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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAv9j7X83Mu9
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAVXxlkHaPoG
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Greyland203Please respect copyright.PENANAs497QDTqDP
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Economy Military People203Please respect copyright.PENANAjwhOSnNsfQ
Currently building: granary level 2203Please respect copyright.PENANAfyhjCZWcnN
Monthly trade income: 0203Please respect copyright.PENANAgaGxwmOdUD
Monthly tax income: 54 gold203Please respect copyright.PENANAQueMOpY4Dc
Daily food consumption: 13 units203Please respect copyright.PENANAeC9bmatF7n
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days203Please respect copyright.PENANAimpGVZuSto
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days203Please respect copyright.PENANAuLYsyEHb8r
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days203Please respect copyright.PENANAJk7nqXc1jJ
Meat yield: 4 units daily203Please respect copyright.PENANApo80jdkb5q
Timber yield: 17 planks daily203Please respect copyright.PENANAVhVn06B5x8
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily203Please respect copyright.PENANAzMpMoZmTYu
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily203Please respect copyright.PENANAzLMiL2Prxz
Smithy yield: no production set203Please respect copyright.PENANAziKjg0dTEo
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily203Please respect copyright.PENANAox3PkewFDE
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Research: steel pickaxes203Please respect copyright.PENANAtz5z9tBrSb
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Resources:203Please respect copyright.PENANA1jgxtCTQaJ
Wheat: 19 food units203Please respect copyright.PENANAOonubsMnvj
Vegetables: 32 food units203Please respect copyright.PENANAdjWFuK7RT8
Meat: 5 food units203Please respect copyright.PENANACdtFOdU8xm
Wool: 7 bales203Please respect copyright.PENANAB3XBXWkt8V
Timber: 134 planks203Please respect copyright.PENANA6XAgSnKJra
Iron: 11 ingots203Please respect copyright.PENANAlQWYkbcB8z
Stone: 33 blocks203Please respect copyright.PENANANApmMlEGw1
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 2.203Please respect copyright.PENANAvmOayTm4qY
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAntuHwiu2rh
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Military203Please respect copyright.PENANAgixGNlSgAi
Light infantry: 32203Please respect copyright.PENANAmRwMsTXaQv
Heavy infantry: 12203Please respect copyright.PENANAghaYb5kWpE
Archers: 18203Please respect copyright.PENANAxJ1sXwJUtL
Light cavalry: 24203Please respect copyright.PENANAcghk8I6he6
Heavy cavalry: 3203Please respect copyright.PENANAY1l9lgPITp
Ballista: 1203Please respect copyright.PENANAJHuaMEpNm4
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Hospital: 17203Please respect copyright.PENANAwUhfjUxkie
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver203Please respect copyright.PENANAWOmisSZPDx
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry203Please respect copyright.PENANANSu33EsR8s
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1203Please respect copyright.PENANAPLjqhxyAwp
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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?203Please respect copyright.PENANAwjlpW0HFAP
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANApvv2rLgUAk
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People203Please respect copyright.PENANA3HoKRyvpAC
Citizens: 485203Please respect copyright.PENANA4SKW6YubGN
Happiness: 14203Please respect copyright.PENANAW5b0lBjvJs
Tax Level: High203Please respect copyright.PENANAqVYJdSikI0
Health: 89203Please respect copyright.PENANA2gKChh04ME
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Specialist roles203Please respect copyright.PENANABCivQbplDs
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7203Please respect copyright.PENANAY7OaiNetgx
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9203Please respect copyright.PENANATyrqRSf1Ze
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9203Please respect copyright.PENANAqXZTpGPATF
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?203Please respect copyright.PENANAWvRXRhOw0P
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAxmRb8RD27O
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7203Please respect copyright.PENANA5Tm04lzy9y
HP 64203Please respect copyright.PENANARMufdTcnAs
AC 18203Please respect copyright.PENANAJAMHdgfvJ7
XP 19,663 (28,800)203Please respect copyright.PENANAm6hwFRFUkT
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.203Please respect copyright.PENANAiRMUPt9KSB
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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAdFrNuyasOj
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Time to check the others.203Please respect copyright.PENANAgXgYnpTQ32
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9203Please respect copyright.PENANAIzxlKCzCea
HP 34203Please respect copyright.PENANAV8nRUFZH36
AC 5203Please respect copyright.PENANAE8oW4qGWPz
XP 72,102 (86,400)203Please respect copyright.PENANAVmizmPA4hJ
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.203Please respect copyright.PENANA6WWcwWIMSw
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9203Please respect copyright.PENANAQWihxi7zfO
HP 53203Please respect copyright.PENANABuGGK2S1Yi
AC 12203Please respect copyright.PENANAKhD2RzvRWy
XP 71,043 (86,400)203Please respect copyright.PENANAI1VIEcmQQp
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9203Please respect copyright.PENANA8A9UyL1eGV
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3203Please respect copyright.PENANAalkm1J456G
HP 17203Please respect copyright.PENANAfje0RznNjH
AC 14203Please respect copyright.PENANAjQjILq7SyH
XP 684 (800)203Please respect copyright.PENANAEyd9yezUns
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15203Please respect copyright.PENANAt6nBBT724R
Scroll of Charm203Please respect copyright.PENANALtNqpfYI1n
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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAO7PLRHnqjS
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANAfeynfab7Ct
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANARmq7H6myfj
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANA2U3HyFPlbr
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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?203Please respect copyright.PENANAotYz0duLIP
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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.203Please respect copyright.PENANActMzGO571H
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.