJ
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7363Please respect copyright.PENANAkBhD5TEIHO
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9363Please respect copyright.PENANA0MS8OHL1TN
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9363Please respect copyright.PENANAuYrC7Q6pib
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?363Please respect copyright.PENANAtRhrxD68sL
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAqWhVRl7Brb
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7363Please respect copyright.PENANAgRqTqb2fw7
HP 64363Please respect copyright.PENANATRmW3YOOWh
AC 18363Please respect copyright.PENANAr5MpHxmg1i
XP 19,663 (28,800)363Please respect copyright.PENANATaPdnQVRO9
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.363Please respect copyright.PENANAAPn33s23qr
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.363Please respect copyright.PENANANCYmIiWwQb
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Time to check the others.363Please respect copyright.PENANAL2djkjBOKk
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9363Please respect copyright.PENANAYby6lSiRCC
HP 34363Please respect copyright.PENANACvVkTV2nPq
AC 5363Please respect copyright.PENANAfmnxyFf6FV
XP 72,102 (86,400)363Please respect copyright.PENANAHN4CE38Pli
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.363Please respect copyright.PENANAPKZ9MXf4T4
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9363Please respect copyright.PENANAWh0QPlMsY4
HP 53363Please respect copyright.PENANA7bOxAWe3AG
AC 12363Please respect copyright.PENANAoKJoVYNsj5
XP 71,043 (86,400)363Please respect copyright.PENANARJzS9eyTtL
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9363Please respect copyright.PENANApxTPTEvjQy
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3363Please respect copyright.PENANAteSkW056pR
HP 17363Please respect copyright.PENANAhNgvsJM9Yv
AC 14363Please respect copyright.PENANAeFYYLOYxS9
XP 684 (800)363Please respect copyright.PENANA7xAptsC5zF
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15363Please respect copyright.PENANA9WzgECbtD1
Scroll of Charm363Please respect copyright.PENANABIYrqT1ilG
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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAwRltmEf37Y
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAaa7Sjwxtw9
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANACsJtbOqrgf
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANAzSklRaLPMi
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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?363Please respect copyright.PENANAgC95UAxTZT
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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.363Please respect copyright.PENANA4qLjsYouHA
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.