Progress Never Stops

[Tyr]

Tyr woke and donned his smithing clothes with automatic motions. His hair was slightly shaggy, and he had unkempt stubble dotting his face. The past while had been a constant blur of activity. Making prototype equipment, organizing duchy activities, getting his troops ready for combat, planning diplomatic actions throughout the kingdom, keeping his family happy and entertained. It all mixed together and left little time for relaxation or shaving. Today was another day of making things first and foremost. As the Duke walked out of his small room he roused himself by rebuilding the forge fire. Coal was added and bellows were pumped, a warm glow rewarding his efforts in short order.

An aide walked through the front doors as he worked, carrying a small series of papers. They were construction orders throughout his counties, and with bleary eyes he signed them all. His treasury would be slightly lessened, but it was worth it for everything to be fortified in short order. The last one had caught him by surprise, the basic grod work on his family's old castle was complete, and now they needed authorization to continue work with the keep additions. At this rate it would be just under a year for the castle to be completely restored.

If they got that far.

Shaking the doubts and fears of oncoming war from his head, Tyr dumped some metal ingots into the fire and got to working. Today was a day for both invention, and upgrades. Progress was coming, and it demanded his help to be become reality.

---

Ordering a grod, barracks, armory, and stables to be built in the 7 connected side counties. Ordering a keep, stable, moat, and reinforced walls to main county.

[Tyr]

With the paperwork complete it was time for the more intensive tasks. First was something he'd been formulatimg for a while, the first piece to a number of puzzles. A metal spring. Now that might seem simple, but this wasn't something he'd made before or even seen made. All he knew was the idea, and he got it after seeing a sword wobble in place. A bow fired based on the force of it snapping back into place. If metal could be made to bend properly, surely it would function even better.

He started off by refining a steel ingot, then shaping the metal in a long, slender rod. After several tests he found it deformed fairly well, but hardly worked better than a how. Now for experimentation. He bent the rod in half, effectively making tongs, and tested the difference. When bending against itself the metal seemed to snap back better. That gave him another idea...

Holding the steel rod in the notch above the anvil's horn, Tyr twisted it about to create a coiled section of steel. Once twisted he grabbed some tongs and tied rope around the end to effectively clamp the piece in place. It needed to set in position to be useful, otherwise it was likely to bend back. After being set for a half hour, during which The cleaned shop and planned, the shaper unhooked the coil and tested it. When he compressed it in his hands the coiled metal bent sideways and spring out with some force. A huge smile crossed his face, it was perfect! The force it held gave him ideas, and solidified several other plans he had.

(Roll is auto success for creation of the spring. Knowledge check to be figured out later.)

[Tyr]

The metal spring put the power of a bowstring in such a small device, without the need to draw such a hefty weight. If designed correctly the average person could probably operate a ranged weapon built to use it. It would revolutionize warfare, people wouldn't need to essentially be trained from birth to have the bodily strength required for longbows. You could pick someone off the street, train them to aim the weapon, and have an archer. While toying with ideas, Tyr pulled at the edges of the spring and found it worked the same way in reverse as it did when compressed. When pulled apart, it snapped back together with force. That was an incredibly useful piece of information.

Designs flew into his head, but the one that stuck out was putting the bow sideways, and having something rest against the shoulder for support. The spring would sit near the front, and be pulled back into place. It would still require some strength, but with mechanical advantage built in most people would be capable of it. When released the spring would pull while the wire snapped back, both elements adding together to fire a projectile. The idea was solid, and Tyr got to making it.

Along with the steel spring he used two iron pieces for limbs, a piece of ebony wood for the stock, and then a third iron piece for all the bits and bobs that went along with it. The lock and release mechanism, the wire, etc.

---

Crafting a spring and wire crossbow prototype from 1 steel spring, 3 iron, and 1 ebony.
Easy (15) + K (35) + Wep3/IronM/SteelM/Carp2 (65) = DC 115 (Difficulty is not guaranteed, rolling anyway)
ru2_6MXA

[Tyr]

A day had passed, and Tyr woke with an overriding desire to make armor. Not just any kind though, there was an image that kept presenting itself through his dreams. A melding of a symbol passed down through his family, and a suit of combat armor like none he had made before. Heavily hydrillium based, it drew on all of the experience he'd gained so far to become something amazing. Now it was up to him to turn such a dream into reality.

The forge was fired up and an array of materials readied. Metal hammered into plates, undergarments sewn from silk and leather. Cordite and silver were melded together to create ornate designs all over. Together it become a chest piece of incredible strength. Stylized to be fearsome, and bearing what looked like the symbol of two-pronged mandibles. The armor of a myrmidon, an old legend of his house.

---

Crafting Myrmidon Lord armor. 5 Hydrillium, 1 Iron, 1 steel, 1 wing leather, 5 silk, 1 cordite, 1 silver.
Difficult (-30) + K (40) + IronM/SteelM/HydM/TanM/ArmorM/Tailor3/Jeweler2 (135) + Race (5) + Forge (5) + Skillful (20) = DC 175. Autosuccess.
Masterwork check: 135 + 13 = 148. 8 degrees possible.
a2UxY_7M
92, four degrees earned.
Myrmidon Lord Plate: 567 DR, +40 Cha/Dip, 1 socket, 6 properties; Req 99 Str, 59 Agi, 77 K. (All zones, heavy)

---

The chest piece came out brilliantly, and Tyr set it reverently upon an armor stand. He had several other pieces to make today to complete the set, but for the moment he wanted to examine it and figure out how to possibly improve the design. As he did he started working on some other projects, namely paper making. He'd come upon the idea that small batches made in unison would be better than one large batch, as a failure would be less impacting to the overall result.

---

Making paper. Each batch is made from 5 reeds and 5 straw. Simple (30) + K (40) + Papermaking 0 (0) + DC 70.




4 successes. 20 reed/straw papers made.

---

Tailor Mastery earned!
Jeweler III earned!
Papercrafting I earned!····

[Tyr]

The chest piece hung on the rack, a wondrous culmination of Tyr's experience gained to date. It seemed a bit lonesome though, so Tyr set to work on a helmet to join the piece. It would be built much in the same way, although with a bit less padding covering the inside. The silk he'd used for the first piece wasn't something he maintained a huge supply of, and he'd need to ration it amongst the rest of the armor. Or get more before continuing, but his desire to finish the set was overriding the desire to make it all match.

Batches of paper were started as materials were gathered and prepared. The helm was the second piece to be made, using only one of the remaining bolts of silk. The design on the helmet however led to a pair of jutting, edged protrusions from the bottom of the face. It would follow the design of the symbol on his chest piece, and look quite similar to an overly large pair of ant mandibles.

---

Crafting Myrmidon Lord helmet. 5 Hydrillium, 1 Iron, 1 steel, 1 wing leather, 1 silk, 1 cordite, 1 silver.
Difficult (-30) + K (40) + IronM/SteelM/HydM/TanM/ArmorM/Tailor3/Jeweler2 (135) + Race (5) + Forge (5) + Skillful (20) = DC 175. Autosuccess.
Masterwork check: 135 + 13 = 148. 8 degrees possible.
XpWxfk0h 70, five degrees earned.
Myrmidon Lord Helm: 624 DR, +8 Cha/Dip, 1 socket, 6 properties; Req 99 Str, 59 Agi, 55 K. (All zones, heavy)

---

The helm came out a masterpiece similar to the armor, and Tyr brought it over to the stand with near reverence. He placed it on the mock head and admired his work a moment before going to finish the batches of paper.

---

Five batches of papermaking. Each batch is made from 5 reeds and 5 straw. Simple (30) + K (40) + Papermaking 1 (5) + DC 75.





Three successes, two failures. 15 paper made.·····

[Tyr]

The gloves and boots were the next in line to be created. With the successes of the first two pieces driving him onward, Tyr worked the metals and other materials into their forms. The last of his silk supply was rationed out completely between the two, not really needing any for the belt that would complete the set.

---

Crafting Myrmidon Lord boots and gloves. 5 Hydrillium, 1 Iron, 1 steel, 1 wing leather, 2 silk, 1 cordite, 1 silver.
Difficult (-30) + K (100) + IronM/SteelM/HydM/TanM/ArmorM/TailorM/Jeweler3 (145) + Race (5) + Forge (5) + Skillful (20) = DC 245. Autosuccess.
Masterwork check: 145 + 13 = 158. 8 degrees possible.
Q6PLDc71 (Gloves) 7 degrees earned.
Myrmidon Lord Gloves: 755 DR, +16 Cha/Dip, 1 socket, 6 properties; Req 99 Str, 59 Agi, 60 K. (All zones, heavy)
(Boots) 6 degrees earned.
Myrmidon Lord Boots: 686 DR, +16 Cha/Dip, 1 socket, 6 properties; Req 99 Str, 59 Agi, 60 K. (All zones, heavy)

---

Two more down, all that was left was a belt and some weapons to complete things. The whole set was turning out to be some of the heaviest armor he'd ever created, and with the helmet providing full cover of his face it would enable him to be disguised as a walking armored giant. That could be useful with the current political climate, acting without being identified. Gathering up one more round of materials, Tyr went about crafting the belt. He substituted out one unit of hydrillium to make way for a bunch more fur, each allowing for more and more items to be attached.

---

Crafting Myrmidon Lord belt. 4 Hydrillium, 1 Iron, 1 Steel, 5 wing leather, 1 cordite, 1 silver, 7 cotton, 5 fur
Difficult (-30) + K (100) + IronM/SteelM/HydM/TanM/ArmorM/TailorM/Jeweler3 (145) + Race (5) + Forge (5) + Skillful (20) = DC 245. Autosuccess.
Masterwork check: 145 + 13 = 158. 8 degrees possible.
(Belt) 4 degrees earned.
Myrmidon Lord Belt: 502 DR, 22 Cold resist, +10 Cha/Dip, 25 large slots, 1 socket, 6 properties; Req 99 Str, 56 A, 53 K, 6 Cha

---

And just like that the armor was complete. The pieces looked magnificent, and Tyr couldn't wait to try them on. All he had left to make now was a set of weapons to go with it and he'd be ready for some serious action.··

[Tyr]

Armor set complete it was time for some of the accompanying pieces. Namely weapons, and a shield. His pair of claws had served well to begin with, but now it was time for n upgrade. A mace would do, drawing off his knowledge of hammers, along with a bow to provide a ranged option. They would all be incredibly heavy variants of normal weapons, something most would be challenge to pick up let alone wield. About the same as the armor really.

An upgraded set of claws came first, reserves to keep strapped to his thighs in case he lost his main pair. The mace and shield that followed would be his new primary set, a solid crushing weapon to destroy foes with and an impossibly sturdy shield to take any punishment that came his way. The mace was a trick in of itself, it started with a purely hydrillium core that was then reforged with additional materials added on. Last was a bow. It was carved from numerous wooden limbs that were plied together with an old method one of his teachers had showed him and had a metal grip and tips. They were all covered with silver and cordite designs to complete the set.

---

Crafting recipes
Claws: 5 hydrillium, 1 iron, 1 steel, 1 ebony, 1 silver, 1 cordite
Mace: 5 hydrillium, 1 iron, 1 steel, 1 ebony, 1 silver, 1 cordite
Shield: 1 hydrillium, 1 iron, 1 steel, 27 ebony, 1 silver, 1 cordite
Bow: 1 hydrillium, 1 iron, 1 steel, 27 ebony, 1 silver, 1 cordite
Masterwork checks: 115 + 13 = DC 128. 7 degrees possible.
7pQr8ehu (Claw 1) (7 degrees) 955 damage, crushing/ripping; Req 100 Str, 60 A, 50 K
(Claw 2) (6 degrees) 868 damage, crushing/ripping; Req 100 Str, 60 A, 50 K
(Mace) (7 degrees) 955 damage, crushing; Req 100 Str, 60 A, 50 K
(Shield) (7 degrees) 100 DR, 21524 HP; Req 98 Str, 87 A, 61 K
(Bow) (6 degrees) 852 damage, piercing; 98 Str, 87 A, 61 K.

---

Jeweler Mastery Earned!····

[Tyr]

With the bow rounding out his set of weapons Tyr set about making some arrows to go with it. This wasn't a task he had a whole lot of practice with, but luckily he had plenty of materials on hand. A stack of ebony to carve out the shafts, then using some of the wolf fangs he'd acquired at a hunter's market to create some rather brutal arrows. The shards of bone would help punch through armor, and rip up the target they went through. Rinse and repeat a few times and Tyr would end up with quite the stack of deadly arrows. So much so in fact that his current quiver wouldn't be able to hold them.

That particular problem was fixed with the application of a few leather pieces to make a bigger quiver. It was able to hold most of the arrows at least, about twenty were left over, but that would be more than enough for almost any activity he had in mind. There was always the possibility of field-crafting some more arrows too, but without tools they would be incredibly basic ones.

---

Crafting a large quiver from 2 leather. Autosuccess, no masterwork. Quiver: 100 arrow capacity.
Crafting arrows. 1 Ebony, 1 Wolf Fang per stack, three stacks. Autosuccesses, no masterwork check.
120 Fang Arrows, +21 damage.

---

Almost as an afterthought, Tyr stepped down the amount of materials from his armor set and started working on a new kind. Something that would be much easier for others to wear, and could be more easily replicated in any case. This would be a chest piece only, paired with a sword and shield. The first set of its kind would be a gift for his cousin, perfect for the up and coming Mardocay.

---

Crafting Myrmidon Armor, Sword, and Shield.
Armor: 1 Hydrillium, 1 Iron, 1 Steel, 1 Wing Leather, 3 Fur, 1 Silver, 1 Cordite
Sword: 1 Hydrillium, 1 Iron, 1 Steel, 1 Ebony, 1 Oak, 1 Silver, 1 Cordite
Shield: 1 Hydrillium, 1 Silver, 1 Cordite, 4 Ebony
Masterwork checks:
Armor DC 113 RzRYFdVy 5; 6 degrees. Myrmidon Armor: 141 DR (all zones), 9 Cold Resist, +6 Cha/Dip; Req 24 Str, 15A, 15 K
Sword DC 113 (10?) 10; 6 degrees. Myrmidon Sword: 198 Dam, Slashing, Piercing, Ripping; Req 24 Str, 15 A, 13 K
Shield DC 73 23; 3 degrees. Myrmidon Shield: 80 DR, 1800 HP; Req 23 Str, 17 A, 13 K
··

[Tyr]

Some time had passed and Tyr was right back at work improving the lives of those around him. With the land surveys complete and a suitable location found, it was time to plan the creation of a mine. For the most part if followed a relatively similar format as the regular mines that dotted the Darthaks, but in this case the function was very different. The tunnels would need to branch out more to cover a larger area, gem veins tended to be smaller and harder to follow than ore. There would also need to be a place on site for cutters and polishers to work the gems before they could return to the main city. If a large enough chunk was cut out then reducing it to several viable pieces could keep them busy for months on end.

---

Developing a custom structure: Gem Mine. Using 40 Oak and 10 Granite. Construction time: 1 week real time.
Difficult (-30) + K (100) + Dev2/IndM/Mas2/CarpM (60) = Threshold 130.
a30lsDYo

---

The design incorporated 40 units of wood and 10 units of stone, which Tyr allocated out of his warehouse. The plans were drawn up, signed, and sent off. The workers would set out that day to start the construction and soon enough he would have his mine. While construction was fresh on his mind, the Duke started working on a second project in need of some urgent work. He pulled the current blueprints for a large structure in town and started gutting it, reworking the plans to accommodate several large offices. To truly form Mardok into a proper city there would need to be specialty work completed, and such a thing required the presence of Guilds. Groups of workers formed together for the betterment of their chosen profession. The Guild Hall would give them a place to complete all required administrative work in one easily accessed area.

---

Retrofitting a large structure into a custom structure: Guild Hall. Requires full materials (40 Oak, 10 Granite), constructs in 2 weeks real time.
Hard (-15) + K (100) + Dev2/IndM/Mas2/CarpM (60) = Threshold 145.

---

Again the plans were signed and delivered. This one he would help with in order to get it finished even faster. His presence would have a two-fold effect. First the people would work harder with his inspiring presence, secondly he would be able to guide a much larger contingent of workers through the process at once in order to complete it even faster.

---

Rolling to have the structure completed faster without a loss of HP. Materials, workers, and cost doubled.
Difficult (-30) + K (100) + Dev2/Lead3/Inspire0 (25) = Threshold 95
92, success. Construction time: 1 week real time.
··

[Tyr]

Hacklung check. Threshold 10.
OTActxBZ

---

The gem mine had started producing wondrous pieces in short order, and the guild hall had finished construction shortly thereafter. Plans were progressing with good timing, and Tyr was already hard at work on building designs to keep that momentum rolling. These next two were both retrofit jobs, the first of which was turning a warehouse into the beginnings of an Academy. It was a tricky design, separating the large building into two floors and partitioning rooms safely. There would need to be plenty of support for those above, and that meant space used below.

The second was turning another of his rapidly disappearing large structures into the first true guild structure. A Hall of Architects, to draw in those gifted with construction. Having a group of people to handle such tasks would take much of the work off his plate, freeing the Duke up for the rest of his work overload. It would also pave the way to grander designs, things more on the scale of city sized efforts. This was his end goal, elevate Mardok to a proper city in its own right. One that might eventually challenge Fordeth in prosperity and grandeur.

---

Retrofitting a large structure into a custom structure: Hall of Architects. Requires full materials (To be paid), constructs in 2 weeks real time.
Hard (-15) + K (100) + Dev2/Mas2/CarpM (40) = Threshold 125. Auto success.
Enhanced Construction, cut time by 1 unit. +50% personnel and price. (Materials used: Walnut and Sandstone)

Retrofitting a warehouse into a custom structure: Academy.
Requires full materies (To be paid), constructs in 3 weeks real time.
Hard (-15) + K (100) + Dev2/Mas2/CarpM (40) = Threshold 125. Auto success.
Enhanced Construction, time cut by 1 unit. +50% personnel and price. (Materials used: Walnut and Sandstone)

---

Constructions paid for. Dev III earned. -Cheph

[Tyr]

Hacklung threshold 20.
W5lIL_4V 43, success.

---

With new construction projects underway it was time to take care of some outstanding tasks as well. Specifically making sure his deal with Kable was upheld by reinforcing the construction of the warehouse being rented out. While he was at it though tasking workers with reinforcing several other buildings would also be beneficial. Reduced maintenance costs were always nice, and civic projects were great for training more people to build. With the Hall of Architects under construction he would need those people ready to go for even more projects. It was a constant cycle, better to get everyone used to the work now.

First came the Guild Hall itself, a simple job since the building was still mostly empty. Construction had only recently wrapped up there anyway, better to immediately turn around and reinforce the place than have to ask people to leave later on for the work to be done. Secondly was the house he had designated for Jorkahn to use. If that crumbled on the lad out of the blue there might be issues. Next was the warehouse assigned to Kable as promised, and while he was at it he took care of the one currently housing his crafting materials. The though of crafting brought him to the last building, and Tyr drew up plans for the Artificery to finally be reinforced as well. That took care of most of the immediate efforts, and with plenty of people still needing work he tacked on several additional people to each job. The increased cost wasn't a concern given how much faster it would all be done.

---

Fortifying construction in five places. Artificery, Guild Hall, Jorkahn's House, and two Warehouses.
6 wood, 4 stone, 15 builders, and 150 ritz each. Constructs in 2 weeks real time.
Hard (-15) + K (100) + Dev3/Mas2/CarpM (45) = Threshold 130 Autosuccesses.
Enhanced construction used in each case, reducing build time to one week. +50% price and personnel each.

---

30 Oak, 20 Granite, and 1125 Ritz paid. 115 workers assigned.
Masonry III and Steward II earned. -Cheph

[Tyr]

Hacklung threshold 10. aLspbEd|

---

The bloody campaign against the Lost Battalion had finally concluded. With Redgar's aid Tyr had managed to take control of the last two Rozenbell counties, at the same time extending his borders to reach the disjointed territory that had joined him before the last battles. This meant that while fortification efforts were already well underway for the rest of his lands, those three had nothing started at all. Tyr aimed to rectify this situation, sending carts of people with building materials towards those lands. Designs were set to follow, a grod for each county and some more militarily necessary buildings. Having such a large army for the defense of the Duchy meant needing to maintain it and a barracks was the least he could provide.

---

Constructing a grod and barracks in counties 9, 10, and 11.
Grods: Normal (0) + K (100) + Dev3/CarpM/Fort1 (40) = Threshold 140. Autosuccesses.
Barracks: Normal (0 ) + K (100) + Dev3/CarpM/Mas3 (50) = Threshold 150. Autosuccesses.
Each building constructed out of raw wood and stone, no substitutions.
Using Enhanced Construction for the Grods, dropping construction time to 1 in game month. +50% price and personnel per grod.
100 Ritz and 120 workers per Barracks. 3750 Ritz and 600 builders per Grod.
Total 11550 Ritz, 1920 builders.
Paid. Developer Mastery earned. Fortification II earned.-Cheph
Buildings complete at start of Norvius.

---

Once the blueprints were drawn up and orders drafted Tyr sent them out to be implemented. The newly built Hall of Architects would see to it that the buildings were properly finished, overseeing the construction efforts without the need for Tyr's direct involvement past the plans. It was truly a better way to develop the land, less physical effort on his part meant more time for the planning of other things. This was probably why most people delegated such tasks as they did, especially at the city level. He would have to learn to rely on others quite a bit more if he ever truly hoped to reach that point.