Winds of the North v0.8 Playtest Session p2 (Ragnhild, Early Winter, Year 1)

I decided to print out the Weekly Log sheet to keep better notes along with more pictures this time around. I think it’ll make for a more interesting session report.

Part 1: Link
Previews: Link
Version 0.8 info: Link
Playtest sign up: Link

Early Winter (continued)

Month 2

Ragnhild was partway through Early Winter. She’s not in a great place as her stockpile of materials is pretty much spent. No wood, iron, hide, just some cloth from the harvest of flax. So, first things first, she needs some materials for building and crafting. We’ve got clear weather, but she’s also down a couple HP, so first, we rest with Recuperate. She only has 1 Wisdom but has a +1 for having good Happiness. An 8 roll gives a total of 10, more than enough to heal up. Then out to Cut Wood. Another awesome roll with her 1 Survival and +1 from Iron Wedges nets 4 Wood.

The next Week is Rain (-2 to all outdoor activities and a risk of illness). It’s as good a time as any to go to the Vetrnætr Festival, a time to commune with our ancestral spirits for protection and guidance. Ragnhild sacrifices a chicken at the festival but gets a total of 0 (1 with -1 from the chicken, a weak offering). She is not a wise woman, she’s better with her hands than her words.

At the feast, she complains of being bad with her wits and a skald offers her some aid, giving her 2 x on her Wisdom, bonuses she can spend on Wisdom rolls. She also hears of another Trade Request. During recreation, Ragnhild joins the mock battles and wrecks everyone, winning a new goat (to replace that chicken). At home, she tends to her new livestock and gets some extra food.

The last week of the month is clear weather. Back to collecting resources. She gets 2 more wood and some meat and oil from fishing. The oil is great for selling at the market for extra silver. At the end of the month, we eat up the meat and a bit of our food supply and are invited to a wedding as our event. I could spend resources as a wedding gift and get a servant, but we have no space in our house until we build a house extension. So we just enjoy our time and get 1 Happiness. However, the house extension isn’t what Ragnhild is eyeing to build next. With Late Winter coming, the animals will be at risk, so she needs to get the Byre built, preferably before Late Winter.

Month 3

We start off with some clear weather, so back out for more resources. 3 wood but only 1 meat from fishing (Ragnhild has 0 fishing and +1 from fishing nets). Not a good week. The next week isn’t much better, giving us rain. Ragnhild stays inside to tend livestock for more food, then risks hunting for some hide. No one gets sick from the rain, but the trap fails and she brings home nothing. This month is off to a rough start!

The weather clears and Ragnhild goes back to hunt. The trap fails again (and costs 2 wood each time to craft) but a lucky roll nets us a couple of small game. Unfortunately, Ragnhild doesn’t have room to take the meat, but she gets 2 hides. The fishing trip also yields 1 oil (again, no room for meat). For the last week, it’s time to head to market. On the way, we get an event, a small cave. But Ragnhild has no torches for cave-delving, so we leave and continue to the market. She gets some decent prices for the oil and hides (making 24 silver), but her cloth was valued at 75% off so she kept them to try and sell another time. She’s got enough to buy 1 iron anyway. She has everything she needs to start the Byre. Ragnhild’s last activity for Early Summer is to build. She has 3 Farming and +1 from a high-quality Hammer (which provides 1 re-roll for being high quality). Her first roll is a 4 which is okay. But she might as well re-roll since her bonuses mean she can’t get a lower result on the table (her minimum total is the same outcome). She gets an amazing roll.

4 of the 5 boxes are filled in for the Byre, and that’s it for the month and for the season. The month ends and Ragnhild gets a free 1 box on any building in progress (for having a household of at least 5 people). This completes the Byre just in time for Late Winter. We eat up and then get an event. A mishap; fire. Fortunately, the fire doesn’t do any major damage; it would damage a building under construction but we already finished the Byre. The event also eats up wood in repairs, but we’re out of wood. However, Late Winter begins. The 2 of us become sick, dropping us by 2 Happiness as well. Unfortunately for my Byre, which makes animals only get sick on a 7+ instead of a 6+, I roll two 7s on the animals, so two of them become sick. It’s fine. I’m sure.

Ragnhild will need to get more wood going or risk even more illness from the cold. She also might need to buy some medicine. On the upside, with the Byre complete, the animals have a bit of protection from the cold and we can house up to 8 animals. Maybe it’s time for sheep for wool or cows for extra food. Long-term, Ragnhild will want to build a Knaar to be able to start fulfilling some of those juicy Trade Requests. Building another field before Summer would also be good so she can plant a lot more and have an even bigger harvest next year.