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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzU6iPJLrz
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1n4xo7jkO
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Greyland442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14FYJn0fWA
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Economy Military People442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDj3uOUZAjD
Currently building: granary level 2442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nwkNJ21xG
Monthly trade income: 0442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVMMhtGVRi
Monthly tax income: 54 gold442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjM4ioh2aW
Daily food consumption: 13 units442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJJZOuzTay
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Grain yield: 0 due in 17 days442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMV5LDvt5m
Vegetable yield: 35 food units due in 21 days442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCcerhPzVi
Wool yield: 3 bales due in 34 days442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6MJRisBy7
Meat yield: 4 units daily442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVWVjUrQal
Timber yield: 17 planks daily442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1u9Cpwhln
Iron yield: 2 ingots daily442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUORz2Xs2Z
Quarry yield: 6 blocks daily442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TWEGuYWTM
Smithy yield: no production set442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRMHuWvduo
Weaving yield: 4 bolts daily442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbceMNCVAFP
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Research: steel pickaxes442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktTZmPvITo
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Resources:442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZ0foKk2kN
Wheat: 19 food units442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJW4sT0S1O
Vegetables: 32 food units442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQNImyGfI3
Meat: 5 food units442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJtveEEt8c
Wool: 7 bales442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRBG4Z9Xes
Timber: 134 planks442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQ3vFUAx1L
Iron: 11 ingots442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlsHkfU34j
Stone: 33 blocks442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eUjSoJekb
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 2.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAoSb1y1rF
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbm67T3CYD
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Military442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0SYYt4JFM
Light infantry: 32442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQbfnMLg1u
Heavy infantry: 12442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZfkGpdwwN
Archers: 18442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxy9MFLmBt
Light cavalry: 24442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSK0LuLMJR
Heavy cavalry: 3442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrDEvPBE70
Ballista: 1442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZ7Y5GTzz3
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Hospital: 17442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcKvpbSLNN
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Military upkeep cost: 42 gold, 5 silver442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZVeBwJ4qW
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Currently training: 2 heavy cavalry442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtNeTwU6BF
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Buildings: keep level 2; curtain walls level 1; towers level 1; town walls level 1442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6eqprRl9v
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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?442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QfroRmTeD
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBQ6IdlgwE
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People442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5k88MVeDOY
Citizens: 485442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpWBCD7ruO
Happiness: 14442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqqOpykMEY
Tax Level: High442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqSj8yruPS
Health: 89442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9x0huLzQ9
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Specialist roles442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbO9Q4yfml
General: Lord Arval, Paladin Level 7442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0bkK4qA4d
Royal Wizard: Carlena, Sorceress Level 9442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDKSO97gFN
Steward: Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9HcYvXkUl
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?442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dEZqtU1KG
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKQMfIcBP5
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Lord Arval: Paladin Level 7442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtUM85nVqf
HP 64442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzKYrh6vVK
AC 18442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBxEex7vYz
XP 19,663 (28,800)442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC20r9gggQu
Str 17 (18), Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 9.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWaaqXXoHk
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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMZTVgt24X
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Time to check the others.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFA13ILwjk
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Carlena, Sorceress Level 9442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5R1gJleGI
HP 34442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWCKpdqk2x
AC 5442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzlVEL2B8w
XP 72,102 (86,400)442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvAUVaPmVO
Str 5, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 7, Cha 8.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YHeELN1Z6
Broach of Protection from Magical Missiles; Wand of Channelling; Potion of Transformation.
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Chancellor Parrin, Scout Level 9442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHocrQX9gE
HP 53442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtVIYdGlkR
AC 12442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfk9apZQEgJ
XP 71,043 (86,400)442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcBeUr6bPt
Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 9442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7w9mQykYaA
Dagger +1; Leather Jerkin +1; Ring of Silent Movement.
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Figus, Bard Level 3442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuH1jUR3kBz
HP 17442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9oG7FSLRe
AC 14442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1HYd1C3t5
XP 684 (800)442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcS4CZzrQE
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 15442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBjQs4brzM
Scroll of Charm442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4kf6PXYUT
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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZFyfC5grF
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuUdrhoDHz
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX7qUYA6y5
442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGp6rAUj6F
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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjRa7XLNYU
442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG41Od9x0f5
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?442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisOy2UZpR9
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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.442Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrq5ZOSOfi
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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.