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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAB1yV7Zq82F
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAaxWvoGQTBD
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Greyland191Please respect copyright.PENANArjndNptwyv
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Economy Military People191Please respect copyright.PENANADZfIuIrEk8
Currently building: granary level 2191Please respect copyright.PENANAf4p3QHa4Lh
Monthly trade income: 0191Please respect copyright.PENANAUAFdN88ZAD
Monthly tax income: 54 gold191Please respect copyright.PENANAzqgG4Hn9zk
Daily food consumption: 13 units191Please respect copyright.PENANA9BnBlRLNZT
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days191Please respect copyright.PENANAxawC34rgx7
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days191Please respect copyright.PENANAjyt3EgS2zq
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days191Please respect copyright.PENANAuuJzVgi4IB
Meat yield: 4 units daily191Please respect copyright.PENANAzdiJer3uRc
Timber yield: 17 planks daily191Please respect copyright.PENANAiNeVOKkCP1
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily191Please respect copyright.PENANAcxASfcRoxH
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily191Please respect copyright.PENANAYlw6qHsED4
Smithy yield: no production set191Please respect copyright.PENANAjEhXlyByQU
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily191Please respect copyright.PENANA9pxilv9pHL
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Research: steel pickaxes191Please respect copyright.PENANAdPLGrrZtqI
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Resources:191Please respect copyright.PENANAPQlhvOm6Yv
Wheat: 19 food units191Please respect copyright.PENANAHgEVcACa8y
Vegetables: 32 food units191Please respect copyright.PENANA5gOxpwlqku
Meat: 5 food units191Please respect copyright.PENANAKLauJfVUDi
Wool: 7 bales191Please respect copyright.PENANAfPk1I8dDTV
Timber: 134 planks191Please respect copyright.PENANAqFkI6iQv5R
Iron: 11 ingots191Please respect copyright.PENANAUx21gWBsVX
Stone: 33 blocks191Please respect copyright.PENANA0jOHn5Z9yl
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 2.191Please respect copyright.PENANAqOtJm6kspW
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAuYHOuJgsNQ
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Military191Please respect copyright.PENANA7vkLbyDmrN
Light infantry: 32191Please respect copyright.PENANABWE4MrXO4T
Heavy infantry: 12191Please respect copyright.PENANAvfIe2cRen1
Archers: 18191Please respect copyright.PENANAIPzE9yZV2Y
Light cavalry: 24191Please respect copyright.PENANAPQpziW9Nwu
Heavy cavalry: 3191Please respect copyright.PENANA59m49FCw0c
Ballista: 1191Please respect copyright.PENANAYidxausIgX
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Hospital: 17191Please respect copyright.PENANAUxRTcSZHIU
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver191Please respect copyright.PENANANkIfTIFAdL
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry191Please respect copyright.PENANAJ3qTRG8VID
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1191Please respect copyright.PENANAY4U31ZHz91
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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?191Please respect copyright.PENANAnAcxuBtiwk
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANA7mX4s7tKNb
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People191Please respect copyright.PENANA6tgOEN5SD2
Citizens: 485191Please respect copyright.PENANAb1WIC01YtZ
Happiness: 14191Please respect copyright.PENANAwZ7br5xgNi
Tax Level: High191Please respect copyright.PENANALQDOXLeqip
Health: 89191Please respect copyright.PENANAB4ABnOeE5d
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Specialist roles191Please respect copyright.PENANAktXTm1BTYF
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7191Please respect copyright.PENANAdROPc2r0qL
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9191Please respect copyright.PENANAVJpS7V8Gm3
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9191Please respect copyright.PENANAqAXu1sPewZ
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?191Please respect copyright.PENANAJEpT6C9lyv
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANA6L1Ovb4GKa
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7191Please respect copyright.PENANAAHhgSg4yd4
HP 64191Please respect copyright.PENANAQlONuompPx
AC 18191Please respect copyright.PENANAzaFPwZiBVx
XP 19,663 (28,800)191Please respect copyright.PENANAMlGE4RdgEM
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.191Please respect copyright.PENANAMD41XriBWp
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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAWpmc1NNGFY
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Time to check the others.191Please respect copyright.PENANAqdKzKQoeIK
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9191Please respect copyright.PENANAY2mO9qD8gN
HP 34191Please respect copyright.PENANAryFu6oMwlI
AC 5191Please respect copyright.PENANA4JpMQKMKtU
XP 72,102 (86,400)191Please respect copyright.PENANAQyIhKEbz8G
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.191Please respect copyright.PENANAbAzLSIjSMg
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9191Please respect copyright.PENANA4JYVFawlCx
HP 53191Please respect copyright.PENANAvgqbsjN75K
AC 12191Please respect copyright.PENANAD7j5IoRE9x
XP 71,043 (86,400)191Please respect copyright.PENANAGPZ4KBhbx4
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9191Please respect copyright.PENANAGp5Y0X0BU4
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3191Please respect copyright.PENANAxELnYWOjI8
HP 17191Please respect copyright.PENANAUBMpzALf3J
AC 14191Please respect copyright.PENANAw5WNzd2ks2
XP 684 (800)191Please respect copyright.PENANANAgE2jEi0c
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15191Please respect copyright.PENANAgzMklLrQji
Scroll of Charm191Please respect copyright.PENANAs5uBSrMwg1
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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAUjMAFp0X5f
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANATVaxbCnQ9N
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAzsF81mWRO0
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAbly44TilLk
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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?191Please respect copyright.PENANA9IyuLHrpgF
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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.191Please respect copyright.PENANAVcRlOztuIj
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.