After a few more hours I used up some more turns... Dignity seems like the currency I really want, as I need Trophies and that would help. I have Prosperity at 100, which I COULD trade for Viands, but there's no point, right? I also have three Secrets... which does me a whole lot of no good. Other than that I'm sitting pretty. PTR all under 20.
I managed to get my Cunning up to 42, unbuffed, which is nice. Once I get over 50 I'll take a crack at the Chantry door.
Also learned a bit more about the game:
First, you have 7 days (Identified as Market Days) until the game ends. I think you lose if you don't have the 3 items (Viands, Secrets, or Trophies) decided upon at the beginning of the game; a "good ending" requires 15, and the best requires 30. Each Market Day is 24 hours, and the first cards drawn that day have better yields than most. You have a maximum of 20 Action Points, and they replenish at a rate of 1 per 20 minutes. That means you get a maximum of 72 new Action Points per day. You can also buy Dawn with real money, which I believe gives you more.
You have 6 stats: Health, Rulership, Scholarship, Derring-do, Woods-wise, and Cunning. The scholar I believe gets a boost to Rulership (40) and Scholarship (50); the Huntress gets boosts to Derring-do (50) and Woods-wise (40).
You have three city stats, Dignity, Freedom, and Prosperity (DFP). You can boost one of these at the beginning of the game; both can choose Prosperity, the Huntress can boost Dignity, and the Scholar can boost Freedom. If any (one? two?) of these fall to 0, you lose.
Many actions will automatically take -2 from one of these stats; be VERY careful when they're below 10. You have three city dangers: Peril, Twilight, and Rumors of Revolution (PTR). You choose one to be boosted at the beginning. If you get over 75 in any of these you can only draw two new cards at a time instead of 3; if you get to 100 and fail to pass a challenge, you lose.
There are several currencies:
Clues: The most basic, most actions will give you an option to get between 4-10 of these. Better than a sharp stick to the f
anny. They can be used for lots of things, including training stats.
Bag of Royals: Your ruler's personal currency. Useful for buying favors from some companions, and involved in several options usually for heightened rewards. If your rulership is high you can get them by using 3 actions to levy taxes. Also a reward from one of the Glass card options (though last time I had the card come up, the BoR reward option was locked. Might be because my DFP were too low?)
Authority: Used to summon companions without waiting for their card to show up. Also used for some quests and to get some favors. I've seen it as a quest reward a few times and I haven't needed too much yet.
Favors: Each character who can be a companion has favors. You use 2 to promote them as a companion (Counselor, Lover, Accomplice, Bodyguard), and you can use additional ones to get good rewards from the characters. They're usually pretty pricey; the Silent Huntsman, for example, requires a Trophy, and the Dowager requires 5 Bags of Royals. The Outlaw does a hefty amount of damage to your city stats.
Viands, Secrets, and Trophies (VST): The currency that measures how well you're doing in your game. Not yet sure if you're locked into one type at the end or can mix-and-match for a better ending.
Second, you have companions. Most importantly, they give a +20 stat bonus at long as they are in a companion slot (except the Seneschal who you automatically get as an advisor at the beginning of the game; he gives +5 to one of two stats). If you have favors with them you can usually trade them for other gains, like increasing DFP, reducing PTR, or teaching stats. Some companions will also teach you (ie, give +1-3 stats) in exchange for favors.
Companions:
Quote:
The Acerbic Dowager: Counsellor, +20 Rulership
The Elegant Abbess: Counsellor or Lover, +20 Scholarship (Must be Counsellor before becoming Lover)
The Wayward Bard: Lover, +20 Cunning
The Cheery Baron: Counsellor, +20 Rulership
The Kindly Knight: Counsellor, +20 Scholarship
The Silent Hunter: Bodyguard, +20 Daring Do
The Purveyor of Teas: Accomplice, +20 Cunning
The Dashing Outlaw: Accomplice or Bodyguard, +20 Cunning
The Well-Read Pig Farmer, Counsellor, + 20 Scholarship
His Dour Lordship: Counsellor, +10 Cunning and +10 Rulership (Must be chosen to appear on Market Day)
The Smiling Guildmistress: Counsellor, +20 Rulership
That was from
this topic.
I don't have much advice yet. It's fun, but frustrating once your Action Points are used up. Once I get my Woods-Wise and Cunning high enough, I think I'll be able to open some new paths (such as exploring the actual story with the Chantry Door, or going hunting for Trophies). Anyone else playing?
Edited, Nov 10th 2014 7:59pm by LockeColeMA