Ancient Farmstead Quest

>>1207864
>>Wulfric, A Saxon man, born in the old country, with an eye to travel across the sea to the lands of the Britons? (Realistic, Mostly)

>>1207915

I can get behind this. Though to be honest all three options sound pretty cool.

>>1207962
>>1207915

You are Wulfric, son of Aelharra, and your father's homestead rests in Old Saxony, on the north sea coast. For years you have lived in the ways of your people, owing your worship to Woden and the gods of your people. Your father was a man of little importance, a landowner who made his way int he world through the trade of cows. Your first brother was taught how to run the farm, and his stoic, solid frame has developed as a result, he resembles nothing so much as your father. He will receive all the silver of your father, along with all of the land, but he will have to care for your mother, aunts, and your three sisters.

Your second brother, Aethelstan, learned the trade of a tanner, and his trade has been prosperous. He has his own home in the village nearby, and he deals with all kinds of men. He is yet to be married, but no responsibility will marr his future. He bears only his trade, his home, and when he can get one, his wife.

As your father looks upon you, what trade have you learned that he can take solace in?

>What trade have we learned? (Anything reasonable for a Saxon in the fifth century. This profession will give us the skills to survive on our new Farm)

> Swineherding? (Perhaps our father had such disdain for us as to make us learn to be a swineherd)
>Smithing? (A respectable trade, but it will not keep us fed)
>Carpentry (Most men learn some carpentry, enough to build at least a simple home, but perhaps you learned more?)
>Fishing?
>Sailing? (Perhaps you may find your keep as a tradesman, sailing up and down the coasts of the world, though leaving your homestead behind is risky)
>Something Else?

>>1207991
smithing, that skill is very valuable even when it isn't particularly usefull right off the bat

>>1207991
>Smithing? (A respectable trade, but it will not keep us fed)

>>1208015

Carpentry makes most sense. Fences, barns and houses all need it, trees need to be removed to clear pastureland. Smithing has much less connection to the cow trade.

>>1208057
Yes if we planned to be the founding father of another family of peasants. My aims are a bit higher though, also the life of a smith at least holds some value in comparsion to that of a farmer.

>>1208015
>>Sailing? (Perhaps you may find your keep as a tradesman, sailing up and down the coasts of the world, though leaving your homestead behind is risky)

>>1208071

A skilled woodworker can make ships or forts or valuable decorative items. A skilled craftsman is valuable even if he doesn't work with metal.

The votes will decide, I'll take whatever.

>>1208092
op already made it clear that carpentry isn't an uncommon skill. Smithing on the other hand...

Three votes needed for one option to keep going.

Of course, you can learn other trades, and you will have a base knowledge of farming. I will point out that you are not, precisely, a peasant. You are the son of a landowner, who would be called a Churl in later Britain, and who would collect rent for land from Gebbers (Farmers) dwelling on his land. You are above the farmers, and certainly above the roaming unskilled workers.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Rolling a 1d2,

1 - Carpentry
2 - Smithing

>>1208015
Smithing. In the old days, there were no people who were as rich and respected as smiths. We surely could carve a mighty legacy out of this.

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Your father cared for you, though he knew you could not inherit his land and possessions, and so he made sure you were taught a valuable trade. The trade of smithing. A good smith is a constant feature of most villages, and smiths occupy positions ranging from simple farriers to the armourers of kings. You learned first from a farrier, who taught you the basic ideas of metalwork and village craft.

Once you had become a man, you were employed as an apprentice under a smith in the nearby town, the smith teaching you how to work iron, copper, silver and gold. You laboured hard, and a solid physique has been your gift for it. You are a strong, muscular figure, just as comfortable streaked with ash as most men are in their beds.

There is a lot of potential for a good smith in the world. You may subsist on simple village smithy job to supplement your farming income, or you may try to settle among a town or village, and work on more complex jobs, though working in towns is a great risk, and in these troubled times there are few great centers for you to work in, least of all in Britain.

Your father can set you out on the world with some solace that you can make your way, and the hammer on your belt is just as intimidating in your great hands than a sword in the hang of a warrior. You turn away from home, your goodbyes said, and now you must set off, but how do you plan to get yourself and your possessions to get to Britain?

Inventory:
Smith's Hammer, Shovel, Work-Hammer, linen and burlap clothes, with a leather jerkin produced by your brother, Dagger and Wood-Axe.

>You have your own cart, and an oxen to bear it. You will be able to carry a great deal, and travel quickly, but you have spent a great deal on the cart and ox. Though you can barter them back with the ship's captain for passage, you may have to travel on board a cheap, poorly guarded vessel. You also don't have any valuables, silver or gold, to trade for food and supplies. (Start with: A Cask of Water, A bag of wheat seeds, bushel of turnips, a cart, and an Ox)

>You are traveling on with a wayn, a smaller cart, drawn by an ass. Travel will be slower, but you will be able to carry more than on foot. You will have more opportunity to book passage on a vessel, likely allowing you a greater degree of choice in your landing in Britain. You are able to afford more supplies, and will have some valuables left over. (Start With: A cask of Ale, A bag of Wheat seeds, a bag of Barley seeds, two bushels of turnips, a silver brooch, a wayn and an Ass)

>You are traveling on food. Travel will be very slow, and you will be unable to carry a great number of supplies. You will, however, have plenty of valuables on you to barter and trade, allowing you the chance to book passage on a ship to a point of your choosing on the British coast, or even up one of the rivers. (Start With: A Spear, a Flask, A silver Brooch, two roman coins, a silver-sheen torc, and a few bits of hack silver)

>>1208190
>You are traveling on with a wayn, a smaller cart, drawn by an ass. Travel will be slower, but you will be able to carry more than on foot. You will have more opportunity to book passage on a vessel, likely allowing you a greater degree of choice in your landing in Britain. You are able to afford more supplies, and will have some valuables left over. (Start With: A cask of Ale, A bag of Wheat seeds, a bag of Barley seeds, two bushels of turnips, a silver brooch, a wayn and an Ass)

>>1208190
>You are traveling on with a wayn, a smaller cart, drawn by an ass. Travel will be slower, but you will be able to carry more than on foot. You will have more opportunity to book passage on a vessel, likely allowing you a greater degree of choice in your landing in Britain. You are able to afford more supplies, and will have some valuables left over. (Start With: A cask of Ale, A bag of Wheat seeds, a bag of Barley seeds, two bushels of turnips, a silver brooch, a wayn and an Ass)

>>1208206
>>1208201
>You are traveling on with a wayn, a smaller cart, drawn by an ass. Travel will be slower, but you will be able to carry more than on foot. You will have more opportunity to book passage on a vessel, likely allowing you a greater degree of choice in your landing in Britain. You are able to afford more supplies, and will have some valuables left over. (Start With: A cask of Ale, A bag of Wheat seeds, a bag of Barley seeds, two bushels of turnips, a silver brooch, a wayn and an Ass)

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The wayn-cart, pulled by an ass, sets out down the short path to the village, and you walk alongside, making sure you have everything you need. Your turnips should last a month, two if you're rationing them, and the ass can eat the grass as you pass by. As you pass your brother's home in the village, he nods to you, and his wife brings a bundle of leather out from the workshop to you. She briskly explains that it is a tent, in her short, terse way of speaking.

You sigh as you pass the workshop, and head out into the world, the sky a blank canvas, spotted with gently rolling clouds. It is early in the year, and you should be in Britain, and perhaps even settled, by the time spring starts. The path begins to fade and fail into wilderness, and you set to work easing the Ass across the landscape. Quickly, the world you know has faded behind you, and you are further from home than you have been in the years of your life thus far, except for trips to the nearby market.

You are heading up to the coast, but the journey will take several days. Travelers are rare in these days, and friendly ones are even rarer, and you keep a hand on your hammer at all times. Banditry is rampant, and roving bands of warriors are entirely common. You only ever see the occasional wandering labourer, but you are still suspicious enough as to camp well away from the beaten path.

An idea begins to form that you could try to employ one or two of these labourers to work with you on your new homestead. These men are vagabonds by nature, wanderers without homes or land, who subsist on the generosity of others and their work as unskilled labourers, but they could prove useful, if you can trust them...

>Do you attempt to employ an unskilled labourer on the road? (Food will be scarcer, and will run out faster, and you risk being robbed)

>>1208243
>no, I don't trust strangers

>>1208243
I'd say one would be a good idea.

I need to hop out for a short while, we're gonna need a consensus. Thanks for playing so far guys.

>>1208259
I'm fine not to take any on

>>1208339
so the DWN won't be playing in Germany anymore?

I think we will do well enough during the travel. Once we found a place to settle, we can think about various workers.

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You decide to avoid the labourers as you travel ever onward to the port. Within a few short days of travel, you have come to the small village by the coast. The squat collection of pit houses, circled around a pier and a longhouse is filled with men and women used to strangers passing through, and three squat little vessels sit in the harbour.

There is a small market, selling the spare salted meat from animals slaughtered over the winter, along with some basic tools and equipment. If you want to purchase something before setting out, now's the time.

>Do you buy anything? (If so, what?)

>>1208352
I will continue to play in Germany, don't worry, I won't cede my fifteen seats so easily.

>>1208498
A seax for self defence, and probably light armour

>>1208498
are there tools on sale better than the ones we're using?

>>1208578
supporting some light self defense, the armour might be overkill

>>1208498
gambeson, as it offers good protection, nothing else really

>>1208498
Armor is too expensive at the moment, so we should settle for something like a small, hidden weapon. A dagger or seax would be good.

>>1208596
I like the gambeson idea.

>>1208584
Better tools? Hammer and tongs really only come in shit, flawed and decent. If we are a competent smith we should be able to make decent ones ourselves.

We already have a dagger