Dungeons and Colonies 16

Field Trip

With the pirate threat eliminated, I felt like I had opened up more of the new world for me to explore.  The Mayor's home was completed, and with Craft Street done, the colonists need some time to replenish our stock of goods.  I told Jim that I was going to go exploring for a few days, maybe a week or so.  He said it would do me good, and I might find some more stuff for the colony, so I bid farewell to the town and I journeyed out.

A little past where the library ship had been, I came to a big rim of walls.  It took a while, but I finally made it up and over, and then I saw what was on the other side.  A cold wind blew against the cliff, and I beheld a valley covered in snow.  The walls must trap the air and moisture into the valley.  A vast spruce forest lay in front of me.  Spruce are rare near the colony, so it was a great discovery, we may have to set up a logging cabin near here to gather some of the wood.

Just beyond the valley walls on the other side, the land was lush and green.  The walls do such  a good job in blocking any cold wind, that a green coast opens up.  Across a bit of water there is even a giant jungle!  I did not explore the jungle much because day was turning to night.  I gathered some jungle logs and I went back to the coast, here I decided to build a cabin.

I started by creating some posts in the ground using the jungle logs.  This would frame my home and give it the strength it needs to support a roof.  I want a simple home because likely I will only live in it a few weeks, and also give the colonists a map to it, in case they wander and get lost at night,  It may prove a useful shelter for anyone out on their own.

I next added the walls and kept plenty of room for windows.  I chose this slightly elevated spot so that I could keep an eye out on my surroundings.  There does not seem to be many predators around because the valley is full of cows and the jungle is full of pigs, but I can never be too safe.

From the entrance you get a view of the inside.  I tried to maximize the useful space without making it feel claustrophobic.  I built a stair and a platform for my bed to reside on.  Making up one wall of the platform is my storage and crafting area.

The far side of the cabin incorporates a very large viewing window so that I can see far into the fields.  I used jungle wood planks for the flooring, and spruce boards for the walls.  The platform is made of regular "oak", so here you see a nice contrast of the wood types.  Here you also see that under the platform is a fenced area with a walk way underneath the cabin.  

The cellar is fully enclosed in stone, and I added a hardwood floor to it as well.  It will most likely be used for the more precious storage, and also as a storm cellar in case the weather on the planes is anything like the planes back home in the old world.

S.

Dungeons and Colonies 15

Taking a Stroll

Ok.  I hate the look of that house.  This is 2.5 though, so there are no multi-colored stairs nor slabs in this version, so I can only do so much.  Still, I think I'll look for something that I might be able to use to make the house better.  I stray a long ways down the coast, almost a half day by boat.  I get out and I climb down into a valley.

I find some sheep down here.  Now, we know I can't keep farms because of the silly colonists like killing sheep, so I go around and a sheer about two stacks of the stuff from the giant herd.  This will help me make some better carpets and some beds that are needed in town.

Leather is widely needed for various things, and meat would be a welcome change from the bread we constantly eat.  Up a hill I find some cows and proceed to kill and field dress them so that I can take back their useful items to the town.  Over this hill, I find a very rugged bit of land, and on the hillsides it is dotted here and there with pumpkins.

I gather a few and wish that the colonists could make pumpkin pies, but alas, no one here knows how(that came from a later version).  Still, I scout the area for more cows and possibly pigs.  I get to the top of a rather large hill... but then spot something way off in the distance, almost hiding behind a hill.

Another ship!  This is one small.  I soon remember the note I found in the large pirate ship.  There were other ships in the area that belonged to this crew.  I am optimistic though, not all ships are bad.  Some just want to do trade with our colony while exploring the new world.  I scout around the mountain and come to a better approach upon the ship.

It is definitely a smaller ship, and it is docked against the cliff here.  I am soon spotted and yell to the inhabitants, asking if they had seen any wandering cows about.  There is commotion on the ship and then suddenly I realize these are the same type of pirates I had fought before.

They jump down from the deck and come out of the upper cabin to fight with me.  "I bet his friends are the ones that burned the Captain's ship!" I hear them yell.  "Get him!  For the Captain!"  "We'll make him tell us where his friends are, then we'll have our revenge!"  So it is clear to me now, I have to clean out this ship or my Colony will once again be in danger.  I fight my way up to the deck, and the one in charge seems to be in the cargo hold.

"Come down here, and you'll get cleaved!" the pirate yelled up at me.  I jumped down the latter and met him, axe to sword.  There was not much room for axe use down there, so I soon got the upper hand and slew my foe.  When I put up several torches I found a true treasure in the hold.

A library of a great many books... and a particularly interesting book, "Magus Incantantum" it said on its cover.  Over the next few days I would go back and forth from the ship, cleaning out the books and bringing them back to the village.  I would put the books on the Gullwing, since no one but I frequented that ship.  I wanted to study the books a bit more before I concerned my colonists with it.

I once again made sure that no one would be able to make use of this dread pirate ship.  But not all my questions are answered.  None of these pirates looked rather educated, and none of them had any sort of books or writing utensils on their person.  Whoever these books once belonged to, I did not see hide nor hair of the person while I was there.

I gathered my new materials and tried a second time to make the Mayor's home look better.

Dungeons and Colonies Chapter 14

For Receiving

This is a little area behind Craft Row and up a hill a little.  I cleared it off with little effort(compared to the Town Hall area) and decided it was a good place to build a Mayor's residence.  The house has to be fairly impressive because it will be where the Mayor takes people to convince them to use our new colony as stopping points to explore the unknown lands.  I have saved up quite a bit of rare materials for use in its decor to try and impress the dignitaries.

In a departure of my usual style, I do not make an outline of the home.  I need to know if I have cleared enough land to be usable.  I start by making an entrance and what will be the first large room.  On the outside I make a double porch.  Weird, I know, but I wanted a new feature I had never done before.  I might sort of regret it later, but it would let the Mayor have a view of the town no matter what level they are on.

As you can see in the first picture, the house is a bit more done and boxed in.  I decided to make the kitchen a sort of attachment to the house.  The reason manor houses started doing that is because historically the kitchen was kept away from the homes in case of fire, or because  slaves that cooked were kept away from the home.  Later the attached kitchen became a style copied in newer homes.  No slaves in our colony, but the style is expected.  The next picture is where I chose to do the stairway, in the 2nd large room.  I want the stairway to be out of sight in a sort of Jeffersonian style, so I'll be adding a wall here.

Now we come to the flooring.  I am going to use the flooring as a way of showing the wealth of the colony by using different floorings for different rooms.  The home is still quite small compared to what some people would build.  I tend to build in the "3 block high" style.  The roof is generally 1 empty space above your head.  It limits the amount of detail you can have, but it also keeps the home looking descent with tiny tiny doors attached.  Anyway.  Time for a tour.

We start at the entrance.  Stone brick flooring in case there is any mud on the guest's shoes.  The door here leads out to the first porch in case the Mayor wants to give the guests a good view of the colony before they begin talks.

Lapis Lazuli carpet lines the general seating area with expertly carved couches by Jim.  The picture is somewhat low definition, so you can't see the intricate woodwork carvings Jim put into the seating.  Windows line the room, letting in light and more views of the colony.  

In the dining room I used birch wood floors, polished to a mirror shine.  It makes the room seem much brighter than the few torches would let on.  with a large glass window in the back, dinners are treated to indigenous fruits and delicacies.  Items that can be shipped back on their boats to the old world.

The rest of the house is meant for general use and is "hidden" down a hallway.  Past the stairs to the 2nd floor(the Mayor's floor), there is the kitchen.  The kitchen has a double oven, a large chimney, and a nice birch counter top with granite cutting areas.  It has a door leading to the outside garden so that fresh produce and herbs can be picked and used in the dishes with minimum hassle.

The upstairs is a modest room for the Mayor's general usage.  There are observation windows near the bed, and a door out to the upper balcony so that the Mayor can keep an eye on things happening in the colony.  Whoever is chosen Mayor will be able to decorate and arrange the room how they like, so it is kept spartan for now.

The view from the Mayor's Balcony stretches on into the distance to the coastline and mill.  You can also see Town Hall in the lower left corner.  The balcony stretches over so that Craft Street is observable as well.

Here is a photo of the gardens attached to the Mayor's residence.  They consist of a small pond, flower beds using local flowers, and hedges lining the front.  There is a seating area outside for those that wish to take their meetings with the Mayor in a more open setting(being cooped up on a ship for the month's journey here would have diplomats weary of enclosed spaces).  The back wall is mossy cobblestone, collected by me in the dangerous places of the world.

And we leave with an open shot.  Not the best looking of home design I've done... I need some more materials.  This piece of crap has got to look better!

Dungeons and Colonies Chapter 13

Tidying up

To tell you the truth, I did half of this update and started on a large project you will see in Chapter 14.  I came back afterward to try and fill this one out.  The last bit of this one is something I had been planning to do for a while, but more on that later.

It has been decided that the cove that the colonists landed one will not become a port, but will remain a sort of sanctuary for the colonists.  Being that way, the beach was getting rather cluttered with supplies and chests that I used while working on the colony.  So I set Jim to the end of Craft Street and told him to build us a warehouse.

At first he was using single chests and I advised him that if we were to make this the colony's storage area we'd need it bigger.  He said that he could do that, and that he had an idea about how to expand storage space as well.  I let him do as he deemed fit.

He built into the warehouse a stone protected basement to house important and valuable objects.  I decided I did not need a delivery man to go about mucking up my storage facility, so I broke the delivery man chest.  I may decide to have one later if I ever get a spot for my personal stuff, and am able to block him from getting to it.

The day is done, and the old man of Craft Street heads home after a hard day's work.  Craft row looks pretty good, and the colonists should be able to produce whatever they need, and maybe some to sell to passers by.  But the day is not done for me.

We once had a spring near where the wheat field is.  Since it was filled in, the colonists have been getting their fresh water from this spring, on the other side of the town hall.  Sometimes though, especially after a rain, the water would be murky, or if someone disturbed the bank the mud would get into the water and colonists would have to wait to use it.

I created an outline and cleaned up the banks a bit.  Then I went on the other side and strengthened the wall.  I had a good idea that maybe it would be useful to have an expanded well as the colony was getting larger.

I always have a thing for two tiered water structures, and I think this one came out pretty nicely.

S.

Dungeons and Colonies Chapter 12

Craft Row!

Time to kick building into high gear in this new area.  I made a blacksmith last time, but there's more craft jobs out there than that.  Eventually they will be making goods to sell, not just what the town needs.  They will also work together to achieve greater products, so why not locate them all together?

I did this to PROVE that Jim is VERY HAPPY about me relocating his shop AGAIN.  This is going to be the last time... I think.  Anyways, the "old man of craft row" is happy to be in a place he can help out his fellow craftsmen. 

The first new addition built by me is the tailoring and sewing supplies building.  In the window you can see a mannequin for displaying the new clothing the tailor has made, and in the back you can see some dyed wool that will be used for whatever a customer needs.

Next I decided there should be a masonry and stonework building.  The building for it is unique to that kind of craft.  I made an area with glass roofing so that the sculpting mason can have plenty of light for his work.  There is a display area showing the kind of masonry he can offer, and finally in the back there is a stone yard that the mason can get his material from.

To emphasize the Mason's skill, I gave the building some stone brick decorations.

Next I created a pottery and weaving building so that my townspeople could have every day useful items like water jugs and bread baskets.  I made a basic building, but outside I created a special garden that is for growing reeds and grass.  Inside I installed a pottery wheel, and a water tank for general use.

S.