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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpmfolHiRw
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBE7naQj2Pl
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Greyland818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5e1l2i1rFf
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Economy Military People818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLStK8pOr0
Currently building: granary level 2818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmyoxal2QC
Monthly trade income: 0818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUZDkOAE0B
Monthly tax income: 54 gold818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSHvqVOwc6
Daily food consumption: 13 units818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcwn2XENra
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKq8s6fv6Q
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWYCTmktyu
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtbLWFYtii
Meat yield: 4 units daily818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWKPcZ9qTo
Timber yield: 17 planks daily818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4ECb2IN8A
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYD3upTKmy
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoO8dGFYpJ
Smithy yield: no production set818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvR7XBshnZ5
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3l0F5AMpnS
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Research: steel pickaxes818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTumJpFaUwI
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Resources:818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnMEysfEG8
Wheat: 19 food units818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxWaNgLVOr
Vegetables: 32 food units818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJwXWhkzkY
Meat: 5 food units818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2pFfqWbN6
Wool: 7 bales818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3mr2Ik3tR
Timber: 134 planks818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ii8SC49g4
Iron: 11 ingots818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPN6bCvRXDA
Stone: 33 blocks818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTc4DV8wKJ
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 2.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQTDyZsudU
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLZOV0DuVr
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Military818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsW2blXOxT
Light infantry: 32818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwQ2hQ4RWg
Heavy infantry: 12818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN2rNSeUUe
Archers: 18818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMA97XbNGl6
Light cavalry: 24818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVr8AGAshE
Heavy cavalry: 3818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6FvxswAEB
Ballista: 1818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNl6rH6vjc
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Hospital: 17818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QpFXbwvtY
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYc3CoER23
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIV3siEbXk
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQjEb7HqIS
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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?818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrsAhPdS2v
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokWF1ttAO9
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People818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcE86C2mfeT
Citizens: 485818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg753RsVhsa
Happiness: 14818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjAvnBhjLF
Tax Level: High818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlb0JvLz6B
Health: 89818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXMjGOojfk
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Specialist roles818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlqWXuwoAo
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpF2YxUxy8e
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡen0qmucCFO
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZMUjnzdo2
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?818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvN1ZIznkep
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtV1Nx3oT3
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzq3iMhdUr3
HP 64818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxUcbazyHL
AC 18818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHPf4sNjPh
XP 19,663 (28,800)818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hTEDaoF6h
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnEihBznLe
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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCBAhGWUVA
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Time to check the others.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9SY3Q3zUF
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi14dXXV6Rz
HP 34818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFtvJ0vE2W
AC 5818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSvo3Gd4nM
XP 72,102 (86,400)818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT6dp60ptT
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrKWf8QUb0
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTZg8pTMt9
HP 53818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3S2lXn5GMT
AC 12818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldL6rpftII
XP 71,043 (86,400)818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEEpKZj7LB
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVocbRJNQM
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgJwzNeS29
HP 17818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGnmgXuOr6
AC 14818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UzcpJhfAb
XP 684 (800)818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoQ5FecS1w
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3JTnl7F0S
Scroll of Charm818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCyTtXxMju
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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJhWMdwUNN
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzx8zBDQ6I
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNw7oLBjDg
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡij3YdUk7iI
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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?818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNFmezcfFp
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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.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPopdedufyD
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My head filling again with images of the town planning interface, I was asleep before I knew it.
and then Add to home screen.