Explaining turn #3

Looking at the Basic Data

The only knew thing here this turn is a section labelled "Technology Known" this is a useful section for Mesnoth because his people are researching and learning things on their own, it's also useful because he managed to lose a skill they started the game with. We weren't tracking the technology in the early turns for Drethnor because he was simply giving his people complete techs every turn and the entire tribe knew everything Drethnor had taught from turn one. This entry doesn't show up in sample game one until much later when the "Chosen" and the Drethen split into two totally seperate groups with different skills, beliefs, and Culture.

Looking at the Description

This turn is a pretty even evolution from last turn, Mesnoth has a few more people and they are eating well. Nobody leaves the island and they are intent on learning useful skills while depending on Mesnoth to keep them safe and secure in their personal Eden. The biggest problem right now is that the people have NO weapons and their are a lot fish and birds eating their harvest, also all the wild game is drawing in predators that the people are NOT prepared to deal with.

The Conversation

Mesnoth is facing a few problems this turn with what he's trying to do. First his people have no weaponry skills and no impliments for basic carving even! They are using sharp shells and their teeth to cut the reeds and weave them which isn't very effective even if it works. Knives are a tool all people really need!

Plus the people are severely agoraphobic, it took him a lot more points than he expected just to get them into the deeper water to lay fish traps. He's learning the hard way that these fellows are NOT the masters of the inland delta! How did that happen? These fellows started out the same as Drethnor's feirce tribesmen, so how did they become such pansies within a few turns?

The change is a result of their experience over the past 200 years. First these fellows spent a longer time on the edge of death, and they entered a place where food was easy to find, but so was disease and dangerous predators.

They did't have to use their knives to fight beasts for raw rotting meat, instead they picked abundant food from the trees and died due to ambush predators that didn't give them a chance to fight back such as tigers and crocodiles, or due to mysterious diseases that came out of nowhere in the wet swampy environment.

Finally they settled on this island at a much weaker starting state due to a miracle that made them feel SAFE here. So long as they've stayed here they have indeed been safe, up till now it's been a spot predators haven't been much interested in and they have a low population and some natural resistance to the diseases that originally hit the tribe. It took only a very little push, Mesnoth trying to keep them from wandering too far, and they decided just to say put here where they feel safe.

Not leaving meant no access to stone to make new knives, and no fighting with predators or other men meant they had no real need for the tools. Instead they developed other abilities. Farming, weaving are useful skills, but not exactly offensive in any way. Of course here under Mesnoth's protection the people don't think they NEED any offensive skills.

It's a problem Drethnor never had to deal with!