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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfR0llWOLm3
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKULyf4U60E
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Greyland394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwLKl1A1sx
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Economy Military People394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aPak3Bahd
Currently building: granary level 2394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63CnzgaRVv
Monthly trade income: 0394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0I8Yy82z8U
Monthly tax income: 54 gold394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflcn5SdkeJ
Daily food consumption: 13 units394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9msOU3GVv
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNErLXLVdL
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrlHpNauDQ
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8AzL84PWA
Meat yield: 4 units daily394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0Qif7jwB9
Timber yield: 17 planks daily394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBReTS8ZoXX
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMQwNv6FCI
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYGK8kDdbc
Smithy yield: no production set394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVR5kLdQQP
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94umKbHM5e
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Research: steel pickaxes394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZHHuA5lKi
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Resources:394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVQQP7oR9U
Wheat: 19 food units394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HDGPw5lMV
Vegetables: 32 food units394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9xfpPdaOv
Meat: 5 food units394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlFkpGF65E
Wool: 7 bales394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOlliRRNM8
Timber: 134 planks394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjOQZA4pPr
Iron: 11 ingots394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQBD11muOH
Stone: 33 blocks394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqAIEJLWRR
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 2.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aaITY6vZl
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBfOuv5k00
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Military394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExhD7D9n3R
Light infantry: 32394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqGQCYgKlq
Heavy infantry: 12394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7kC3DKNUI
Archers: 18394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Q0Ew0hzCe
Light cavalry: 24394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iRd7E5eCw
Heavy cavalry: 3394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrsPQHiHOf
Ballista: 1394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRgWSs0ocS
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Hospital: 17394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxuDYQdNup
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtideZiyIQ
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJHJlAODzA
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWWM9w6ckx
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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?394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMEWGUty76
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpD9pdL7uB
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People394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuz7KGhdhx
Citizens: 485394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEL1WcyIv2V
Happiness: 14394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7yzytzsD0
Tax Level: High394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFapa9iYp4
Health: 89394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVtXmxKucT
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Specialist roles394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgmK9SClzO
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0o8R0DuTn
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12WyR7lC0D
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPWNmEhXA2
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?394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV9zLQKDuP
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmNBBF5NPE
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCA0lhStUf
HP 64394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxwnBbZehs
AC 18394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLWNdNbonI
XP 19,663 (28,800)394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlWY0tboNR
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1U3CcJcH3
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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOnxeavXMj
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Time to check the others.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnC9crrelgy
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYezf0ze8c
HP 34394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsKJuyJ3ZW
AC 5394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniOX9xO1eK
XP 72,102 (86,400)394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYOODnY02G
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimcHF3Hb1o
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE471Rs5D7e
HP 53394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qyZyiLaXc
AC 12394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteMnO14eyL
XP 71,043 (86,400)394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIyNNd2qac
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZtKuoN7ez
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kvjwVJrFC
HP 17394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeqtNkMspE
AC 14394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahnUUadEjz
XP 684 (800)394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxNKC997Qm
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf0g6zYk3x
Scroll of Charm394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrt2dqZZKZ8
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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKy7C5AEkgw
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjFEMhHk3U
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaPrbtSVLu
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2KL6yUlQz
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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?394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLnGVdPBVK
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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.394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLvCAzSNYO
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.
