I’ve got permission from the developers to start an AAR for the game, even though it is still in the final stages of beta testing. So here goes!
Specifications:
The first choice I have to make is how big is the map going to be. Sizes range from tiny (30 x 20) to Enormous (70 x 52). I’m going to go for large, which is the default setting: big enough so that (hopefully) I won’t be stomped by my opponent the first year, small enough that it will be fairly quick and bloody.
The next thing is the society that this terrible conflict will play itself out in. There are six different societies to choose from, some more chaotic than others. There’s also a random option, which is kinda the easy way out, but I’ll choose it anyway.
I think I’m going to have an ally this game, but I think I want him not to start right next to me, so no on clustered start, but yes on Common Cause - which means that if I lose my citadel (which normally means game over) I am still in, so long as my ally has his citadel.
To make things easy, I’m going to just set one opponent, but to make things harder, I’m going to make him a Knight level, whereas my ally will be a Jester level.
Finally I’m going to choose a character at random, which turns out to be the Enchanter.
Enchanter
Here we are in the beautiful crystal tower by the sea. My name’s Ostrogotha, and I’ll be your Enchanter for the foreseeable future. As you can see there is a coal mine on the other side of the river. Coal mines are the least productive of all mines, producing 1 extra gold and 1 iron per turn. However, that’s a big help since the crystal tower only produces 2 gold and no iron.
As you can see, my special powers almost all require iron, and at times copious amounts of it. As such I need to find mines, and fast. I plan to send my trusty apprentice, Godegisel, out into the wide world to find my mines. It’s really the best way to learn - by being thrown out into the great wide dangerous world to see what you can find. I am generous though - I will sent out with Godegisel some swordsmen and crossbowmen as an honor guard. In fact I plan on sending out most of my soldiers with him, because I anticipate that any mines he finds will be guarded by fell dwarves or worse.
I have received reports from my trusty ally, Ulugh Beg the King of the Deep (war makes strange bedfellows) that the entrance to his vast underground cavern lies to the northwest, and that he is sending out his strange pale, flabby, workers to explore the area.