Winds of the North Playtest Session pt6 (Eyjolf, Summer, Year 2)

After a surprisingly good Spring where Eyjolf somehow got his crops planted (and even overflowed his fields!), we go into Summer with a good stock of Oil to sell. But what to buy? We’re definitely going Raiding again this Summer so we’ll probably look for something to help us out there. Meanwhile, we still need to finish that House Extension.

This time, I also made a Resource Track and tokens. I’ve had multiple requests for it, so I’ll be releasing it in the next update. It only tracks the most used resources though (or ones you’re likely to use at some point). This first version had some misalignment on some of the tokens, but this has already been corrected. Because Silver can go much higher than other resources, you’ll have to use some coins or other tokens if you want to track Silver on the Resource Tracks (otherwise I’d have to supply several tokens for Silver).

Month 1, Summer

We start with some nice, clear Weather, perfect for Building. A minor roll only fills 1 box. But progress is progress. We then head to the market to sell off the Oil. No Event on the way, but we get a great roll and sell the Oil for 7 Silver each for a total of 42. We’ve got 50 Silver to spend! Well, most of it. It’s good to keep some on-hand for fees and taxes (or surprise merchants). Eyjolf hires two new Servants to fill up the Household again and start getting us those free Build boxes each Month, then splurges on a nice Bear Cloak in preparation for the Raids. That leaves us with 10 Silver.

More Clear Weather. Hunting and Exploring are tempting, but we go back to Build instead. 1 More box. Getting closer. After selling off our Oil, we head out for some Fishing since Summer has more lucrative Fishing. We bring in 5 Meat (not useful since we’re going to leave on a Raid) and 3 Oil. At some point, I remember to check the Summer Festival, but it’s now too late. Let that be a lesson; if you want to go to the Festival, check at the start of the Season so you know when it is!

We are blessed with more clear Weather, but the Build still winds up 0 this Week. At least we have a full Household again for those free boxes. We then go out and grab some Wood. Our last is Rain, but we’re only doing one quick Activity before the Raid. We head for some Fishing, but the Oil is all that matters. I was hoping to finish the House Extension before the Raid in case we… bring home a new friend, but our poor Farming slowed our progress too much.

The Raid

All of our things are in order. I wish we could have gotten a bonus from the Festival, but we don’t have animals to sacrifice anyway. Time for Raiding! No Event this time. Unfortunately, when it comes time to Scout, we roll a Storm. With Eyjolf’s Seamanship of 1, the -4 from the Storm is too risky. We could lose 1 Rank if we do very poorly at Scouting. We opt out and go into the Attack.

First up is a Villager. We win the Initiative and poke them with our Spear. Easy. We stay in the battle for the next opponent. Militia. We lose Initiative this time, but our Defense bonuses are now quite formidable with our Cloak, Shield, and our Cousin’s bonus. With another good roll, the Militia is down. +1 Rank! Unfortunately, during the Regroup, we roll low and fail to impress anyone. We end the Raid with Rank 2. Rewards: 20 silver, 2 Hide, 6 Food. Had to throw out our Torches to make room for Hide. I was hoping for more, but our Wisdom and Seamanship might still be too low for good Raid rewards. We might be increasing these two Skills at the end of the Year. Bringing a Ship with a full crew also gives you a big boost, but that can be pretty expensive. We’ll see.

Month 3, Summer

For our final Week of Summer, we get clear Weather again. Instead of attempting slow progress on the Extension (and we’re in no rush now), I decided to start a Shed for extra Storage space. We’ve been filling up regularly, and we had to throw something away for the first time. Sheds are at least easy, so we get 2 boxes right off the bat. We go out for one last Fishing trip, but only bring in the Oil since there’s no room for Meat.

We end the last Month of Summer. One more box on the House Extension. Hurray! But we have no Meat to preserve since we had no room in Storage. Boo. At least we brought home 6 Food from the Raid, so we gobble that up and 2 Preserved Meat. We’re back to 8 mouths to feed. No Event this Month. We move once more into Fall.

At this point, Eyjolf needs to figure out some long-term plans. Fame can be hard to come by, especially if you don’t specialize yourself. The 3 most consistent ways of earning Fame are in Raids, Attending the Thing, and throwing a big feast during Jól. Wisdom can play a big roll in acquiring regular Fame, but Eyjolf’s Wisdom is only 2. If he had his own Ship and a crew, he could still attend other Raids and get a bonus for supplying more men. Hosting a Raid can be lucrative too, but it has its own dangers. A feast is easy to throw, but it’s expensive. If Eyjolf saves up his money and collects enough supplies, he should be able to get his first Fame during Jól. Exploring can also give you chance encounters that reward Fame, but it’s much less reliable. We’ll probably try to save up some money and splurge on a feast.

Until next time!