Pick race and location.

>>6264211 (OP)
>Dwarves
>Desert
Oh yeah, it's sand castle time.

The story will be on a kingdom scale, with some interruptions now and then for dungeon delving.

If we get multiple players, they will be allowed their own factions.

Technological progress will be very slow, but most iron age technologies will be already available.

Magic exists and all races have access to it.

The gods often intervene in the affairs of men. There are a limited number of major gods and lots and lots of minor gods. It is possible to become a god.

When I do sketch something myself, it will probably be garbage, since I'm not good at drawing. For this reason, I might use AI art now and then, when I can't find a good art to steal.

>>6264215

I will wait a few minutes for more votes, if there are none I'll run with it.

You are king-priest Uruk VI of the golden realm of Hargalor!

Your kingdom covers an area of 134 thousand square miles.

About 12% is arable land. Most of everything else is sand.

The population of your Realm is about 2.6 million people. You produce a small surplus of food.

There are 4 major cities, and 10 minor cities.

Khundrazh-Turak – Pop: 80,000 – The Golden Forge capital, seat of the king-priest and heart of metalcraft and divine law.
Dûrmekh Karul – Pop: 40,000 – Harbor of Ashes, a coastal trade city dealing in obsidian, salt, and fireglass.
Barag Zhul – Pop: 30,000 – The Iron Pinnacle fortress-city guarding the eastern marches and the ancient ember roads.
Thaldrun-Khadur – Pop: 25,000 – Riverstone Market, built on an oasis-fed river, the realm’s grain hub and spice capital.
Khurm Varr – Pop: 15,000 – The Ember Vaults, home to deep volcanic mines and elite dwarven smelters.
Zarn Thorek – Pop: 15,000 – City of Chains, a forge-city where justice and slavery intertwine.
Dravak-Huld – Pop: 10,000 – The Dust-Watch, a military town guarding a cursed desert pass.
Ulgarûn Marr – Pop: 10,000 – The Thousand Wells, an oasis-city known for its water-priests and underground aquifers.
Zund Karak – Pop: 10,000 – Stone-Tongue’s Roost, a sacred city built around a petrified dragon oracle.
Varkhaz Dun – Pop: 10,000 – The Sky-Bazaar, a cliffside trade city famed for its open-air markets.
Maldrik Tûl – Pop: 5,000 – The Bronze Gate, a caravan staging post before the deadly Glass Wastes.
Ezdur Hrakal – Pop: 5,000 – Whisperstone, a hidden shrine-town devoted to secretive sand cults.
Thrûm Vahra – Pop: 5,000 – Wind-Howl Bastion, a windswept outpost with signal towers guarding the high dunes.
Korhul Zammar – Pop: 5,000 – Beast-Keep, known for training desert beasts for war, transport, and mining.

The vast majority of the population lives in rural settlements.

Large villages (~500–1,500 people): ~1,000 settlements

Hamlets/farm clusters (~100–300 people): ~4,000–6,000

Scattered homesteads, monasteries, and hillshrines: many more

===

You tax 10% of their food to feed the people in the cities. You also tax 10% of their metal to boost your coffers.

You get about 50 kg of gold per year from your mines.

The standard conversion rate:
1 gold = 15 silver
1 silver = 50 copper


Average soldier's pay: 6 gold coins/year
Average worker's pay: 3 gold coins/year

Food 26/30
Gold 25/50 (1,000 gold stockpiled)

Army:

Retinue: 400 soldiers

Militia:

Cities (150 gold stockpiled + 5 per year):
Loyalty 6.5/10 (they will pay for 65% of the costs)

Total able-bodied men across all cities: 110k
Total regular defenders: 11k
Total troops available for king: 1.1k (costs 55 gold per year to summon)

Countryside (640 gold + 20 per year):
Loyalty 5/10 (they will pay for 50% of the costs)

Able-bodied men: 930k
Regular defenders: 93k
Troops available to king: 9.3k (costs 465 gold per year to summon)

>>6264255

Year 1300 COUNCIL MEETING

To solidify your rule and safeguard Hargalor’s future, your council proposes ten grand initiatives. The Central Granary System would reinforce your agricultural base by building vast storage centers in the grain heartlands, protecting against famine and increasing rural loyalty. The Royal Road Project (Phase I) would restore ancient trade arteries between your capital and key cities, boosting commerce and military speed. Beneath the mountains, the Ember Vault Expansion promises deepened mines and increased gold output, but at great upfront cost. The Grand Tribunal of Divine Law, an academy of justice in your capital, would centralize scribal training and reduce corruption, improving the state’s efficiency. The Beacon Chain of the Eastern Dunes would erect a line of watchtowers and warning fires across your lawless frontier, offering improved response and deterrence. Your priests urge you to sponsor a High Pilgrimage to Zund Karak, repairing sacred paths and shrines to restore divine favor. Meanwhile, the necromantic threat near Whisperstone demands the Arcane Garrison, which would maintain permanent wards and troops to contain this magical rot. For military strength, the Royal Armory Foundries would ensure you can equip elite forces without relying on city forges. The Grand Sand Conclave, a gathering of lords and leaders in the capital, would smooth over tensions and unite factions under your divine banner. Lastly, the Great Water Purification Act would modernize sewers and wells in five major cities, improving health, stability, and loyalty.

> Central Granary System – 180 gold – Secures food surplus, +1 rural loyalty, prevents famine
> Royal Road Project (Phase I) – 230 gold – +10–15 gold/year trade income, +1 loyalty, faster army movement
> Ember Vault Expansion – 250 gold – +10–15 kg gold/year, +2–3 gold/year tax return, +2 city loyalty
> Grand Tribunal of Divine Law – 150 gold – +5 gold/year efficiency, reduces corruption, strengthens legitimacy
> Beacon Chain of the Eastern Dunes – 200 gold – Improves border defense, +1 loyalty in frontier towns
> High Pilgrimage to Zund Karak – 90 gold – +1 divine favor, +1 loyalty in sacred cities
> Arcane Garrison at Whisperstone – 120 gold – Seals necromantic threat, +1 rural loyalty, +1 divine favor
> Royal Armory Foundries – 200 gold – Arms 3,000 elite troops, saves 5–6 gold/year, +1 capital loyalty
> Grand Sand Conclave – 100 gold – +1 realm-wide loyalty (3–5 years), prevents factionalism
> Great Water Purification Act – 160 gold – +1 loyalty in 5 cities, improves health and urban productivity
> Write in

>>6264261


RANDOM PROBLEMS:

Caravan Raids on the Ember Road

For three months now, merchant caravans traversing the Ember Road—linking Barag Zhul to Thaldrun-Khadur—have suffered repeated ambushes. The attackers are swift and well-armed, suggesting coordination among exiled clans or former militia. Crates of salt, spice, and ingots go missing, and confidence among trade guilds is plummeting. The local commanders request reinforcements, and merchants have begun demanding armed escorts or threatening to reroute trade entirely.

Effect if Unchecked: –5 gold/year trade income, –1 loyalty in Barag Zhul and nearby rural roads.

Your Options:

> Deploy a Royal Escort Legion (Cost: 75 gold)
Train and dispatch 600 elite troops to patrol the Ember Road for one year, with clear orders to crush raiders and establish mobile camps.
Effect: Stops all losses, restores trade, +1 loyalty in the region.

> Hire Mercenary Caravaneers (Cost: 40 gold)
Contract local desert riders to defend caravans, providing swift, cheap protection. They are effective but lack loyalty.
Effect: Halves trade loss, stabilizes region temporarily, no loyalty bonus.

> Negotiate with the Raider Clans (Cost: 50 gold)
Send emissaries bearing gifts and pardons to identify and neutralize key leaders among the outlaws.
Effect: Stops most raids if successful, +1 loyalty in eastern rural zones, but risks betrayal.


Grain Rot in Western Silos

A catastrophic mismanagement of storage near Ulgarûn Marr has spoiled a large portion of grain reserves. The rotting grain spread fungal spores, rendering multiple village silos unusable. Local officials hid the blunder to avoid punishment, but now entire rural zones face shortages and unrest looms. Without swift action, food riots or migration may follow.

Effect if Unchecked: –10% food surplus for the year, –1 rural loyalty in the western basin.

Your Options:

> Distribute Emergency Royal Grain Reserves (Cost: 60 gold)
Send granary wagons from the capital and Thaldrun-Khadur to feed the region through the lean months.
Effect: Fully offsets loss, +1 rural loyalty in affected region, consumes food stores.

> Punish and Replace Local Officials (Cost: 25 gold)
Publicly execute or exile the guilty overseers and send royal inspectors to take their place.
Effect: Restores trust, prevents future rot, but only partially offsets current loss (–5% surplus remains).

> Hire Mages to Cleanse and Restore the Silos (Cost: 45 gold)
Enlist water-priests and fungal scourge masters from Zund Karak to magically purify the area and reseal storage chambers.
Effect: Halves the surplus loss, +1 divine favor, no loyalty change.

I will try to update once a day, more often if I have time.

Oh shit this wasn't an abandonware quest.

>>6264261
>Royal Road Project (Phase I) – 230 gold
>Grand Tribunal of Divine Law – 150 gold

>>6264262
>Deploy a Royal Escort Legion (Cost: 75 gold)
>Punish and Replace Local Officials (Cost: 25 gold)
Commerce is the lifeblood of civilization, it must be expanded and protected. Similarly, we must safeguard the sanctity of governmental institutions, punishing corrupt officials is an easy combo with the Grand Tribunal.

>>6264697

By the divine authority of Uruk VI, King-Priest of Hargalor, two great initiatives have been set in motion:

You have commenced the Royal Road Project (Phase I), committing 230 gold to restore the ancient trade arteries that bind the kingdom. This first phase brings new life to the routes linking Thaldrun-Khadur, Zarn Thorek, and Zund Karak, easing the passage of goods, speeding military deployments, and tightening the golden grasp of the capital upon the outer provinces.

In tandem, you have established the Grand Tribunal of Divine Law, investing 150 gold to found a sacred academy in Khundrazh-Turak. From its halls shall emerge a new generation of scribes, judges, and lawkeepers—dispelling corruption, refining royal administration, and upholding the sacred order of the realm.

To safeguard your merchants and restore confidence in the realm's eastern arteries, Your Majesty has deployed a Royal Escort Legion. With 75 gold, 600 elite soldiers have been trained and dispatched to patrol the perilous Ember Road. The raids cease, trade flows once more, and loyalty in the region surges by one measure.

Lastly, swift and uncompromising justice has been dealt to those who failed their charge in Ulgarûn Marr. You have chosen to punish and replace the negligent silo officials, expending 25 gold to restore order and prevent future calamity. Though the current year’s rot leaves a 5% reduction in food surplus, trust among the peasantry begins to mend.

Thus, the Year 1300 closes with firm strides toward unity, law, and prosperity—by your golden hand.

>>6264720

Average soldier's pay: 6 gold coins/year
Average worker's pay: 3 gold coins/year

Food 26/28.5
Gold 25/64 (579 gold stockpiled)

Army:

Retinue: 400 soldiers

Militia:

Cities (150 gold stockpiled + 5 per year):
Loyalty 6.8/10 (they will pay for 68% of the costs)

Total able-bodied men across all cities: 110k
Total regular defenders: 11k
Total troops available for king: 1.1k (costs 55 gold per year to summon)

Countryside (640 gold + 20 per year):
Loyalty 5/10 (they will pay for 50% of the costs)

Able-bodied men: 930k
Regular defenders: 93k
Troops available to king: 9.3k (costs 465 gold per year to summon)

Projects:
Royal Road Project (Phase I) (3/14; cities 4, 6 and 9): +10-15 gold/yer trade income. +1 loyalty, faster army movement.
Grand Tribunal of Divine Law: +5 gold/year efficiency.

Effects:
Grain Rot Preventing in the Western Basin (temporary)

>>6264721
Year 1301 COUNCIL MEETING

Following last year’s great reforms, the High Council returns with ten new proposals to further secure your reign and strengthen the Golden Realm. With trade flowing and law restored, the focus now shifts to roads, food, defense, and prestige.

Phase II of the Royal Road Project would extend paved arteries to three distant cities, tightening royal control and speeding commerce. To support the heartlands, three food initiatives are proposed: Irrigation Channels to boost harvests, Salt-Dome Granaries to prevent future spoilage, and Standardized Crop Quotas to ensure fair and efficient farming.

On the volatile frontier, the Fortress of Emberwatch would anchor defenses and deter raids. Legal unity would be cemented with the Sand-Law Codex, a single written law to bind tribes and cities alike.

The Guild Charter Act expands artisan guilds under royal authority, while the Obsidian Tax Bureau recovers lost mineral revenues. Spiritually, the Oracle Sanctum of Zund Karak would be expanded, and finally, the Archives of the Thousand Tablets would enshrine your legacy in the capital.

Each measure carries a high cost—but the rewards are lasting.

> Royal Road Project – Phase II – 180 gold – Connects 3 more cities, improves trade and military response, +1 loyalty in each
> Subterranean Irrigation Channels – 160 gold – +10% food surplus in 4–6 rural zones, +1 rural loyalty
> Salt-Dome Granaries of Dûrmekh Karul – 130 gold – Prevents future grain rot, +1 loyalty in coastal provinces
> Standardize Village Food Quotas – 100 gold – +5% harvest efficiency, +1 rural loyalty
> Fortress of Emberwatch – 250 gold – Defends eastern marches, prevents raids, +1 loyalty in frontier provinces
> Codify the Sand-Law Scrolls – 150 gold – Centralized legal code, improves administrative unity, +1 rural loyalty
> Guild Charter Expansion Act – 140 gold – +6–8 gold/year in tax income, +1 loyalty in minor cities
> Obsidian Tax Bureau – 90 gold – +4–5 gold/year mineral tax, improves trade oversight
> Expand Oracle Sanctum at Zund Karak – 120 gold – +1 divine favor, +1 city loyalty, foresight of crises
> Archives of the Thousand Tablets – 200 gold – +1 legitimacy, +1 capital loyalty, enhances diplomatic reach

>>6264722


RANDOM PROBLEMS

Smelter Revolt in Khurm Varr

In the volcanic depths of Khurm Varr, the smelter clans have risen in protest. Long hours, noxious fumes, and lack of hazard pay have pushed the workforce to strike, halting much of the realm’s bronze and iron refinement. Local guards grow restless as weapon shipments are delayed, and rumors spread that agents from rival cities may be stoking the unrest.

Effect if Unchecked: –1 city loyalty in Khurm Varr, –10% metal output, delays in military equipment and city income.

Your Options:

> Send Royal Inspectors and Hazard Pay – 60 gold
Dispatch oversight officials to address safety failings and offer bonus wages to skilled workers.
Effect: Output restored swiftly, +1 loyalty in Khurm Varr.

> Suppress the Strike with Mercenaries – 50 gold
Crack down on the protest using outside enforcers to force operations back into motion.
Effect: Output restored, but future unrest more likely, no loyalty gain.

> Negotiate and Grant Guild Privileges – 40 gold
Offer the smelters official recognition as a guild in exchange for a return to work.
Effect: Output restored gradually, +5% long-term metal efficiency.

Scourge of the Ash-Locusts

Barley and spice fields near Thaldrun-Khadur are under siege by a swarm of caustic desert locusts. The pests tear through stalk and leaf, and their acidic bites ruin stored grain. Farmers fear a worsening infestation and are calling for swift intervention before it spreads to neighboring districts.

Effect if Unchecked: –5% food surplus this year, –1 rural loyalty in 2 grain-producing provinces.

Your Options:

> Deploy Fire-Wardens and Falconers – 45 gold
Torch infested fields and release trained falcons to scatter the swarms and halt the damage.
Effect: Stops the spread, salvages most of the crops, +1 rural loyalty.

> Organize Local Response Teams – 30 gold
Send grain officials and experienced farmers to coordinate hand-driven countermeasures.
Effect: Reduces damage, slows the spread, no loyalty gain.

> Delay Action – 0 gold
Take no immediate measures and monitor the situation.
Effect: Full damage takes effect (–5% surplus), risk of spread in the following year.

>>6264723
Spymaster’s Report: The Goldshields’ Future

To the Glorious Flame of Hargalor, Uruk VI,
Your loyal eyes in the shadows bring troubling whispers from the Ember Road.

The 600 elite soldiers you commissioned last season—now dubbed “the Goldshields” by locals for their polished mail and generous pay—have earned respect throughout the eastern marches. They performed their duty with precision, breaking raider bands and restoring order to the caravan routes. However, their contract is due to expire within two moons.

Agents embedded in their ranks report that several captains, led by the decorated veteran Darnak Flamebrow, are gathering followers with the intent to form a permanent mercenary company. Their plan: offer protection-for-coin to nobles, merchant lords, and outposts across the region, independent of crown oversight.

While not openly rebellious, this company would be armed, disciplined, and loyal first to coin—not to Your Radiance. Several city governors have already approached them with interest. Should this plan come to pass, you may gain a useful instrument—or risk the rise of a warband with ambitions beyond their charter.

Your Options:

> Forbid the Formation by Royal Decree – 0 gold
Outlaw any independent mercenary formation by royal law, disbanding the Goldshields after their term.
Effect: May ensure control, but risks discontent or desertion. Loyalty of some cities may suffer.

> Allow Them to Form the Company Freely – 0 gold
Permit the Goldshields to form their company, granting them royal blessing.
Effect: Gains goodwill and future usefulness, but removes direct control over 600 elite soldiers.

> Assassinate Darnak Flamebrow – 40 gold
Quietly eliminate their charismatic leader and blame it on raiders or illness.
Effect: Likely dissolves the effort, but risks exposure and could create martyrs.

> Offer Them an Abandoned Fortress – 70 gold
Grant them a ruined stronghold in the highlands, in exchange for sworn loyalty and annual levies.
Effect: Turns them into a semi-independent vassal force. Potential asset or future problem.

> Rehire the Best Among Them into Your Retinue – 90 gold
Recruit 150 of the finest into your royal guard with doubled pay and honors.
Effect: Strengthens palace defense, breaks the core of the group’s cohesion.

> Secretly Undermine Their Reputation – 30 gold
Spread rumors and forged documents to cast doubt on their honor and reliability.
Effect: Weakens their ability to find clients, may dissolve their unity.

>>6264721


Forgot to update the gold in cities and countryside:

Cities (155 gold stockpiled + 5 per year):

Countryside (660 gold + 20 per year):

>>6264722
> Royal Road Project – Phase II – 180 gold – Connects 3 more cities, improves trade and military response, +1 loyalty in each

> Obsidian Tax Bureau – 90 gold – +4–5 gold/year mineral tax, improves trade oversight

Continuing the royal road project sounds good for trade and we can offset some of the cost with the Obsidian Tax Bureau that will also help oversee the trade.

>>6264723
> Negotiate and Grant Guild Privileges – 40 gold

This hurts but we have a decent gold surplus so might as well go for the long term option even if output is worse.

> Deploy Fire-Wardens and Falconers – 45 gold

Rot and and grain loss bad

> Offer Them an Abandoned Fortress – 70 gold

>>6264722
>>6264723
I will support >>6264728 , >>6264729
Would've wanted the Expanded Guild Charter too but it puts us dangerously close to having no money left if we pick the other two. Hopefully the expanded trade network will start paying back soon.

>>6264728
>>6264729
>>6264747


DUNGEON DELVE TIME

The sun is a glaring eye overhead as your band crests the final rise. There, rising from a spur of black rock and wind-carved cliffs, looms the silhouette of Khar Varak, the Castle of Windswept Stone. A fortress from another age, scorched, cracked, and crumbling, yet still standing tall like a defiant fist against the endless sky.

King-Priest Uruk VI of Hargalor, robed in flame-gold and smelling of sacred incense, had made the offer plainly:
“Clear the castle, Darnak Flamebrow. Make it yours. It was once a crown jewel. Let it shine again, under my favor.”

The offer was too good to pass up. A fortress of your own, defensible, resource-rich, perched between caravan trails and oases, with rumors of ancient vaults beneath. But something lingers in its shadow. None of your men dare approach without orders. The air is unnaturally still. No birds circle its towers.

You plant your hammer into the dry earth and spit.
Your band of 600 waits behind you. Mercenaries, seasoned and superstitious. Their eyes flick between you and the castle.

What is your first move?

> Ask around for rumors: Send out a few silver coins and loose tongues in the nearest town. Old ghosts leave stories behind.
> Scout the perimeter: Take a dozen riders and circle the castle. Look for breaches, movement, or anything unnatural.
> Consult your war-priest: Let Brother Khelmar divine what forces linger in the stones. His god speaks through fire and pain.
> Send a vanguard of 50 men: Test the castle’s defenses. See if it’s empty, or if it bites.
> Wander in brazenly yourself: You are Darnak Flamebrow, fear is for the unblooded. You’ll walk through the front gate, alone.
> Camp and fortify nearby: Build a temporary outpost and prepare for a siege. This castle may not give itself up easily.
> Write in

>>6265325
> Ask around for rumors: Send out a few silver coins and loose tongues in the nearest town. Old ghosts leave stories behind.

>>6265325
>Consult your war-priest: Let Brother Khelmar divine what forces linger in the stones. His god speaks through fire and pain.
The Gods will divine what we can expect in there.

>>6265325
>Consult your war-priest: Let Brother Khelmar divine what forces linger in the stones. His god speaks through fire and pain.